“Delivering EXTRA Special Customer Service”
Why are you here?
• Take a moment, right now, and do something
that most people rarely (if ever) do: Think about
the purpose of your job- Why does your job
exist?
• The fact is, your job – everyone's job – exists for
one primary purpose to either make or do things
for other people.
• Those “other people” are our customers. As
such they are the real source of your income,
they are the real reason you are blessed with
employment.
It starts and ends with you
• Ask don’t Tell
– By doing this you not only demonstrate that the right person
(the customer) is in charge, you also extend a common
courtesy that lets them know they are valued and
appreciated.
– Use phrases like “Do you mind waiting while I find out for
you” instead of “Wait here and I’ll find out for you”
• Never end an interaction with a negative- your
inability to act (I can’t)
– Next time you find yourself needing to tell a customer “I can’t
do that” tack on this service phrase, “but here is what I Can
do”
It starts and ends with you
• Watch your body language
– To interact with customers effectively you
need to not only use the right words, but your
body language needs to show that you really
mean what you are saying
• Do something extra
– After you meet a customer’s needs, look for
one more thing – something EXTRA – to do
for them or give to them.
– Under promise and OVER DELIVER
It starts and ends with you
• Develop an “attitude of gratitude”
– Be thankful you have a job- not everyone
today can make that claim, and that makes
you one of the lucky ones!
– Attitude is infectious
• Treat you customer how you would like
to be treated.
– Listen, care, and act.
“There are no traffic jams along the extra mile.”
-ROGER STAUBACH
Keeping Your Customer
1. Avoid making the customer feel WRONG.
a. Never ever ever EVER tell your customer they
were stupid / wrong to call / email for
assistance. That’s the best way to LOOSE that
customer- and possibly many more!
Keeping Your Customer
2. Be Patient.
a. A customer who’s having to deal with an issue
or problem getting fixed is going to not be on
their best behavior.
i.
Understand this beforehand and you're ahead of
the game.
ii. Know that it's not personal - it's stress and anxiety.
This is not really the normal person it's the
reactionary part of the psyche
Keeping Your Customer
3. Be Empathetic
a. Being Empathetic means you'd like to helpyou understand their position / opinion. It
doesn't mean you have to agree with it. Just
hear them.
Keeping Your Customer
4. Take time to Listen- really listen
a. It takes time to win a customer, but it only
takes seconds to loose one
5. Its OKAY to say “I Don’t Know”. As long
as…
a. You follow up with “but I will find out for you!”
b. Follow through and Follow up
a. You have shown them respect and they will respect
you and your business!
“If we don’t take care of our customers, someone else will.”
-UNKNOWN
Keeping Your Customer
6. Treat Them With Respect.
a. Don’t talk “up” to them. Using big words is not
going to help!
b. Don’t talk “down” to them. You won’t make
friends treating them like a two year old.
7. Never EVER lie.
a. It will come back to bite you!
Keeping Your Customer
8. Be Positive
a. A real smile goes a long way
9. Understand the customers reality
a. Bad customer service is often a result of not
understanding what the customer really
needs.
Keeping Your Customer
10. Make customer service a standard
practice
a. Cultivate a business culture where excellent
consistent and part of your core business
function customer service training is constant.
11. Make customer service real.
a. Find out what your staff is thinking.
i.
Finding out what they think is cheaper than finding
out from ex-customers!
“Here is a simple but powerful rule - always give people
more than what they expect to get.”
-NELSON BOSWELL
Keeping Your Customer
12. Enlarge your idea of service
a.
b.
Anyone who interacts with customers MUST be
trained in customer service.
Role distinctions are meaningless to customers- If any
employee is untrained, customers may make harsh
and often immediate evaluations.
13. Internal customers are just as important as
external ones.
a.
Your business type does not matter- anyone who
needs or uses what you provide is a customer
Keeping Your Customer
14. Don’t get comfortable
a. Business is cynical. Do something well and
soon your competitors do it just as well- or
better!
b. Excellent Customer Service gives you an
edge.
Excellent Customer Service is a serious,
strategic investment that warrants constant
focus, follow-through and review.
Customer Service?
Training Tips
• Teach the art of listening.
– In situations where customers are not generally upset
over an issue, good listening skills will show the
customer that your business cares about her as an
individual.
– There are a number of activities that you can do to
increase listening skills among your staff members.
• Role playing in a group setting can be used as a tool to
develop these much-needed skills.
Training Tips
• Resolve to instruct your staff in all aspects of
your business.
– Customers can get easily irritated standing in a long
line when there are other employees around who
could help.
– If all of your staff members are able to carry out all
functions of your business, such as operating the
cash register, then the chances of customers
becoming impatient are decreased dramatically.
Training Tips
• Create a culture of helping.
– If your staff members are in the habit of helping
people, it will come as second nature when dealing
with customers.
– Attitude is a key component of customer service. If
you train your staff to check their attitude each and
every day in order to stay in the right frame of mind,
they will be less likely to offer poor customer service.
• One way to do this is to create an atmosphere where helping
is the norm. Emphasizing the need for employees to help one
another will have a contagious effect that will carry over to
the realm of customer service. Eventually, helping people will
become second nature.
Training Tips
•
5.
4.
3.
2.
Top Five Hot Buttons for Customers
I can’t
I don’t know
I’ll be honest with you
You’ll have to
AND
1. I’ll try
Handling an Angry Customer
• Use the EAR method
– E – Empathize
– A – Acknowledge/Apologize
– R - Responsibility
“Washrooms will always tell if your company cares about its customers.”
-Unknown
“Delivering EXTRA Special Customer Service”
The
End