Working in a Customer Service
Culture
Customer service skills course designed for participants in the Senior Community
Service Employment Program.
You can find the student guide to this course located in the “attachments” tab
in the upper right hand of the screen or you can download the guide and
course materials from the Experience Works’ Internet page by scrolling to the
bottom of the screen and selecting “Participant’s Corner”. Then select the
“Courses for Participants” located on the left side of the screen. There you will
find a course description and links to course material.
When you complete the “Working in a Customer Service Culture” course and
short knowledge check, you can print a certificate of completion.
Instructions for printing the certificate are included in the course materials
section of “Courses for Participants” in the experience works’ Internet.
Introduction - Module 1
Welcome to customer service skills training. Every job or position has some
degree of customer interaction. This includes customers that come to a business
or organization for a product or service, or customers within the business that rely
on others to provide information, help or support. In this course we will explore
different aspects of customer service.
How you interact with your customers will create either a positive experience or
a negative experience based on your customer service skills. Excellent customer
service is a skill attractive to any potential employer.
You can begin applying these new customer service skills immediately in your
Community Service Assignment. In fact, begin thinking of your Community
Service Assignment as a “Customer Service Assignment.
The objectives for customer service skills training is to enable you to:
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Define: what is a customer
Identify customers, both external and internal
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Describe excellent customer service
Explain your role as an employee or business owner in providing the best
customer service possible
Describe the steps to take when resolving customer issues and dealing
with angry customers
Setting the stage – Module 2
So let’s start with a fundamental question: “What is a customer?”
A customer includes any individual or group who has purchased/used, or
is considering purchasing/using, a product or service from a company or
organization.
The term customer also includes anyone that uses or experiences the
services of another.
Every customer has their own expectations. Here is some recent data that sheds
a light on what customers are saying is important to them.
(Slide showing important features)
What is intriguing about the data is the top four responses comprise almost 87
percent of what is most important. Those top four “most important features”
are all dependent on how they – the customers, are treated by staff. Also of
great interest is the fact that each of those top four most important features are
one hundred percent controllable by each and every one of us in our daily
customer interactions.
Your host agency or future employer is not the only game in town. Given
enough customer dissatisfaction and complaints to the right people, your
employer could be forced out of business. Or you as a new employee can end
up out of work.
Notice that in this listing of the top companies that are noted for outstanding
customer service, the same companies are showing up on the list year after
year.
(Slide showing list)
Believe me, it’s no accident. There are other companies not on this list that sell
the exact same products and provide the same kinds of services. What
differentiates these companies? I’m sure you know the answer by now – it’s how
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they treat their customers. Customer service is not an add-on to their job; it is
their job and part of their organization’s culture.
It was once estimated that a dis-satisfied customer would relate their bad
experience to 15 other people. We now live in an age with the Internet, blogs,
tweets, Craigslist, Angie’s List and other ways in which dissatisfied customers can
reach out to thousands of people at a time.
External Customers - Module 3
Now is a good time to look at a formal answer to the question of who your
customers will be when working in either a business or organization that provides
a product or one that provides a service.
Can you answer the following questions about your current host agency
assignment?
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How well do you know the products or services that your host agency
provides?
Who are the host agency’s customers?
What are their expectations?
What is your role in meeting those expectations?
How does your role impact the customer?
The answers may seem simple, but this course is designed to challenge your
perceptions and thinking about customers, the products or services that you
provide them, and how well you provide customer service. These customercentered issues apply for both for-profit and non-profit organizations.
You know what it’s like to be a customer when dealing with a business. You
know when we’ve been treated well and have had a satisfying experience.
Likewise you know when the experience had been a bad one. Your customers
will have either a good or bad experience based on the quality of service that
you provide.
The question is: will they leave your place of business, or your office, or hang up
the phone, or maybe read an email that leaves them delighted with your
service? Or will they be disillusioned, upset and angry? You own the
responsibility for creating the conditions for good customer service. Will it be a
good or bad experience for the customer? It’s up to you.
So let’s define external customers. These are the customers outside of the
business or organization that rely on that business or organization to provide
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them with a product or service. They are the reason that a business or
organization exists. To be clear, the business or organization is there to serve
customers. Customers are not there to serve the business.
Customers have a choice where they decide to spend their money or get
service. Customer service can be the deal-breaker or the deal-maker. Will
customers come to your place of employment or seek products or services from
a competitor? It may all come down to how the customer is treated.
Internal Customers-Module 4
It is also important that we look at customer service from inside a business or an
organization.
Here are some questions to consider:
• Do you provide a product or service to others in your host agency?
• Do others rely on you for work, support or help?
• Does your supervisor or co-workers have expectations that you need
to meet?
• Is customer service in your training plan on your Individual
Employment Plan or IEP?
• Do other parts of the organization provide products or services to
you?
• How you feel about the internal customer service you receive?
Customer service not only extends outside of a business or organization to
external customers, but inside as well. Some examples of internal customer
relationships that you may have might include:
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Information Technology
Reception
Payroll
Management or Supervision
Janitorial or Environmental services
Security
Maybe it’s the person working right next to you! It can be another participant
assigned to your host agency.
What is internal customer service?
It is the process where individuals and departments in an organization work to
give each other excellent and considerable service. While serving customers
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and clients is an essential part of a company’s survival, internal customer
relations plays a fundamental role in ensuring that external consumer relations is
possible.
This table highlights some of the differences when dealing with internal
customers versus external customers.
Objectives for internal customers is facilitation of the workflow vs. retention when
we deal with external customers
The processes are: cooperation internally vs. satisfaction externally.
And the outcomes are: productivity inside our organization vs. customer loyalty
The way we encourage and grow an internal customer service culture is to:
Promote buy-in
Encourage initiative
Design information sharing mechanisms
Create a collaborative culture
Recognize excellence
So, on any given day the people within an organization have the right to expect
the same exceptional customer service from co-workers that external customers
expect.
Customer Service Approach – Module 5
Excellent customer service is the process by which employees deliver services or
products for their organization in a way that allows the customer to access them
in the most efficient, fair, cost effective, and humanly satisfying and pleasurable
manner possible.
With a customer service approach everyone wins. Customers win,
organizations win and employees win.
To develop the most satisfying customer service experience:
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Try to establish what a customer wants and what would best suit their
particular needs
Treat each customer with respect and dignity
Always act ethically and professionally
So let’s get into some specific issues that create a customer service approach.
Notice as well, that these issues parallel what we looked at earlier regarding
what customers have said is most important for them.
Friendly responses - Customers appreciate a personable, friendly, professional
exchange regardless of the situation. It conveys a sense of individualized
attention.
Product or service knowledge - Although some customers may already possess
basic knowledge about the product or service they are interested in, they will
often need you to provide additional details and information.
It is also helpful to be able to anticipate and answer the most frequently asked
questions raised by customers.
Honesty and integrity: Customers want to feel that they can trust you regarding
the quality and products or services you are offering. The best way to
demonstrate that you can be trusted is to always speak and act honestly and
ethically.
Never take advantage of a customer, or make unfounded or exaggerated
claims.
Recovery from mistakes - Customers will often judge the quality of your service
by the way you recover after a mistake has been made, and by the solutions
you offer. Generally, customers are very forgiving of mistakes if the situation is
ultimately corrected to their satisfaction.
Here is a quote that sums all this up quite well:
“Everyone has an invisible sign hanging from his or her neck that reads, `Make
me feel important. ` Never forget this message when dealing with people.”
When dealing with customers we have a choice. By our actions, we choose to
make that experience either a positive one, or a negative one. Here are some
items to consider:
First impressions –nonverbal cues that include:
o Attitude – people pick up on this instantly
o Posture – standing tall, head straight are signals of confidence and
competence
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A smile – a sign of welcome
Eye Contact – transmits interest and openness
Raised eyebrows –a sign of recognition
Shaking hands – quickest way to establish rapport
Leaning in slightly – shows engagement and interest
A professional appearance and, neat organized offices also create that
first impression. It is estimated that you have about seven seconds when
meeting someone for the first time to make that critical first impression!
Enthusiasm – Have you ever dealt with a salesperson that gave you the
impression that you were an interruption? An inconvenience?
Demonstrate to your customers that the work you do for them is
meaningful, important and you are glad that they came to you to do it.
Helpfulness – go the extra the mile; take the extra step to help our
customers. Exceed their expectations.
Your word – don’t make promises or commitments that you cannot keep.
Set efficient and reasonable expectations.
Personal Connection – connect directly to your customers on a personal
level. People want to deal with a person and not an impersonal business
or system.
With effective customer service skills we can:
Demonstrate an appreciation for customers
Properly handle customers’ questions and concerns
Increase customer satisfaction
Acquire and maintain customer loyalty
What is a customer service culture?
The organization focuses on the attention to quality customer service as a
primary and essential business goal. Good customer service is the right thing to
do, and it’s good for business.
Customers are:
o Never considered an interruption to other workplace tasks
o Appreciated as the ultimate reason for one’s work
o Always viewed as a top priority
Personal Service – everyone who seeks out our organization is a unique
person with unique needs. We serve individuals.
Customer Feedback - in a customer service culture customer feedback is
a gift. We need feedback to continuously improve our services.
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Recognition of Customer Service Excellence – recognize and reward
employees in the organization or business for providing the best customer
service possible.
Continuous Learning – look for new and improved ways to provide service
to customers. What was done yesterday may not be good enough for
tomorrow. Remember your business is not the only game in town. Our
competitors are continuously improving. Businesses or organizations don’t
want to fall behind.
Customer Satisfaction and the Resolution of Issues – Module 6
As the saying goes “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure”.
Most issues arise from misunderstanding or miscommunication. It’s important
that any business or organization clearly communicate policies, procedures,
and expectations regarding products or services to their customers to prevent
future misunderstandings and unpleasant surprises.
As conditions change, be sure to communicate directly, clearly and repeatedly.
Despite best efforts, issues will arise. Using the following steps will help you when
trying to resolve customer issues.
The first step is to Listen – Listen to your customer to find out what his/her
problem is and more importantly what he/she thinks would be a
satisfactory resolution.
Restate the problem in your own words and check with the customer to
ensure you fully understand the issue.
The second step is Apologize – This is usually a tough thing to do but it
does help. Even if the complaint does not seem legitimate it is always
useful to establish an understanding by apologizing. At the very least you
can apologize for having made your customer feel so upset that they
needed to contact your business. You are not validating their issue, but
merely stating that your business never wants to upset anyone.
Third step, Inform - Share with the customer the knowledge you have
regarding the situation and what potential remedies are available. In this
way you are demonstrating you are not trying to hide anything and all
possible remedies will be considered. If there is no remedy that matches
the specific situation, see if you could find an alternative compromise that
would satisfy them. Also, inform them that this is hopefully a rare incident
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of customer dissatisfaction and you will do your best to remedy the
situation.
And the forth step when trying to resolve an issue is satisfy, compromise,
and resolve – Not all customer issues can be resolved to the satisfaction of
all parties but making the sincere effort to resolve it goes a long way. If a
complete resolution cannot be found, try to find a compromise. If no
resolution can be found at all then make it clear to the customer that you
are very sorry, and that the business’ best effort was made to resolve the
issue. Be sure to leave on a positive note even if the customer could not
find the satisfaction they desired.
The Angry Customer – Module 7
The angry customer; we have all seen them, we have all dealt with them, and
most of us at one time or another has been one. These are the customer
interactions everyone dreads.
Even with the best efforts and intentions, there may still be times when a
customer is unhappy or dissatisfied with something you or the business or
organization you work for has done, or failed to do.
Learning how to handle these situations professionally and effectively is very
important to your success in a customer service environment.
Guidelines for dealing with angry customers:
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Remain Calm - use a serious but positive and helpful tone of voice, and
focus on hearing the customer’s perspective on the problem
Don’t take it personally - In most cases, a customer’s complaint will not be
with you personally, they are just seeking to be heard. However, if you do
find yourself in a situation where a customer starts using an inappropriate
language, tell the customer you cannot help them unless they refrain from
speaking that way.
Focus on acknowledging the feelings and upset of the customer - Once
the customer starts to calm down THEN move to solving the problem. This
will save you a lot of time and energy.
Empathize - Let the customer know that you can identify with their feelings
of disappointment or frustration.
Be an Active Listener - Asking open-ended questions can be useful in
acquiring information, or to clarify the specifics of the problem. Avoid
phrasing a question in a forceful or accusatory manner. Summarize what
you have heard and confirm your interpretation with the customer.
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Apologize - Even if you are not directly to blame, apologize for the
situation, and clearly state that you are sorry the customer is unhappy.
Avoid implying that a co-worker or someone else in the company is at
fault.
Accept Responsibility for Finding a Solution - Communicate with the
customer that you intend to take whatever action is necessary and
appropriate for finding a solution.
Work to the Customer’s Satisfaction-Not Yours - Try to establish what it
would take to meet the customer’s terms for a satisfactory outcome. If
the customer comes up with their own suggestion or requests, and they
are reasonable, then opt for these even if you personally think that there is
an easier or more practical solution. Whenever possible, find a mutually
agreeable outcome.
Take Action - Once you have established a reasonable resolution to a
customer’s problem, communicate this to the customer, and act on your
intentions-immediately. Do whatever you can to resolve or correct the
situation as quickly as possible.
Try to Keep the Customer - Most customers simply want a solution. In
many cases, once you have successfully resolved their problem they will
still be committed to you as a customer. In some cases, they may
become even more committed when the solution has been handled
satisfactory.
Know That You’ve Done All You Can - There may be times when you
cannot offer any practical solution that will satisfy an unhappy customerno matter how hard you try. It may simply be that no logical or financially
viable solution exists. If you have exhausted all reasonable options, then
you may have to accept that they cannot be satisfied.
Remember it’s not always what you say:
Person to person communications occur through 3 main ways. The words we
use, the tone of voice in which we say them, and our body language which
includes posture and facial expressions. The further away from face-to-face
communication, the easier it becomes to miss-understand what is being
communicated. This is especially true when dealing an angry customer. Here is
what the experts say about different forms of person-to-person communications.
With face-to-face communication our message is conveyed by:
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55% body language
38% tone of voice
7% words used
With telephone communication it is:
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82% tone of voice
18% words used
With email:
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There are no verbal cues
No face-to-face cues
No body language cues
The communication can occur at different times
Correspondence can be sent (.cc’d- carbon copied) to many people
You can see that the further away from direct face-to-face communication we
get the chances of a miss-understanding increase.
In person or “live” is the best way to deal with customers concerns, email should
be the last resort, especially when trying to resolve a concern or dealing with a
customer that is already angry.
If email is your only option for dealing with an angry customer here are some
tips:
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Restate the issue – show that you are aware of it
Ask for clarification in how would they would like the issue be resolved
Personalize the response with customer's name and your signature
Tell them how and when you will respond to the problem. Make sure you
get back to them when you said you would.
If resolving the issue is taking more time than you anticipated, provide the
customer with periodic updates – keep them in the loop.
Use a polite positive tone
Use “I” and “We” rather than “You”
Apologize when you are at fault
Wrap up and review – Module 8
We have investigated customer service from a number of different angles. We
looked at who our customers are from both an eternal view and internally.
A quick recap of our training objectives:
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Definition of a customer - We have defined the term customer as any
individual or group who has purchased/used, or is considering purchasing/using,
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a product or service from a company or organization. This also includes any
entity that uses or experiences the services of another.
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Identification of your host agency customers, both external and internal –
Hopefully, this has you thinking about some groups, organizations and coworkers that you never thought of previously as customers.
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Description of excellent customer service - We have established that
excellent customer service is the process by which businesses or organizations
deliver its services or products in a way that allows the customer to access them
in the most efficient, fair, cost effective, and humanly satisfying and pleasurable
manner possible
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Explain your role as an employee in providing the best customer service
possible – We looked at a number of issues and techniques related to providing
excellent customer service.
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Describe the steps to take when resolving customer issues and dealing
with angry customers – We now have a steps and tools we can use to resolve
customer issues and angry customers.
This concludes the Working in a Customer Service Culture course. Keep in mind
that every job has some element of customer service. The better you are at
providing excellent customer service improves your changes of employment,
and once employed, keeping the job.
Good luck.
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