Service Matters
Real People discuss Real Ideas that affect the foundation
for customer service issues and challenges.
©Telephone Doctor, Inc, St. Louis, MO www.telephonedoctor.com
What motivates you to excel?
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What motivates you to excel?
Benefits include promotions, accolades and
repeat business.
Being competitive gives
you an edge, helps you
to excel.
A sincere desire to want to help people
Doing a great job results in a
high job satisfaction.
©Telephone Doctor, Inc, St. Louis, MO www.telephonedoctor.com
What motivates you to excel?
Performing at a high level
can lead to promotions.
At the end of the day,
doing your best means no
regrets.
Our goal is to develop a
loyal customer base.
Human nature: a positive service
experience makes you feel good.
©Telephone Doctor, Inc, St. Louis, MO www.telephonedoctor.com
What motivates you to excel?
Desire:
wanting to
provide your
customer with
a very positive
experience.
Finding new
customers is far
more expensive
than retaining
your existing
clients.
Build your reputation as a world class service provider.
©Telephone Doctor, Inc, St. Louis, MO www.telephonedoctor.com
What’s in it for you?
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What’s in it for you?
You represent your organization’s name and
brand to that customer.
Great customer service is all about the desire to
assist others.
Delivering excellent service is a reflection on the
way you choose to live your life.
Doing a great job can lead to raises and
promotions.
Helping others resolve problems can be a strong
source of personal satisfaction.
©Telephone Doctor, Inc, St. Louis, MO www.telephonedoctor.com
What’s in it for you?
Delivering excellent service can lead to career growth and endurance.
Work to help your department or team be successful.
Personal rewards include paychecks and satisfaction of being employed.
Also, financial independence, benefits, perks, vacations, rewards and awards
©Telephone Doctor, Inc, St. Louis, MO www.telephonedoctor.com
What advice would you offer a
new person?
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What advice would you offer a new person?
You’re there to resolve the issue for your customer.
Don’t take customer service challenges personally.
It’s not what you say, but how you say it that matters most.
Demonstrate that you truly care about your customer.
©Telephone Doctor, Inc, St. Louis, MO www.telephonedoctor.com
What advice would you offer a new person?
You must sell yourself before
you sell your service or product.
Being successful at assisting customers will make your job easier.
Delivering exceptional service is both rewarding and fun.
Job satisfaction: you get out of it exactly
what you put into it.
©Telephone Doctor, Inc, St. Louis, MO www.telephonedoctor.com
What does taking ownership mean
to you?
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What does taking ownership mean to you?
Taking ownership means making a personal commitment to help find a
resolution.
Ownership means acting and operating as if you owned a business.
Your issue is my issue.
Follow up means checking back with the customer after the problem has been
resolved.
©Telephone Doctor, Inc, St. Louis, MO www.telephonedoctor.com
What does taking ownership mean to you?
Be accountable and operate with the highest level of integrity as if no one is
listening.
Reliability: the customer is counting
on you to help guide them to a
resolution.
Take the ball and run with it, with the
customer.
Ownership means being responsible for the success or failure of that
particular situation.
©Telephone Doctor, Inc, St. Louis, MO www.telephonedoctor.com
How do you build rapport?
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How do you build rapport?
Rapport building means establishing a strong connection with that
customer that isn’t necessarily business related.
Be aware of areas of common interest with your customer.
When possible, keep notes concerning your customer.
Be aware of Rapport Building Opportunities in client profiles and notes.
Clients will appreciate your efforts to build rapport.
©Telephone Doctor, Inc, St. Louis, MO www.telephonedoctor.com
How do you build rapport?
Rapport building can lead to
more loyal customers.
Listening skills are a key
part to building rapport.
Work to build your customer’s
confidence level.
First few seconds are critical in rapport
building.
Enthusiasm plays a big role in delivering
excellent service.
©Telephone Doctor, Inc, St. Louis, MO www.telephonedoctor.com
How do you build rapport?
Genuine enthusiasm will help you come across as sincere and caring.
Customers contact us to get help or get a matter resolved.
Improve service by being aware of different customer personality types.
Vary your approach to best
suit that customer’s needs.
©Telephone Doctor, Inc, St. Louis, MO www.telephonedoctor.com
How do you handle bad days?
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How do you handle bad days?
It’s not the customer’s concern if you’re having a bad day.
Treat conversations as if it’s the only time that client interacts with your
organization.
Use humor to
combat negative
emotions.
Try to never let a customer know you’re having a bad day.
Keep a visual reminder handy to help you
mentally counter challenging situations.
©Telephone Doctor, Inc, St. Louis, MO www.telephonedoctor.com
How do you handle bad days?
Visual reminders can
include photos of family,
vacation spots or
something you aspire
for.
Viewing past awards and accolades will remind you of your excellent
performance level.
When you walk into the office, leave negative emotions at the door.
Compartmentalize personal challenges to keep
them from affecting work performance.
©Telephone Doctor, Inc, St. Louis, MO www.telephonedoctor.com
How do you handle bad days?
For high performing service professionals,
bad days are simply not allowed.
Delivering great service is similar to being on
stage.
Deliver an excellent performance each and
every time you interact with a customer.
Excellent customer service should be delivered
consistently throughout your day.
Your last interaction of the day could be the
customer’s first interaction with your company.
©Telephone Doctor, Inc, St. Louis, MO www.telephonedoctor.com
How do you handle varying
customer styles?
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How do you handle varying customer styles?
Mirroring: attempting to match the communication style of your customer.
Individual styles can include
things like rate of speech,
volume, emotions and use of
humor.
Attempt to relate to your customer
and tailor your delivery to their
style.
Service professionals should be like
chameleons: willing to adapt to whatever is
needed.
©Telephone Doctor, Inc, St. Louis, MO www.telephonedoctor.com
How do you handle varying customer styles?
Process of gaining awareness and understanding by processing information
There could be
times when
mirroring isn’t
appropriate.
Do your best to
relate and show
that customer a
willingness to
assist.
Matching your customer’s style can help put you on the same level.
©Telephone Doctor, Inc, St. Louis, MO www.telephonedoctor.com
Is the customer always right?
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Is the customer always right?
The customer is always right – in their own mind.
It’s not in anyone’s best interest to tell a customer they are wrong.
“No” is one of the most dangerous words in customer service.
Learn to convey “no” without actually saying it.
Don’t tell customers what you can’t do, tell them what you can do.
©Telephone Doctor, Inc, St. Louis, MO www.telephonedoctor.com
Is the customer always right?
Strive to find a way to satisfy the customer.
Conduct yourself as if it’ll be tomorrow’s headline.
Making the customer feel they are right is key.
In the customer’s mind, they are right.
The artful part of customer service is
conveying policy in a fair and measured
way.
©Telephone Doctor, Inc, St. Louis, MO www.telephonedoctor.com
Is the customer always right?
Try to arrive at a conclusion which is fair for both
parties.
Ask yourself, can I afford to lose this customer?
Put yourself in your customer’s shoes.
Be fair to the customer as well as your organization.
Explain the “whys” behind the “whats.”
©Telephone Doctor, Inc, St. Louis, MO www.telephonedoctor.com
How do you demonstrate you
care?
©Telephone Doctor, Inc, St. Louis, MO www.telephonedoctor.com
How do you demonstrate you care?
Active listening means providing feedback to let the customer know
you’re paying attention.
Be aware of subtle clues which disclose the true needs of your customer.
A smile can definitely be heard through a phone conversation.
You are the source of the success of that interaction.
Truly caring about that customer is key to providing great service.
©Telephone Doctor, Inc, St. Louis, MO www.telephonedoctor.com
How do you demonstrate you care?
Asking lots of questions will
help you learn needs and
provide the right solutions.
Customers appreciate hearing their name when used in a sincere
manner.
Work to show your customer how important they are to you and your
organization.
When possible, personalize the interaction
with details from the customer’s profile.
©Telephone Doctor, Inc, St. Louis, MO www.telephonedoctor.com
If you were hiring your
replacement, which traits would
you look for?
©Telephone Doctor, Inc, St. Louis, MO www.telephonedoctor.com
If you were hiring your replacement, which traits would
you look for?
Ownership means it’s mine. I’ll follow through,
find a resolution and keep you in the loop.
Communication is key: listen and make
yourself understood.
Be an advocate who has a vested interest in
an outcome which is positive for the
customer.
Be analytical, a problem solver, a good
listener helps to provide solutions.
©Telephone Doctor, Inc, St. Louis, MO www.telephonedoctor.com
If you were hiring your replacement, which traits would
you look for?
Abstract thinking is important because
many solutions don’t go according to
plan.
Multi-tasking is having the ability to deal
with many activities while performing at a
high level.
Confidence, personality and a great sense
of humor are important traits in service
delivery.
Use your sense of humor to help set the customer at ease.
Being enthusiastic and enjoying what you do
will help you succeed.
©Telephone Doctor, Inc, St. Louis, MO www.telephonedoctor.com
Excellent customer service:
Natural or learned?
©Telephone Doctor, Inc, St. Louis, MO www.telephonedoctor.com
Excellent customer service: Natural or learned?
Some people are naturals but excellent service skills can be learned.
Be willing to work hard and model yourself after people who are already
successful.
Cornerstones: desire, building rapport, being accessible and offering solutions.
People who are open to
coaching, teaching and
mentoring can learn the
needed skills.
©Telephone Doctor, Inc, St. Louis, MO www.telephonedoctor.com
Excellent customer service: Natural or learned?
The customer service
profession offers valuable
feedback from clients and
managers.
Having a great personality doesn’t necessarily translate into providing
excellent customer service.
Attributes such as listening skills or not taking things personally make a
big difference.
Desire to do a good job is extremely important.
©Telephone Doctor, Inc, St. Louis, MO www.telephonedoctor.com
Excellent customer service: Natural or learned?
Having a willingness to assist and serve others is critical.
Education, when combined with the desire, will yield excellent results.
Role playing and practice will develop and sharpen skills.
While some people are naturals, everyone benefits from training.
©Telephone Doctor, Inc, St. Louis, MO www.telephonedoctor.com
Service Matters
Get more satisfaction from your job and a brighter future
for your organization and for yourself!
©Telephone Doctor, Inc, St. Louis, MO www.telephonedoctor.com