Critical Elements of Customer Service
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Critical Elements of Customer Service
Increasing Your Assertiveness
18 June 2010
One difficulty we may face is our need to act assertively. Speaking assertively doesn’t mean getting aggressive, angry, or disrespectful. Assertive behavior is just standing up for personal rights and acting in ways that express thoughts, feelings, and beliefs in direct, honest, and appropriate ways that don’t violate others’ rights.
There is an assertiveness formula that can help when we aren’t sure how to tell others how we think or feel and how we would like them to behave. There are several variations to this formula, and the formula doesn’t work in all situations, but it can be useful.
When you (specific behavior)
I feel (specific feelings)
I would appreciate it if you (suggested change of behavior)
Example: “When you don’t speak to me in the mornings, I feel like I have done something to make you angry. I’d like you to smile and say good morning so I know you are not angry with me.”
Think of situations where you could use this formula. Practice the wording to yourself, and then try it out in a fairly non-stressful situation and see how it works. Like most things, it gets easier with practice.
You don’t have to act assertively in every situation. And this formula isn’t the only way to deal with difficult or stressful situations. For example, most of us hate being criticized, but rather than become defensive, or react assertively, as in, “When you…I feel…I want…”
Allow the criticism to prick your curiosity. Ask questions like, “Why do you feel that way?” or, “What exactly do you mean when you say I’m not playing fair?”
To review the complete workshop for
Critical Elements of Customer Service:
click here
Telephone Techniques
18 June 2010
One difficulty we may face is our need to act assertively. Speaking assertively doesn’t mean getting aggressive, angry, or disrespectful. Assertive behavior is just standing up for personal rights and acting in ways that express thoughts, feelings, and beliefs in direct, honest, and appropriate ways that don’t violate others’ rights.
There is an assertiveness formula that can help when we aren’t sure how to tell others how we think or feel and how we would like them to behave. There are several variations to this formula, and the formula doesn’t work in all situations, but it can be useful.
When you (specific behavior)
I feel (specific feelings)
I would appreciate it if you (suggested change of behavior)
Example: “When you don’t speak to me in the mornings, I feel like I have done something to make you angry. I’d like you to smile and say good morning so I know you are not angry with me.”
Think of situations where you could use this formula. Practice the wording to yourself, and then try it out in a fairly non-stressful situation and see how it works. Like most things, it gets easier with practice.
You don’t have to act assertively in every situation. And this formula isn’t the only way to deal with difficult or stressful situations. For example, most of us hate being criticized, but rather than become defensive, or react assertively, as in, “When you…I feel…I want…”
Allow the criticism to prick your curiosity. Ask questions like, “Why do you feel that way?” or, “What exactly do you mean when you say I’m not playing fair?”
To review the complete workshop for Critical Elements of Customer Service: click here
17 June 2010
One of the biggest misconceptions on the phone is that people can’t see your expressions. However, this is not always the case. Our voice and tone can convey exactly what our face is expressing. What types of telephone calls do you make? Respond to?
The most important thing to remember about telephone communication is your tone. The reason is that tone accounts for 87% of how the receiver interprets your message. Your words account for only 12% of the response, and body language counts for only 1%.
(Source: “Silent Messages” by Albert Mehrabian)
The Initial Greeting
Identify the organisation, the department, and yourself. Be careful about verbal shorthand or internal jargon. Don't make the caller say, "Is this Bute Learning and Development?" or "To whom am I speaking?" By the tone of a few words, you can convey a friendly welcome, which will imply your willingness to be helpful. As well, you should always personalise service.
What are the situations you should keep in mind when you answer your phones?
• The person they want isn’t there.
• You have to transfer a call.
• You have to put a caller on hold, give progress reports, and return to the line.
• You have to take a message.
Active Listening
16 June 2010
Active listening has three stages:
• Non-verbal communication
• Cues
• Paraphrasing, clarifying, summarizing
Here are some tips:
• As people talk to you, mentally say to yourself: “Which means that...”
• Be clear in your own mind what you hope to achieve.
• Take the lead in conversations wherever possible. This gives you the psychological advantage, and you are in the stronger position to direct the conversation along lines that are favourable to you.
• Check your understanding with your six helpers: why, what, where, when, who, how?
• Talk less than you listen.
• Try silence.
Remember that when we are delivering any message, only 7% of that message is our words. The rest is our tone of voice and our non-verbal body language.
(Source: Active Listening by Carl R. Rogers and Richard E. Farson)
What are Standards?
15 June 2010
Standards, or expectations, or targets, are good, because they give us something to strive for, they tell us what we have to do to have our supervisors/managers say our work is satisfactory.
However, we should make certain that our standards are meeting or exceeding the expectations of our customers. And the only way to do this is to ask our customers, on an ongoing basis, if they are satisfied with the service.
A carpenter who believed he did good work for his customers, because he always completed jobs to their specifications and satisfaction, although he did not necessarily complete jobs to their satisfaction the first time round. Only when he checked with his customers did he discover that they really preferred work that was completed right the first time round. Suddenly, customer service and customer satisfaction took on a different meaning for him.
To review the complete workshop for
Critical Elements of Customer Service:
click here
What is customer service?
14 June 2010
One definition of customer service is how you treat the people who support your company. These can be paying customers or internal staff. (For example, a company’s IT department probably doesn’t have paying customers, but they are still responsible for providing good customer service to internal staff.)
Why is it important?
We know why keeping customers happy is important to small businesses, but why be so concerned about service in a large place? Who will know? Customers know. If they stop coming here, we could all be out of a job.
What’s in it for me?
Good service will make you feel better about your job and make you feel better about yourself. Think of the customers as the reason you have a job. If you don’t service them properly, you may lose your job.
In some cases, customer displeasure can quickly become customer animosity. This animosity can snowball. As customers come to expect that they will be treated poorly, they will in fact begin to treat the employees poorly (in self-defense); the attacked employee fights back, and the stress on both parties mounts.
Some results of stress on employees and the organisation include:
• Increased stress-related illness
• Employee burn out and absenteeism
• Higher turnover (people quit)
• Cost and inconvenience of training replacement employees
• Increased difficulty in attracting good employees to the job
• Negative public view of the organization
• Lower sense of pride in the organization
• Lower sense of self-worth among employees
• Increased defensiveness in employees which can lead to even more stress.
People who provide good customer service (regardless of the nature of their business) earn psychological benefits in addition to any rewards offered by their company.
If you are unhappy in your job, take an objective look at the kind of service you are giving. In almost every case, your job satisfaction mirrors the satisfaction people feel when doing business with you. Giving poor service is a way of beating up on yourself.
To review the complete workshop for Critical Elements of Customer Service: click here