BEING GOOD AT WHAT YOU DO MAKES DOING IT A PLEASURE
You have covered a lot of ground in this book. Part I focused on putting your best face forward. You learned how to present yourself by using basic courtesies, communicating effectively, and building strong relationships.
Focused on putting your customers first. You learned special skills to handle customers in person, on the telephone, through the Internet, and in self-service settings. You even learned how to handle difficult customers.
Now, it is time to put it all together. You are on your way to giving great customer service. Where do you go from here?
CUSTOMER SERVICE IS BEING READY AND SET TO GO
Depending on your comfort level, you may either be ready to jump into the customer service fray with both feet, or you may only be ready to take your first steps. If you feel a little overwhelmed by all you have learned, you are not alone. Not everyone will be ready for that huge step. Do not feel embarrassed about first taking small steps. In fact, even if you feel confident that you are ready to apply everything you learned, it might be a good idea for you to focus on one area at a time so that you can turn each of these lessons into lifelong habits.
Review Your List of Learning Outcomes
If you feel unsure about any of the material, review the relevant again. Go back over any sections of the training until you feel comfortable applying the material to your customer situations. If you still feel uncomfortable with any of the steps, discuss them with your manager. To get the most out of this training, it is important that you feel confident with the total package.
Start with the Basics
Focus on the way you present yourself when people are forming their first impressions. Get used to using courtesy words and phrases: please, thank you, excuse me, I’m sorry, yes, and so on. When you find yourself using these words without conscious effort, turn your attention to your attitude.
Remember that your attitude includes how you talk to yourself, so always use positive words in your self-talk. Then, review the right way to handle ethical issues in Step 4 of Chapter 1 and form the habit of acting in an ethical manner in all situations.
When You Are Comfortable with the Basics,Focus on Communicating Effectively
Think before you speak, so you will say what you mean and mean what you say. Pay attention to the nonverbal messages you send by developing an awareness of your body language. Next, focus on your questioning skills. It may help to write down some sample open and closed questions that you will frequently use. Review them often so you will become comfortable using them. Remember that no matter what type of question a customer asks you, you should always try to give more than a one-word answer. Find ways to give your customers more than they ask for. When customers say no, find out the reason and offer the best solution based on each customer’s needs. Finally, and most importantly, listen actively. As your company’s communicator, listening is your most important skill to master. Unless you listen well, you are not going to know what is best for each customer.
Build Strong Relationships with Your Customers
Now that you have learned the nuts and bolts of communicating effectively, it is time to let your personality shine. Establish a rapport by being friendly and interested in your customers in order to find common ground. Once you establish a rapport, you will feel more comfortable interacting positively with your customers. Developing a comfort level will enable you to help each customer by identifying individual needs.
When you do these things, you will make your customers feel valued.
When customers feel valued, they are more likely to do repeat business with you and your company. The last thing you learned about relationships is that not all customers are the same. You learned how to deal with different personality types, people from different cultures, and people with disabilities. The most important thing to remember is to treat all your customers the way you like to be treated.
Practice Each of These Steps
Each step in the training is a building block you add to your customer service foundation. By the time you feel comfortable using all the principles learned in Part I, you have built a strong foundation. Practice using them not only at work, but also in your interactions with family and friends. Practice using them in situations in which you are the customer.
Learning how to behave courteously and communicate well will help you build positive relationships in all areas of your life.
Put Your Customers First
Practicing the skills you learned in Part I will help you take a huge step in the right direction, whether you handle customers face-to-face, by telephone, in self-service settings, or through Web-based transactions.
Forming a customer-first mindset is going to help you when you are confronted by a difficult customer. When you use courteous words, display appropriate behaviors, communicate effectively, and work to build strong relationships, you firmly cement your customer service skills so you can help any customer in any situation.
Warmly greeting customers helps them form a positive first impression, whether you are face to face with your customers or they are serving themselves. Conveying your willingness to help and maintaining a positive attitude helps you assist your customers whether you are e-mailing or speaking by phone. Finding the best solution for each customer and ensuring they are satisfied before ending your contacts will help you build solid relationships that result in loyal customers in every type of customer interaction.
Review These Steps Frequently
The more you use the principles you learned in Part I, the more comfortable and confident you will be when you apply them to the various types of customer contacts you learned in Part II. Reviewing the steps frequently helps you cement your foundation with a strong bond on which to build your customer service skills. If your foundation is built on anything but concrete principles, it can easily crumble at any time. You may fall into old habits. You may form poor habits. By reviewing each section of this training frequently, you guarantee you are maintaining a strong foundation of exceptional customer service habits.
YOUR CUSTOMER SERVICE TRAINING QUICK REFERENCE
Refer frequently to the quick reference list that follows to make sure you remember to follow all the lessons you learned.
The Basics
■ First impressions matter.
■ Courtesy counts.
■ Attitude is everything.
■ Do the right thing at all times.
Effective Communication
■ Say what you mean and mean what you say.
■ Pay attention to your body language.
■ Use correct grammar.
■ Ask the correct questions and answer the questions correctly.
■ When the customer says no, find out why.
■ Listen actively.
Relationship Building
■ Establish a rapport.
■ Interact positively with customers.
■ Identify customers’ needs.
■ Make customers feel valued.
■ Maintain ongoing relationships.
■ Learn how to handle different types of customers.
Face-to-Face Contacts
■ Greet the customer.
■ Help the customer.
■ End the transaction by thanking the customer.
Telephone Contacts
■ Listen completely.
■ Greet the customer.
■ Help the customer.
■ End the call by thanking the customer.
E-Commerce Contacts
■ Learn what the e-customer is looking for: legitimacy, trust, and dependability.
■ Be accessible.
■Write carefully so that you write what you mean to write.
■ When speaking with people in other countries, be mindful of cross-cultural etiquette.
Self-Service Contacts
■Greet the customer.
■ Look for opportunities to help.
■ End the transaction by thanking the customer.
Difficult Customer Contacts
■Determine the reason for the customer’s problem.
■Identify the root cause.
■Rectify the situation.
■Restore the relationship.
■ Fix what needs to be fixed.
No comments:
Post a Comment