WELL-TRAINED EMPLOYEES ARE THE KEY TO SATISFIED CUSTOMERS
Why is customer service training important? The answer is simple: treating your customers well is essential to your company and to your job.
Learning how to give exceptional customer service is necessary for any business to succeed.
What can happen if customer service is not important to a business?
PICTURE THIS: THE WRONG WAY TO HANDLE CUSTOMERS
Kris began a new job working in a gift shop. She enjoyed stocking shelves and arranging merchandise in the display cases and window. She also got along well with her coworkers and manager, who joked around and had a good time. They even had an inside joke that it would be nice if customers did not bother them. When a customer came in, they would busy themselves with their “real work,” ignoring the shopper until they were asked for help; they would then make jokes in the back room about who got stuck handling the customer.
After Kris had been working in the shop a few months, she noticed that fewer customers were coming in than when she first started. Business was dropping off. The employees enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere and had more time to joke around.
One day their manager held a meeting. She told the employees that their sales had been declining to the point that without sufficient sales revenue the company could not afford to keep all of them. Not long afterward, Kris and most of the other employees were let go.
Kris was upset. She liked working in the gift shop because it was so much fun. But she was upset for the wrong reason. Had it not been for the attitude she and her coworkers shared, the shop may not have lost business and have had to let employees go. Having fun on the job is fine, but Kris did not understand the most important rule of working in the customer service field:
CUSTOMERS = REVENUE = WAGES = EMPLOYEES.
Customer service training is important because customers have many choices. If they are not happy with the way they are treated, they can take their business elsewhere, as did the customers in the scenario above.
Customers are the Reason You Have a Job!
If Kris and her coworkers had been taught this simple principle, they would have treated their customers differently.
PICTURE THIS: THE RIGHT WAY TO HANDLE CUSTOMERS
Kris began a new job working in a gift shop. On her first day, her manager trained Kris on her job duties, which included stocking shelves and arranging merchandise in the display cases and window. Her most important job, her manager stressed, was to help customers when they came in. No matter what Kris was doing, when a customer came in, she was to focus her attention on helping that customer. Her manager specifically explained the procedures and expectations for helping customers from the time they walked into the shop until the time they left.
Kris enjoyed stocking shelves and arranging merchandise in the display cases and window. She also got along well with her coworkers, who joked around and had a good time. When customers came in, they were given top priority, no matter what the employees were doing. Because the manager explained the importance of customers, Kris and her coworkers understood that helping customers was their most important job.
The manager held weekly group meetings. She kept the group up to date on sales revenue data, consistently discussed the importance of customer service, and praised exceptional behavior.
Kris enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere, where everyone worked to achieve the clearly stated company goals. Kris found tremendous job satisfaction helping customers in the gift shop.
Whether your manager purchased this book for a training class, you purchased this book to improve your skills, or you are using it for a class in school, you are going to learn how to present yourself well and how to handle different types of customers in varying situations.
Before you begin your training classes or reading the book, it will be beneficial to identify your personal needs and define learning outcomes.
This will help you prepare for learning new skills, enable you to get the most out of the material, and help you self-monitor after training.
IDENTIFY YOUR PERSONAL NEEDS AND DEFINE LEARNING OUTCOMES
Think about your typical customer contacts. Which types of customers or customer interactions are you uncomfortable handling? For example, are you unsure how to talk to customers who are upset and confront you in an angry tone? Make a list of any areas in which you need improvement or guidance.
Now, think about your job from a technical standpoint. What must you learn to do your job effectively? Make a list of those areas in which you need additional training. Before you begin your customer service training, give this list to your manager and ask for the technical training you need. You must feel comfortable with your job duties before you can feel comfortable helping each customer.
Finally, think about what you want to gain from training. Make a list of learning outcomes. Turn your areas of improvement into learning outcomes by rephrasing them as positive statements. For example, not knowing how to deal with customers who are angry could be written as a learning objective: turn irate customers into satisfied ones.
PREPARE FOR THE TRAINING SESSION
Whether you are a student in a class or working through the material on your own, reading and learning puts you into a different routine. When you are used to working with customers and coworkers, staying alert when you sit, read, and work through a book can be difficult. Make the most of the training sessions by:
■Getting enough sleep the night before training.
■Eating a healthy breakfast.
■Knowing what to expect during the class.
■Taking deep breaths when you feel drowsy.
■Standing and stretching when you feel sleepy.
■Taking a short walking break when you feel ready to nod off.
GET THE MOST OUT OF THE MATERIAL
As you work through each chapter, relate what you are reading to the type of customer interactions you have. You may choose to focus on a specific customer scenario. If you do, use the blank pages in to write down a typical customer request. You can refer to this scenario when answering the Practice Lesson questions.
■General chapter information
■ “The Wrong Way To ________________”
■Overview of the key points that will be covered in the chapter
■Next, each key point is explained step by step in an in-depth manner, followed by “The Right Way To ________________.”
Note: In “The Right Way To,” the same scenario is used several times within each chapter. Each scenario shows an outcome that builds on the steps presented in the chapter. The final “Picture
This: Putting It All Together” recaps the scenario, with the best approach to customer service.
■Business Not As Usual
■Summary of Key Points and Steps
■Practice Lesson
■Doing It Right!
■ How Do I Measure Up?
In addition, each chapter contains handy tips and “Brainstorm” topics, which are designed for workgroup or classroom discussions.
If you are learning on your own, read through a chapter, then review the key points and steps. If you feel comfortable with the material, work the Practice Lesson.
Make sure you understand the material before moving on. Give yourself time to practice the steps in each chapter before proceeding.
SELF-MONITOR AFTER TRAINING
Review your list of learning outcomes. Do you feel comfortable that you have mastered each? If not, review the relevant chapters again. Then, if you still feel uncomfortable or unsure, talk to your manager so together you can turn areas requiring improvement into strengths.
Most importantly, enjoy the work you do. Your customers and coworkers depend on you to be your best.
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