Welcome to our free Customer Service tutorial. This tutorial is based on Webucator's Customer Service Training course.
There are many things that can be said about customer service, but one quote by Peter Drucker, management expert, rings particularly true:
"Quality in a service or product is not what you put into it. It is what the client or customer gets out of it." (http://www.customerservicepoint.com/customer-service-quotes.html)
Lesson Goals
Customer service is:
The goal of an organization should be that of positive customer interaction, resulting in satisfied customers and repeat business. The old adage of the "customer is always right" no longer applies, but that does not mean that customer service is a lost art. Even when customers are not right, they still deserve to be treated with respect and integrity.
Some things you can do to help you provide good customer service include:
In this exercise, please read the following scenario and then answer the following questions.
SCENARIO:
Martha was late arriving at work one morning and, when she arrived, she found a customer, Mr. Jones, waiting for her. Mr. Jones was obviously agitated about something. The following conversation took place:
Martha: Oh! Mr. Jones, I did not know you were coming in this morning.
Mr. Jones: Yes, I have been waiting for you for over ten minutes! Are you always this late for work?
Martha: That's really none of your concern, Mr. Jones. Now, what can I do for you?
QUESTIONS:
Not only are customers the people who pay you for your product or service, they are also the people you work with, the people you work for, and the people who work for you.
Colleagues, superiors, and subordinates depend on you just as you depend on them so it is important to provide good customer service to them as you go through your work day. Some effective methods of providing good customer service to your internal customers are:
Communication is key to providing excellent internal customer service. In a business environment in which individuals work together, agree on methods of doing business, and cooperate rather than compete with each other to achieve common goals, internal customer service plays a huge role. Some of the benefits of creating an environment where internal customer service is practiced daily include:
An external customer is an individual or organization that either uses or purchases your product or service. They have a choice when making the decision to purchase from your organization and they take their business elsewhere if they choose.
When thinking about your external customers, keep the following points in mind:
It is harder and more expensive to bring a customer back who was not happy with the treatment received than it is to maintain a positive relationship with current customers. As such, it is good business practice to make sure not only that your customers get the product or service they want, but that their experience is excellent. Happy customers will stick around and talk to others, and word of mouth advertising is not only the best advertising, it is the least expensive.
Negative news travels twice as fast as positive news. In order to ensure that word of mouth advertising is positive, follow these simple guidelines:
In this exercise, please respond to the following questions:
Customers come with all kinds of personalities. There are customers who:
No matter what kind of customer you are dealing with, the key is to treat him or her professionally and with respect.
The relationship with the customer needs to remain positive whenever possible. Following is a description of three kinds of customers and a discussion of how to handle each of them.
Characteristics of amiable customers include:
Strategies for working with amiable customers include:
Characteristics of aggressive customers include:
Strategies for working with aggressive customers include:
Assertive customers are often mistaken for aggressive customers. Assertive customers are direct, but generally much calmer when asking for something. They like quick resolution and direct answers and will not spend a lot of time chatting, but they are not apt to be rude or obnoxious.
When an aggressive customer does not achieve what he or she wants through simple aggressive behavior like using a raised voice or making unreasonable demands, his or her behavior might escalate into anger. Angry customers are very difficult to deal with because they are so involved with their angry emotions that it is hard to get through to them.
Strategies for working with angry customers include:
People respond to stress in different ways. While some people have a higher threshold for stress than others, all people deal with stress. Some guidelines to keep in mind for handling stress when working with customers are:
In this exercise, please respond to the following questions:
In this exercise, please review the following conversation that took place between Maria, a customer, and Raul, an employee.
Raul: Good afternoon. This is Raul. How may I help you?
Maria: This is the third time I have tried to contact your company. Your stupid computer answering system is completely impossible to get through! I want to talk to a human! Right now!
Raul: Hey, lady, I am a human! Now what do you want? We are really busy here, you know.
Maria: Look, young man, you don't have to be rude to me! I am a customer, and I have rights! Now, put someone on the phone who can help me!
Raul: I am on the phone with you now, but I can't help you unless you tell me what is wrong. So, what do you want?
Maria: Well, this is the last time I ever use the services your company provides! Good bye!
Raul: Good riddance!
Often what a customer says and what the customer really means are two different things. The same thing happens when we are talking about customer wants. It is important to listen carefully to customers to understand how their wants and needs relate to the products and services you have to offer.
For example, when you go to the cell phone store to purchase a new phone, the salesperson could:
If that salesperson is practicing good customer service skills, he or she not only will ask, but will also listen to your response and show you phones that will meet your needs.
Some questions to ask yourself when trying to determine what a customer wants include:
In this exercise, please respond to the following questions: