CUSTOMER SERVICE , SOFT

SKILLS AND CALL HANDLING

SKILLS
THE 22 SOFT SKILLS ESSENTIAL FOR GREAT
RESULTS

We’re all in the same business – customer service. Whether

we are talking on the phone, meeting customer face-to-
face, or working behind the scenes, delivering adequate
customer service is often not done the way it should be.
Always remember if we don’t give excellent customer
service, the competition might. Here is a list of of 22
identifiable soft skills necessary for success. Evaluate them
in order that’s most important to you and reflect on how it
will affect your delivery of Customer Service

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 SKILL SETS ORDER OF IMPORTANCE

Leadership

Employee Development / Coaching

Teamwork

Conflict Management

Interpersonal Skills

Problem solving

Creativity / Innovaion

Written communication

Customer service

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 SKILL SETS ORDER OF IMPORTANCE

Flexibility

Goal orientation

Planning / organization

Diplomacy

Personal effectiveness

Presenting

Negotiation

Persuasion

Empathy

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Continuous Learning 4
 SKILL SETS ORDER OF IMPORTANCE

Decision Making

Self-Management

How do you plan on developing these skill sets in

yourself?

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 What is Customer Service

• Doing ordinary things extraordinarily well

• Going beyond what’s expected
• Adding value and integrity to every interaction
• Being at your best with every customer
• Discovering new ways to delight your customer
• An operating philosophy that permeates all
departments of an organisation

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 INTERNAL & EXTERNAL CUSTOMERS

Internal customers :
• Your colleagues and your co-workers
• They make things happen for your
organization
• They may never meet a customer face-to-face
but their contribution is vital for e-plus
customer satisfaction

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External Customer:

• Your company’s source of revenue

• They buy your products or services
• There would be no business without them

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 Core and More Service

Today a customer has many choices. If he/she

doesn’t like a product/service he has others to
choose from. This has driven competition
(who in addition to what they actually sell by
way of product or service) to add something
extra to attract buyers.

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Core Service:

The product/service offered by your organization

It answers the question “ What?”
Customers except at the very least a Core Service
It gives the customers what they want
When a core service does not meet the customer’s expectations,
loyalty is gone

What is the Core Service offered by your company?

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More Service:
It answers the question “ How?”
It supports, complements and adds value to the Core Service
It forms the Core Service while building a relationship
It exceeds the Customers’ expectations
It ensures brand loyalty

What is the more service offered by your company?

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 The Moment of Truth
A Moment of Truth is an episode in which a customer comes
into contact with any aspect of the company and therby has
an opportunity to form an impression of it. Body language,
Voice tone and the words you use are equally important in
customer contact.

We have at least 30 seconds to make the first impression.

“People don’t care how much you know till they know how
much you care.”

The Moment of Truth is established in the first 4 minutes of

meeting a customer.
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Disney has taken the small moments of truth to a higher level. They
understood the importance that these small moments of truth
have on their consumers. They train their cast members (Disney’s
term for employees) to acknowledge the guest (Disney’s term for a
customer) with a smile or facial expression if within ten feet. If the
cast member gets within five feet of the guest, they are to
acknowledge them verbally. All of the little moments of truth
combined with the major ones, with the addition of the product or
service your organization is selling, add to the overall level of
customer satisfaction.

How can you make the MOT a great one for you and your company? Do you
think it’s important? Why?

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________________________________________
 Customer Service Skills
In addition to the 22 skills we dealt with earlier, the list below focuses
on 11 skills that you need to develop quickly, before you hit thr floor.

1. Active Listening
2. Establishing & building rapport
3. Empathy skills
4. Problem resolution skills
5. Managing customer expections
6. Identifying customer needs quickly
7. An assertive telephone manner
8. Probing skills
9. Complaint handling
10.Controlling the call
11.Dealing with Angry and Abusive Customers
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1. Active Listening

Often customers might not verbalize concerns or fears, but it

will certainly come out in their voices. Listed below are
some of the emotional overtones you might hear even if
they are not actually said. Do you have any of your own to
contribute?

• Worry
• Doubt
• Fustration
• Disappointment
• Anger
• Embarrassment
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Merely listening does not complete the
communication process. The speaker needs to
KNOW you are listening, so please let them know
you are so that there’s no “dead air”.

You could use Verbal Responses Called “Door Openers”, such

as :

“ Really ”
“ Uh- huh ”
“ Interesting ”
“ You don’t say …”
“ How about that!”
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Then, there are stronger expressions, which convey an invitation
to say more and also indicate a real interest on the part of the
listner, such as:

“ Tell me what happened ”

“ Let’s go over that ”
“ Go ahead,I’am listening ”
“ This sounds like something important ”
“ What did you do then? ”
“ What did he say when you said that? ”

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3. Empathy Skills

Empathy is about rapport and openness between

people. When it is absent, people are less likely
to consider your needs and feelings. The best way
to build empathy is to help the other person feel
that they are understood. That means being an
active listener and not getting caught in the
“Sympathy Trap”.

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Aim of speaker to talk about the problem.

Task of listener to acknowledge their feelings, to help them hear what they are
saying.
Here you are recognizing that the other person would be helped by you taking time
to hear their problem.

Listen attentively to the other person who will benefit from having their problem
acknowledged by you.

Reflect Back to the other person, their feelings, and perhaps the content of the
problem with a single statement of acknowledgment periodically.

Empathy Phrases you can use:

I can see why you’d be annoyed….
You have a right to be concerned about….
I don’t blame you for being anxious….
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I can’t imagine how disappointed you must be…..
 4.Problem Resolution Skills
 The win-win approach
Identify attitude shifts to respect all parties’ needs.

 Creative response
Transform problems into creative opportunities.

 Empathy
Develop communication tools to build rapport.Use listening to clarify understanding.

 Appropriate assertiveness
Apply stratergies to attack the problem not the person.

 Co-operative power
Eliminate “ power over ” to build “ power with ” others.

 Managing Emotions
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Express fear, anger, hurt and fustration wisely to effect change .
 Willingness to resolve
Name business issues that cloud the picture.

 Mapping the conflict

Define the issues needed to chart common needs and concerns.

 Development of options
Design creative solutions together.

 Introduction to mediation
Help conflicting parties to move towards solutions.

 Broadening perspectives
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 Evaluate the problem in its broader context

Problem solving Phrases you can use:

May I explain the situation?

I think you’ll agree….
That information will speed things for you…
Which option would you prefer?
Let me share with you the options we have….
Here’s one way we can work this out…
There are a couple of things we can do for you right away….

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 5.Managing Customer Expectations

If you’re a service provider, customer expectations can pose a major

challenge. That’s because expectations are wondrous creatures:
They grow, they shrink, they change shape and they change
direction. They shift constantly, and they shift easily. How satisfied
(or dissatisfied) your customers are is determined by these
expectations and your performance in meeting them.

If expressed as a calculation, customer satisfaction might look

something like this:

Customer satisfaction = Your performance = Customer

Expectations

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Every customer has 2 kinds of expectations:
a) Business
b) Personal

When I am a Customer, I want…..

 To be taken seriously
 Knowledgeable help
 Competen, efficient service
 Friendliness
 Anticipation of my needs
 To be kept informed
 Explainations in my terms
 Follow-through
 Basic courtesies
 Honesty
 To be informed of the options
 Feedback
 Not to be passed around
 Professional service
 To be listened to ( and heard )
 Empathy
 Dedicated attention
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 Respect
 6.Identifying Customer Needs quickly

When customer call what they want is prompt resolution.

 Ask only one questions at a time

 Ask specific questions to get specific answers
 Speak confidently – do not ramble
 Wait until your coustomer has answered before jumping in

This exercise helps you manage the length of the customer

call by focusing on the customer’s needs.

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How well did you listin to the customer? The
customer’s needs are:

1. Wants to discuss billing

2. Wants to talk to Manish
3. Wants to buy some items on page 16 & 17
4. Wants to know is the sale is still on
5. Wants to discuss the item numbers

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 7. An Assertive Telephone Manner

You are the first point of customers, a critical

component in how customers judge an
organization, and ultimately whether they’ll want
to do business with that organization. When a
customer hears you first say “ HELLO”, he wants
to hear a professional voice that says, “ What’s
the concern?” and “ This is what I can do for
you.” ( More on this later )

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 8.Probing Skills

Probing skills go beyond mere questioning. Base level

questioning involves Close ended and Open ended questions

Close ended questions begin with : ‘Did you?’ , ‘Would

you?’ , ‘Have you?’ , etc. These can be answered with a ‘Yes’
or ‘No’ response.
Open ended questions begin with ‘How’ , ‘Where’ , ‘What’ ,
‘When’ , ‘Who’ , and ‘Why’

These would possibly elicit some information

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 10.Controlling the Call
Often customers are lonely and love to ramble on. Sometimes, they’re just
plain talkative. How can you, as a CSR control the call and yet not hurt their
feelings by cutting them off rudely? The best way is to bring them back to
business by using appropriate phrases:

 This is another example of

 This reinforces what I said earlier about….
 Let me re-emphasize something I said earlier…
 Let me go back to something I said earlier about this issue….
 Let review the facts once again….
 I think we can take it one step at a time….
 The real issue here is…..

Use them appropriately.

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 11.Dealing with anger

Angry Customers are a CSR’s nightmare. They

needn’t be. As soon as you hear an angry voice,
activate your ‘Attitude Button’. Understand that
you are not personally being attacked. The
customer is angry not at YOU, but at what did not
happen for HIM/HER. Follow these steps:

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H Hear the complaint. By letting the customer vent
and let off stream without you interrupting
minimizes the volatile effect of his anger.

E Empathize. Let the customer know you understand

why he is upset.Avoid phrases like ”I understand”.
This might spark a frssh bout of anger. Instead try
saying “This must be very upsetting’, “This reality
shouldn’t have happened” etc.

A Agree. A mistake has been made. Take ownership.

Don’t shift blame.

R Respond: quickly and appropriately.

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 Dealing with customer Abuse

Often angry customers may turn abusive if expectations have not been
met and resolutions have not been as fast or accurate as expected.
None of this has been your fault, but you must take ownership. So
activate that “Attitude Button” again and follow thease steps:
1. Tell the customer you are willing to help him,but without abuse.
(He continues)
2. Repeat yourself and tell him if he dosen’t discontinue his abuse you
will have to end the call. (He continues )
3. End the call.

It is very important to find out your company’s policy on handling

abuse.

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 PROFESSIONAL TELEPHONE ETIQUETTE
Often a client’s first contact with business is by phone. The
following guidelines will help to make the first impression a good
one. Most of this etiquette can be used in personal
conversations as well as your organization. Professionalism is
polite, thoughtful, efficent, educated and valuable at all the
times. Remember your voice is your most valuable asset. Use it
well. Sound professional and upbeat ON EVERY CALL !

Your Greeting:
Answer within three rings

Announce your organization’s names

Announce your name
Offer assistance
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 HAVE A GOOD DAY
AND HAPPY
SERVICING

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