Customer

Service
EndTerm Lesson 2
 Why Do You Need Customer
Service Skills?
• If the people don't come to your business then you will not have
a job. You want people to come back...and bring their friends!
To achieve this, you have to be a customer service professional.
• So, what is a customer service professional?
• Customer a person who buys goods or services from a shop or business*
• Service work, or the doing of work, for the community*
• Professional belonging to, or connected with a profession, 2 a- skillful,
competent, b- worthy of a professional (professional conduct)*
 Customer Service is like a game
of baseball...
1. It is possible to do everything right and still not win.
2. Your batting average will increase if you cover all your bases.
3. When customers return because they have been treated right,YOU
SCORE!
•Bases
•1st base send a positive attitude to others
•2nd base identify the needs of your customers
•3rd base provide for your customers needs
•Home Plate - the customers
•return!
To be a Customer Service
Professional you should:
 The Psychology behind good
customer relations
• Here are some secrets for creating good relationships with
customers even over the phone.
1. You get back the kind of behaviour you send out.
• When you send out a friendly signal to others, chances are good
they will respond with a friendly gesture of their own.
• The more friendly signals you transmit, (happy voice, upbeat
attitude) the more customers will like you.
• The more that customers like you, the easier they are to deal
with. It all starts with you.
2. You never get a second chance to make a first impression.
• Unfortunately negative first impressions are hard to overcome,
even harder when you can only help the person over the phone.
• Those who are good at customer relations are constantly alert to
tone and voice control as well as the actual words being spoken.
• Make sure your first impression does not require a difficult repair
job at a later date.
3. Customer relations experts are made not born.
• Everyone has enough potential to be good at customer
relations.
• All it takes is:
• a desire to serve
• training
• Stick with it and you will learn to excel.
4. You have the right stuff.
• There is no such thing as a set of specific personality traits
necessary to make you outstanding at customer service.
• Everyone can:
•smile
•be polite have a good service attitude
• Your special mix of personality traits, no matter what they are,
is all that you need. Learn to use the "stuff" you already possess.
5. It is natural for everyone to feel inadequate at times.
• An inferiority complex is the feeling that you are not as good
as other people. You believe that other people are better than
you.
• When you start to lose confidence remind yourself that you
look better to others than you think.
• Do something to improve your visual image. Get a new hair
style or buy a new tie. This works to improve your self
confidence and even improves you phone mannerisms.
6. Select a good role model.
• Once you have made the adjustment to your new job, find
a co-worker who is outstanding at customer service.
• Model some of your actions after this individual.
• You might even ask this person to help you.
7. Make the most of your personality differences.
• Customers will probably react in a positive manner to any unique
differences that you possess.
• Your customers may see what you believe is a disadvantage as an
advantage. Customers and your boss want you to be yourself.
Good Customer Relations = Good Business
The four basic needs
A customer needs to:
• Be understood
• Feel important
• Feel comfortable
• Feel welcome
 Three types of customer service
You have all been customers in your lifetime. You know when you are
getting good service and when you are getting terrible service. There
are three types of customer service. They include:

1. Type I - Rude
•The first type of customer service is rude. You know when you are
getting rude service. This is when the server treats you like you are
an inconvenience to them. If they make a mistake they accuse you
of causing it.
•If you ask a question they look at you as if to say "how dare you
disturb me". They are the ones lounging on the counter talking to
their friends or on the phone and ignoring you.
•Your goal is to never slip into rude service no matter how difficult
the customer is or how bad a day you are having.
2. Type II - Indifferent (they don't care)
•The second type of customer service is indifferent. This is when the
server greets you with a half-hearted smile, is very vague and never goes
out of their way to help you. You will get what you asked for, with
probably little help or assistance. You might get pointed in the right
direction.
•Indifference may be accepted the first time a customer comes into your
store, but with continued indifference you can guarantee they won't come
back.
•It is the extra things that attract customers and employees.
3. Type III – Hospitable
The third type of customer service is hospitable. This is your
goal as a customer service professional. A server who is in the
hospitable mode is the one who greets you with an
enthusiastic smile and a pleasant greeting. This server goes out
of his/her way to ensure that you are happy. This could include
helping you out to the car with your packages, getting a booster
seat for your child, giving a balloon to your restless child, or
helping you find the item you need by leading you to the
department it is in and showing you exactly where it is.
• This type of service is what it takes to get customers to return. They will
also return with friends. You have to be the best you can be. It is the little
things and the pleasant attitude that bring the customers back.
• Call Centres are different from the typical retail setting where a customer
comes into the store and you relate to them face to face. It is harder to
judge what kind of service you are getting over the phone because you
cannot see what the other person is doing. Most of the signs we pick up
on are from body language. When you are dealing with people over the
phone, you cannot rely on these signs to determine if you are being
treated fairly. The only thing you have to go by is voice and what is being
said. As a customer service representative you must make every effort to
sound hospitable and pleasant.
Know your product
• If you work in an Outbound Call Centre, your job is to call customers and sell
them a product or service. This type of position tends to be the most difficult
for people because they have to think fast and sell a product or service to
someone who isn’t always looking to buy. The most important aspect of
outbound sales is:
• If you know what you have and what it does it makes your job so much easier.
• Every product has features . . . the characteristics or parts.
• This leads to the benefits . . . what is in it for me.
Example:
• What - An answering machine has digital recording
• So What – you don’t have to worry about buying new tapes
• Customers buy the benefits – not the features

• Determining the needs of your customer

Finding out what the customer’s needs are and fulfilling those
needs is very important. Asking open ended questions to your
customer will help you find out what they are looking for.
• Who? How? Which?What? Where? When?
Sales
Ask the customer what they are looking for or what they need with the
following types of questions:
• Who is using the item?
• Which brand names do they trust? (not applicable if you only sell
one)
• How do they plan to use it?
• Where do they plan to use it?
In the short time that you communicate with the person on the other end of
the phone line, you must determine what their needs and desires are or any
problems that they face then use this information to sell your product or
service.
For example:
•A question you might ask – “What are you looking for in a delivery
service?”
•The answer – “We need someone who is reliable and trustworthy and can
deliver within 24 hours.”
•Your reply would then be to focus on these points with your company. Use
examples of your delivery times and the screening process your drivers go
through.
•“ABC Delivery Service prides itself on the extensive screening process our
drivers go through. They are monitored and assessed monthly, and we have
a no tolerance policy for unreliable service. With our new fleet of vans and
transports we can guarantee your packages arrive on time or you will get
your money back.”
Support
To determine what type of support the customer needs you
must first ask open ended questions. For example:
• Tell me about the problem (What)
• How often does it do it?
• When does it do it?
 The Upset Customer
A customer could be upset because he or she
 The upset customer wants...

• To be taken seriously
The customer does not want a response like, "You're kidding!", "No
way", or "You have to be joking!" The customer wants you to be
professional and confident and to respond seriously to concerns.
• To be treated with respect
The upset person doesn't want to be looked down upon. One does not
want to feel that you think you are a better person. This person
wants to be treated (and any concerns) with respect. This may be
difficult when the customer is clearly at fault but is trying to blame
your organization.
• Immediate action
The customer doesn't want you to look into it next month, next
week, or even tomorrow. The customer wants you to do
something now. Show you are concerned by moving briskly, no
matter how tired you are.
• Compensation
The upset customer wants someone to pay for the damage done,
and perhaps the time lost, inconvenience, or pain suffered.
• Someone to be reprimanded or punished
Assure the customer that corrective action will be taken, even if
you are not the supervisor. Discreetly report the incident to the
supervisor so that the problem can be explained to your co-
workers and avoid similar problems in the future.
• To clear up the problem so it never happens again
Sometimes the customer just wants to know that some action has
been put in motion so that no one will have this problem again.
Assure the customer you will report the problem to the person
who can take care of it.
• To be listened to
What an upset customer wants first is to be listened to. It is difficult
to listen carefully in tense situations.
• Angry customers
If your work requires that you deal with people, you will undoubtedly
run across angry or hostile customers. This is never an easy
situation to deal with, but by following a few simple guidelines, you
can make the situation as productive as possible. Prepare yourself
to be sworn at, made fun of, intimidated, threatened, and harassed.
Unfortunately, it seems to go with the territory. Customers come in
all shapes, sizes, and with various temperaments.
 Why do people react this way?
The reasons why people get angry at a business are varied, but mostly it
is
because they feel that they have not received what they feel is rightfully
theirs:
• the best price
• quality items
• good service
• fast service
• attention from staff
• This would make a lot of people angry; however, most people react
differently. Sure, we may get angry, and verbally let the person know
we are angry and dissatisfied with the service we have received, or
the product that we have purchased. Other customers may choose to
never shop in that particular store again, thereby avoiding the
situation altogether. And still others choose to react violently and
abusively. For each of these people, there is a story about why they
are so angry. Sometimes, they have learned that when they rant and
rave, they get what they want. Most of the world does not react this
way...but the ones who do really make it rough for everyone involved.
• Remember that you, as a customer service professional,
cannot make this person see that how they are responding
is inappropriate. Your job is to try to calm them down, and
if not, then to keep yourself and the other customers safe.
 To defuse a customer's anger

• respond slowly
• help the customer feel that he or she has a choice
• do not get angry
• recognize that all customers are individuals, not just
another sale
• put yourself in the customer’s situation
 How to deal with an angry
customer

• Don't get angry

• You need to stay in control of your emotions. Your anger
will only escalate the situation, and make the customer
more angry. It is hard when you feel that you are being
attacked, but if the situation is to be resolved, you need to
stay in a frame of mind where this can happen.
• breathe deeply and slowly
• stay cool
• Anger is an emotion we all have
Remember that anger is one of the many emotions that we feel. We
have the right to feel angry. Allow the customer the opportunity to
vent. When the customer feels like someone has listened to the
problem, he or she is more likely to participate in a solution.
• Why is the customer angry?
Usually when a customer is angry, it is because of feeling
unappreciated and helpless. It is a defense mechanism that is
activated when we feel attacked or wronged. It is your job to find
out why the customer is so angry.
• The source of the anger
Although the angry customer is directing the anger at you,
it is not personal. It usually has nothing to do with you, as
a person, but rather, you as an
employee of the business, that they have a problem with.
You represent the whole organization and are immediately
available to the customer.
• Anger vs. Aggression
If the customer becomes aggressive, then back away from the
situation. Aggression crosses the line from an expression of
anger to an intent to intimidate, hurt someone, or damage
something.
• Stay focused on solving the problem
The angry customer is unable to stay focused on finding a solution;
the customer is venting. It is your job to stay focused. Keep trying
to find an acceptable solution: a decision to be made or an action
that needs to be taken.
• Let the customer know that you understand what the
situation is
Listen to the customer and then present the situation as you hear it.
"You are angry because the toaster you bought last week is broken, and you
feel that it should be replaced. Is that the situation as you see it, Mr. Jones?"
This helps the customer re-focus on the situation and may begin to calm down.
Praise yourself for handling the situation.
Give yourself a pat on the back for having handled a difficult situation
appropriately.
• Seek help when necessary
Don't be afraid of calling in co-workers to help handle the
situation; sometimes just having someone within listening
distance is helpful. Unfortunately, angry customers are an
everyday part of dealing with people.
Don't take it personally. Just deal with them the best you can;
try and help them resolve the problem. Most important of
all, remember that you can not make every customer happy.
• Words that make a difference
The words you use with customers can either help
communication along or block it. The following are
examples of statements that will either “block”
communication with your customer or “help” the
communication.
 7 steps to handling a difficult
customer

1. Remain calm
Do not react with anger or tears. If you are getting to this
point, excuse yourself and take this time to calm down.
When excusing yourself, do it in a way that shows your
interest in serving the customer.
• "Excuse me a moment while I check the policy on this."
• "I would like to get my supervisor's opinion on this."
• "I need to verify some information in the file."
2. Allow the customer to express his/her concern
• Until a customer has had a chance to express her
concern, there is no point in interrupting. She won't hear
you anyway.
• Let her express her concern and listen for key points.
Keep eye contact with the customer.
3. Show you understand
Acknowledge the customer's emotions.
• "I understand that you are angry, I would be too."
4. Restate the problem
•After the customer has described their concerns, restate
the problem. It could be that you have interpreted the
situation quite differently from the customer.
5. Find agreement - get on their side
•Yes, I can see where the problem is. Let's see if we can fix
it."
6. Gently confront
Say the person's name at the beginning of your sentence. Most people
listen
when they hear their own names. Ask them nicely to let you help them.
7. Transfer or delay the customer
•Sometimes you can't do anything to calm a customer down. If this is the
case, pass him over to another employee or your supervisor. Be sure to
provide all the details. Often all it takes is a fresh face saying the same
things you have already stated.
 When customers are showing
impatience

When a customer begins to show impatience you should:

• Remain cool and efficient
• Pick up your speed
• Smile more and say less
• Thank them for waiting