Customer Service

Providing Excellent Customer Service:

The Objective of our Customer Service training program is to provide you with the knowledge to improve your ability to achieve customer service excellence by meeting and/or exceeding customers’ expectations during customer calls and interactions.  We will discuss the following:

Introduction – What is Customer Excellent Service?

It is providing assistance and advice to those people who buy or use the company’s products or services; however, this service must be provided in a timely, efficient and customer-satisfaction focus.to achieve excellence. Here are the elements of Excellent Customer Service:

1. Provide Friendly Service
2. Demonstrate that You Care
3. Show Appreciation for the Customer’s Business
4. Utilize Customer-Focused Problem-Solving Skills
5. Ask for Feedback after Problem is Solved
6. Thank Them Again for their Business/Close the Conversation

Why is Customer Service so Important? What is the Positive End Result You Want to Achieve?

1. Customer Retention and Growth – We want to both maintain our current customers and grow our business by acquiring new customers.
2. Social Media – Bad customer service becomes very visible due to social media and online reviews; this negatively impacts a company’s ability to maintain current customers and attract new customers.
3. Verbal Reputation – Each unhappy customer tells a number of his/her friends and relatives in addition to possibly giving negative online reviews.
4. Bottom Line – With each customer who doesn’t receive appropriate customer service, we potentially lose 10 or more customers who hear the negative feedback about the company.

Important Areas for Customer Service Success

1. Task Clarity – Employee Accountabilities and Expectations
2. Task Priority – Quality and Quantity Goals
3. Competence – Skill and Motivation
4. Overcoming Obstacles – Real or Imagined
5. Performance Feedback – Clear and Timely Feedback is needed
6. Role-Person Match – Ability to Multi-Task, deal with numerous phone calls & adapt to a quick- paced environment

Communication Skills: How Do You Determine the Customer’s Need?  Answer their Question and/or Solve their Problem?

1. Utilize Strong Listening Skills
2. Ask Pointed Questions
3. Reiterate your Understanding of the Question or Problem
4. Determine Best Approach to Resolve the Issue

Examples of Good Customer Service – Case Studies for Review

1. Change the Billing Date – Phone Service Payment Billing
2. Reduce the Cost of the Service – Internet Provider Costs Keep Increasing
3. Customer is Double Billed and Accidentally Overpaid – Agent quickly got the situation resolved and customer was reimbursed for the overage
4. Technical Customer Service Assistant – provided more information about the products and how to improve its use and reduce potential future problems

Handling Difficult Situations – Case Studies for Group Discussion

1. You Can’t Give the Customer What They Want – Break it to them with empathy and Explain the Reason Behind this Decision.
2. The Customer is so Angry You Don’t Know What the Problem is – Use Empathy to Calm the Person Down so you can identify the Problem.
3. Electricity is Down; You can’t Fix that Yourself – Tell Them When the Problem should be Fixed and offer to provide feedback to Keep them Informed Ongoing.

Training Assumptions:

1. First four sections would be covered in approximately 20 minutes each or an approximate total time of 1.5 hrs. The last two sections would be about one-half hour for each case study which could be covered in individual practice and/or group review and feedback. This would total about 3.5 hrs since there are 7 case studies to be reviewed.  Total time is a full day.
2. Follow up coaching sessions could deal with successes and also any problems experienced. Coaching sessions can be either small groups or individual coaching.