Interpersonal Communication Self-Assessment for Customer Service Representatives

In many instances, customer service representatives do not know how they are coming across to their internal and external customers during interactions with them. Often this is because they fail to consciously monitor their verbal and nonverbal communication behaviors. In other cases, they do not ask for feedback on their communication style because they are afraid of what they will hear.

If your goal is to provide the best customer service possible, you must take the time to gather information on your behavior and develop a plan for improvement. Like other life and customer service skills, effective communication must be developed, honed and improved upon regularly.

To find out how people perceive you and the way that you communicate with others, ask friends, relatives or customers whom you know well and trust to give objective feedback by asking them the following questions.

Do I tend to smile when I speak?
Do I spontaneously smile and greet people who pass me in the workplace?
What body cues (nonverbal signals) do I use regularly when I speak?
How would you categorize my overall presence when I speak (e.g. confident, uncertain, timid, intimidating, assertive, or relaxed) and why do you perceive that?
What “pet” words or phrases do I use regularly?
Do I actively listen when others speak? Ask for examples if they tell you “no”.
When I speak, how does my tone sound (e.g. assertive, attacking, calming, friendly, or persuasive)? Ask respondents to provide examples.
How do you think I might improve my overall communication style and professional presence when dealing with customers?
When I am frustrated or irritated how do you know it?

Once you hear their responses, take some time to reflect upon what you learn, decide if their feedback is valid (e.g. did several people tell you the same thing) and then begin working to change any negative behavior that you identified.

About Robert W. Lucas

Bob Lucas has been a trainer, presenter, customer service expert, and adult educator for over four decades. He has written hundreds of articles on training, writing, self-publishing, and workplace learning skills and issues. He is also an award-winning author who has written thirty-seven books on topics such as, writing, relationships, customer service, brain-based learning, and creative training strategies, interpersonal communication, diversity, and supervisory skills. Additionally, he has contributed articles, chapters, and activities to eighteen compilation books. Bob retired from the U.S. Marine Corps in 1991 after twenty-two years of active and reserve service.

Make Money Writing Books: Proven Profit Making Strategies for Authors by Robert W. Lucas at Amazon.com.

The key to successfully making money as an author and/or self-publisher is to brand yourself and your company and to make yourself and your book(s) a household name. Part of this is face-to-face interaction with people at trade shows, library events, book readings, book store signings, blogging or guest blogging on a topic related to their book(s). Another strategy involves writing articles and other materials that show up online and are found when people search for a given topic related to a topic about which the author has written.

If you need help building an author platform, branding yourself and your book(s) or generating recognition for what you do, Make Money Writing Books will help. Bob’s popular book addresses a multitude of ideas and strategies that you can use to help sell more books and create residual and passive income streams. The tips outlined in the book are focused to help authors but apply to virtually any professional trying to increase personal and product recognition and visibility.

In my book Customer Service Skills for Success, I define customer service as “the ability of knowledgeable, capable, and enthusiastic employees to deliver products and services to their internal and external customers in a manner that satisfies identified and unidentified needs and ultimately results in positive word-of-mouth publicity and return business.”

Strategies for Providing Professional Customer Service

by Robert W. Lucas

Strategies for Providing Professional Customer Service

Many customers typically like the comfort of know that they can depend on service providers to provide timely, accurate and professional service whether it is face-to-face, over the telephone or via other technology.

As you work with customers, do so positively and assertively and take the following actions in order to help put them at ease and to build a strong customer-provider relationship.

Assure them. Do this through your words and actions to show that you are confident, have their best interests at heart-and are in control of the situation.
Provide timely service. Let them know that their calls/messages, questions, needs, and issues will be addressed professionally and in a timely manner.
Reassure them. Let them know that what they purchase is the best quality, has a solid warranty, will be backed by the organization, and will address their needs while providing many benefits.
Reinforce them. Ensure that they understand that their requests and data will be processed rapidly and promises will be kept.

All of these things can lead them to the belief that they made the right decision in selecting you and your organization and that you will take care of their needs.

About Robert C. Lucas

Make Money Writing Books: Proven Profit Making Strategies for Authors by Robert W. Lucas at Amazon.com.

Nonverbal Communication That Can Impact Customer Relationships

by Robert W. Lucas

Nonverbal Communication That Can Impact Customer Relationships

There are many ways in which customer service representatives communicate with customers face-to-face and via technology. One of the most powerful techniques is through nonverbal cues or messages they send subconsciously. Often these unspoken messages are more powerful than those delivered through words.

The following chart indicates some common positive and negative nonverbal communication behaviors that customer service representatives might exhibit that can lead to misunderstandings or service breakdowns if you are not careful.

Positive	Negative
Brief eye contact (3 to 5 seconds)	Yawning
Eyes wide open	Frowning or sneering
Smiling	Attending to matters other than the customer
Facing the customer	Manipulating items impatiently
Nodding affirmatively	Leaning away from customer as he or she speaks
Expressive hand gestures	Subdued or minimal hand gestures
Open body stance	Crossed arms
Listening actively	Staring blankly or coolly at customer
Remaining silent as customer speaks	Interrupting
Gesturing with open hand	Pointing finger or object at customer
Maintaining professional appearance	Casual unkempt appearance
Clean, organized work area	Disorganized, cluttered work space

About Robert C. Lucas

Make Money Writing Books: Proven Profit Making Strategies for Authors by Robert W. Lucas at Amazon.com.

The Role of Gestures in Positive Customer Service

by Robert W. Lucas

The Role of Gestures in Positive Customer Service

The use of nonverbal communication with your head, hands, arms, and shoulders to accentuate verbal messages can add color, excitement, and enthusiasm to your interactions with customers. Using physical movements naturally during a conversation may either help make a point or result in added credibility.

Typically, movements or gestures are designed to gain and hold attention (e.g. waving a hand to attract the attention of someone), clarify or describe further (e.g. holding up one finger to indicate the number 1), or emphasize a point (e.g. pointing a finger while angrily making a point verbally).

Open, flowing gestures (e.g. gesturing with arms, palms open and upward, out and away from the body) encourage listening and help explain messages to customers. On the other hand, closed, restrained movements (e.g. tightly crossed arms, clenched fists, hands in pockets, hands or fingers intertwined and held below waist level or behind the back) could send a message of coolness, insecurity, or disinterest.

One important point to remember in a multicultural world is that nonverbal cues are not universal and a gesture in one country or culture could take on an entirely different meaning in another. Take some time to research common nonverbal cues around the world before using them in public.

The key to effective nonverbal communication is to make gestures seem natural. If you do not normally use gestures when communicating, you may want to practice in front of a mirror until you feel relaxed and the gestures complement your verbal messages without distracting.

For additional ideas and strategies on using nonverbal communication effectively when interacting with customers, get a copy of Customer Service Skills for Success. For suggestions on interacting effectively with customers from different backgrounds, check out Please Every Customer: Delivering Stellar Customer Service Across Cultures.

About Robert C. Lucas

Make Money Writing Books: Proven Profit Making Strategies for Authors by Robert W. Lucas at Amazon.com.

Enhancing Non-verbal Communication With Customers

by Robert W. Lucas

Enhancing Non-verbal Communication With Customers

As a customer service representative or another person in contact with your organization’s customers, you should continually be aware of the impact that your verbal and nonverbal messages have on others. Part of this awareness it to strive to enhance your nonverbal communication skills and better understand how silent messages you send might be interpreted by customers of various backgrounds.

Here are three tips to help raise your nonverbal awareness and improve your ability to communicate more effectively with customers.

To determine if you have any annoying or potentially distracting personal habits that could cause relationship issues, ask someone who knows you well to be alert to gestures, movements, habits, or phrases that you repeat or use often. Once identified, make a conscious effort to reduce or eliminate the habits.
Have a candid conversation with your supervisor and ask him or her to give you constructive feedback on how he or she perceives your typical appearance and style of dress in the workplace. If necessary, make any adjustments your supervisor recommends.
Strive to create a work environment that sends a positive message and will not cause offense or negative perceptions in others. Simple things like emptying your waste can, organizing items in your work area neatly, and cleaning spills or dusting the area can help send a positive message to customers entering the area.

For additional information on the impact of nonverbal communication on customers, get a copy of the book Customer Service: Skills for Success.

Robert C. Lucas

About Robert C. Lucas

Make Money Writing Books: Proven Profit Making Strategies for Authors by Robert W. Lucas at Amazon.com.

The Role of Eye Contact in Customer Service in a Diverse World

by Robert W. Lucas

The Role of Eye Contact in Customer Service in a Diverse World

It has been said that the eyes are “the windows to the soul.” Eye contact is very powerful. This is why criminal investigators are often taught to observe eye movement in order to help determine whether a suspect is being truthful or not.

In most Western cultures, the typical period of time that is comfortable for holding eye contact is 5 to 10 seconds, then an occasional glance away is normal. Looking away in many cultures can often send a message of disinterest, or dishonesty, or lack of confidence. If either the length or the frequency of eye contact differs from the “norm,” many people might think that you are being rude or offensive. They might also interpret your behavior as an attempt to exert power or as flirting.

Other potential nonverbal problems when dealing with customers can be caused by looking down before answering questions, glancing away continually as your customer talks, blinking excessively, and other such eye movements can create a negative impression.

In any case, your customer might become uncomfortable and may react in an undesirable manner (for example, becoming upset or ending the conversation) if you use eye contact in what they perceive as an inappropriate manner.

As with all other aspects of workplace interaction in a multicultural customer service environment, do not forget that cultural values and practices often influence the way in which people communicate and interpret message signals.

Just as you send messages with your eyes, your customer’s eye contact can also send meaningful messages to you. A customer’s lack of direct eye contact with you could send a variety of messages in a westernized culture. It might send messages such as a lack of interest, confidence, trust, or dishonesty, depending on how you interpret those cues. For example, if you are watching a customer shop and notice a quick loss of eye contact each time you try to engage the customer visually, the customer might be nervous because he or she is shoplifting, or the customer simply might not want your attention and assistance.

As with any other form of nonverbal communication, always look for clusters or multiple cues before interpreting the meaning and deciding on a course of action. This is because you are dealing with humans whose background, gender, personality, culture and various other factors can easily impact their intent. If you filter based on your own personal beliefs or background, you can potentially cause a service and/or relationship breakdown with your customer.

Customer Service Skills by Robert Lucas

About Robert C. Lucas

Make Money Writing Books: Proven Profit Making Strategies for Authors by Robert W. Lucas at Amazon.com.

Effective Listening Tips for Customer Service Representatives

by Robert W. Lucas

Effective Listening Tips for Customer Service Representatives

Active listening is a skill that has to be learned and developed over time. As a customer service representative, you must continually practice your listening skills in order to deliver good customer service. Many people believe they are doing so, when in fact, they are only hearing the words (which is a passive physiological process in the body). To deliver excellent customer service, you must actively listen to get what customers are actually saying verbally and nonverbally.

Here are four tips for actively listening to your customers that can enhance the quality of service that you deliver.

Stop doing other tasks and focus on what your customers are saying in order to increase your listening efficiency. Ask clarifying questions where appropriate to ensure that you ensure that you received the message they intended.
Take time to slow down and actively listen to customers in order to make them feel important and allow you to better identify and meet their needs. This is important because many people spend time thinking about what they will say next rather than listening to what is being said. If you do this, your customer-provider relationship could suffer.
Do your best to listen well so that you can get at the customer’s meaning or need. Don’t rush a customer who seems to be processing information and forming opinions or making a decision. This is especially important after you have presented product information and have asked for a buying decision. Answer questions, provide additional information requested but don’t push. Doing so could frustrate, anger, and ultimately alienate the customer. You could end up with a complaint or lost customer.
In dealings with customers, try to avoid subjective opinions or judgments. If you have a preconceived idea about customers, their concerns or questions, the environment, or anything related to the customers, you could mishandle the situation. Listen openly and avoid making assumptions. Allow customers to describe their needs, wants, or concerns in their own words, and then analyze them fairly before taking appropriate action.

For additional suggestions and strategies for delivering exceptions customer service, get a copy of the book Customer Service: Skills for Success.

About Robert C. Lucas

Make Money Writing Books: Proven Profit Making Strategies for Authors by Robert W. Lucas at Amazon.com.

Four Tips for Delivering Customer Service in a Diverse World

by Robert W. Lucas

Four Tips for Delivering Customer Service in a Diverse World

The world is much smaller than it was several decades ago. More expendable income, ease of travel and technology have closed the distance and communication gaps that were formerly in place. As a result, you are likely to encounter customers from various cultures and backgrounds at any time during your workday. If you prepare for this inevitability by increasing your cultural awareness, recognizing the value of cultural differences and expanding your knowledge of cultural nuances, you are less likely to run into conflict or encounter misunderstandings.

The following are four tips for potentially preventing service breakdowns when you are dealing with customers from cultures different from your own.

A key point to remember is that the concept of treating others as you would like to be treated (a value common in many religions—e.g., The Golden Rule) can lead to service breakdowns. This is because your customers are unique and may not value what you do or want to be treated as you do. To better ensure service success, find out what customers want and treat them as they want to be treated. This concept has been termed the Platinum Rule by Dr. Tony Alessandra.
Always ask your customer his or her preference for being addressed rather than assume familiarity and make the choice yourself. The latter can lead to a service relationship breakdown since, in many cultures, formality and use of titles and forms of address are important to a person’s value system.
By being aware of the time values that you and your customers have and proceeding accordingly; you can reduce your own stress level when dealing with customers or clients from other cultures. In many cultures, arriving half an hour or more after a scheduled event time is an acceptable social custom. If you arrive on or ahead of time, you may actually offend someone or catch them unprepared.
Do not point out the mistake if a customer makes an error or is wrong about something (e.g., improperly fills out a form or uses an incorrect word when speaking). Instead, take responsibility for correcting the error or clearing up the misunderstanding (e.g., “I am sorry that these forms are so confusing. I have trouble with them too.” or “I apologize that I did not clearly explain what you needed to do to get a refund.”). This strategy allows you to assume responsibility and helps them avoid embarrassment (save face). It also sends a non-judgmental message that you are there to assist them.

For hundreds of other tips on effectively interacting with customers who have various cultural values, gender differences, abilities, and other diverse characteristics get a copy of Please Every Customer: Delivering Stellar Customer Service Across Cultures.

About Robert W. Lucas

Make Money Writing Books: Proven Profit Making Strategies for Authors by Robert W. Lucas at Amazon.com.

Telephone Etiquette Sends a Powerful Customer Service Message

by Robert W. Lucas

Telephone Etiquette Sends a Powerful Customer Service Message

There is no excuse for poor telephone etiquette or lack of professionalism when you answer the phone as a representative of your organization. Take the time to plan your approach BEFORE a customer calls so that when you receive a call, you are prepared to positively impress your callers. Remember that you represent yourself and your organization when you pick up a ringing phone.

Related to receiving calls, if you have ever received an incomplete or undecipherable telephone message that someone else took from a caller, you can appreciate the need for practice in this area.

If you are answering someone’s phone while he or she is away, let the caller know that fact right away. This can be done by using a statement such as, “Hello, (person’s name) line. This is (your name). How may I assist you?” In addition, be cautious of statements you make regarding the intended recipient’s availability. Sometimes, well-meant comments can send a negative message to customers. For example, you should not share information like “She:

“has not shown up yet this morning,”
“is not back from lunch yet.”
“had to take her son to school.”
“is on vacation.”
“had a doctor’s appointment.”

Instead, simply state that the person is not available at the moment but that you can either take a message and give it to him or her or assist the person yourself (if this is an option).

Many office supply stores sell pre-printed message pads to help guide message takers. At a minimum, when you take a message you should get the following information from a caller when you answer a phone for someone else.

Name (correctly spelled—ask the caller for spelling)
Company name
Phone number (with area code and country code, if appropriate)
Brief message
When call should be returned
Time and date of the call and your name (in case a question about the message arises)

Professional phone etiquette is part of everyone’s job. Make it a priority to practice good phone service yourself. If you are unsure of how to deliver quality customer service, consider reading some of the excellent resources on the market that provide guidance on using telephones and other technology to better serve your customers.

About Robert C. Lucas

Make Money Writing Books: Proven Profit Making Strategies for Authors by Robert W. Lucas at Amazon.com.

Service Recovery Strategies: Rebuilding customer relationships after breakdowns

by Robert W. Lucas

Service Recovery Strategies: Rebuilding customer relationships after breakdowns

Managing conflict with customers involves more than just resolving the disagreement. If you fail to address the emotional and psychological needs of those involved, you may find the conflict returning, repercussions and/or severe damage to the customer-provider relationship may occur. Often poorly handled service recovery efforts result in such things as complaints to a service provider’s supervisor, complaints to consumer agencies, bad word-of-mouth publicity and lost customers.

Depending on the severity of the conflict and how you handle it at each step of the resolution process, it may be impossible to go back to the relationship as it was before the disagreement. The key to reducing this possibility is to identify and address conflicting issues as early as possible. The longer an issue remains unresolved, the more damage it can cause. Make the effort to help protect and salvage the relationship between you and your customers.

Often, customers are rational once they can get past their need for emotional ownership of the situation. If you can apply some basic emotion-reducing communication strategies (e.g. empathize, agree with the customer, lower your volume and monitor your voice tone) the situation may become more manageable. Just remember that your customers are human jut like you and human behavior is sometimes volatile. Allow them to vent and calm down, then focus on recovering and rebuilding the relationship. The following strategies can assist in your service recovery efforts:

Reaffirm the value of the relationship. You cannot assume that customers feel the same as you or understand your intent unless you communicate it. Apologize sincerely and tell them how much you value the relationship between them and the organization. Also, stress that your goal is to assist them in whatever manner possible.

Customers typically tell others about the bad experiences they have. The result is that damage can be done to your organization’s reputation. This is a strong reason for you to do whatever you can to resolve the issue and appease your customer

Demonstrate commitment. You must visualize and demonstrate your desire to continue or strengthen your relationship. The way to do this with customers is through sound interpersonal communication efforts (e.g. active listening, empathy, and positive verbal and non-verbal message). Once you have smoothed things over a bit emotionally with the customer, take definitive action to positively address the service or product breakdown. If that means involving a co-worker or supervisor, then do that.

Be realistic. Because of cultural, gender, generational and behavioral style differences, it is difficult for some people to “forgive and forget.” You have to systematically help restore their trust. It can take a while to accomplish this, but the effort is well worth it. Take the time to follow-up with your customer following a recovery initiative. Send a card, discount or gift certificate, or take some other proactive measure to show them that you are truly sorry for the breakdown in communication and that you are willing to work to regain their trust.

Remain flexible. A solid customer-provider relationship involves the ability to give and take. It is especially crucial that you and the other people involved making concessions following a conflict. Avoid any references to policy or organizational standard procedure. If you cannot meet a customer’s complete desires or demands, work toward a compromise and offer possible alternatives.

Keep communication open. One of the biggest causes of conflict and destroyed relationships is poor communication. Service breakdowns usually result in escalated emotions on both sides. Step back mentally and take a deep breath before saying anything
that you might regret or that could further frustrate or even anger your
customer. Be willing to compromise and let the customer take the lead in the
discussion, if that appears to help calm them and allows you time to work
towards an agreeable solution.

Gain commitment. You cannot do it all by yourself. Get a commitment to work toward reconciliation from your customer.

Also, once they have relaxed a bit and seem to be more receptive to listening to your suggestions, reaffirm that you have acted in a manner to resolve the issue to their satisfaction and let them know that your goal is to help them as best you can. Then ask that they let you know in the future if any service or product, that you and your organization provides, does not meet their needs or expectations so that you can immediately try to rectify the situation.

Monitor progress. Do not assume that, because the conflict or problem was resolved, it will remain that way. Deep-seated issues often resurface, especially when commitment was not obtained. Be sure to do follow-up with the customer shortly afterwards to ensure that a spark is not rekindled into a blazing fire in their mind. Statistically, a large percentage of customers who desert to a competitor do so without letting you know why.

About Robert C. Lucas – Customer Service Guru

Make Money Writing Books: Proven Profit Making Strategies for Authors by Robert W. Lucas at Amazon.com.