Is Customer Service Week the Best Time to Show Customer Appreciation?

Have you noticed how many articles and references are flying around stores and on the Internet regarding the importance of Customer Service Week? Service providers are wearing shirts and hats and articles abound on blogs and on various business sites stressing the importance of customer service. It all makes me wonder — “Is customer service week the best time to show customer appreciation?”

My question is, why do organizations and customer service representatives wait for one time a year to thank the most important element of their business – their customers? Without their customers, they could all pack up and go home. This negligent approach to customer service reminds me of a joke I heard many years ago about an old married couple sitting with a marriage counselor. The wife was very distraught and crying her eyes out as she told the counselor that their problem was that after fifty years of marriage that her husband never told her that he loves her anymore. The startled husband was dumbfounded to hear that. He turned to her and asked, “Didn’t I tell you I loved you when we got married?” She responded timidly, “Yes.” He countered with, “Well if that changes, I’ll let you know!”

Similar to the story above, many organizations go out of their way to court potential customers by offering discounts, special incentives, and promises to outperform their competition. Once a customer comes aboard, the company is off creating new campaigns to entice more new customers, while typically forgetting about the current ones or demonstrating how much they mean to the organization.

It is no wonder that most organizations experience such high customer desertion or turnover rates (customer churn). Why would you go to an organization that does not appear to respect or value your business; Especially, when a qualified, and sometimes better, the competitor is only a mouse click or phone call away.

Managers need to continually remind themselves that they should not wait for a customer to reach out to inform the organization that they are taking their business elsewhere before going into recovery or retention mode. Often their special retention department customer service representatives have special authority to grant customer incentives, offer lower rates, and take other actions to encourage the customer to stay. At this point, depending on how irritated the customer is, it might be too late and the damage is irreversible.

Here are five simple things companies can do to reinforce customer satisfaction or brand loyalty and reduce customer attrition:

Empower every customer service representative to offer customer incentives and help head off customer desertion.
Create policies that are customer-centric and are continually updated to demonstrate that all customers are crucial to the organization.
Continually look for ways to show that their organization really is the best value for the money and has its customers’ best interests in mind.
Regularly provide customer service training that focuses on customer service skills, tips, ideas and strategies to address customer needs, wants and expectations.
Treat every customer as unique and important and do not lump them into various demographic groups that receive generic approaches to service based on pre-conceived ideas of what they want or expect.

For hundreds of additional effective and proven customer service tips, techniques and strategies for creating and maintaining an excellent customer service environment that truly supports all customers, get copies of Customer Service Skills for Success, How to Be a Great Call Center Representative and Please Every Customer: Delivering Stellar Customer Service Across Cultures.

Customer Relationship Management Initiatives Focus on Customer Loyalty and Retention

by Robert W. Lucas

Customer Relationship Management Initiatives Focus on Customer Loyalty and Retention

Providing Effective Customer Service in a Diverse World At one point in history, business owners knew their customers personally. They knew their customers’ families, what their religious affiliation was, and what was happening in their lives. Customers dealt with the owners of a business and had personal relationships with them. That was then, and this is now. That is why many customer relationship management initiatives focus on customer loyalty and retention.

Our current society is more mobile; people live in large metropolitan areas where customer relationships are distant, and families live miles apart from one another in many instances. Large multinational organizations provide the products and services once provided by the neighborhood store. All this does not mean, however, that the customer-provider relationship can no longer exist. Many successful organizations, and those who want to become successful, spend a lot of time, effort and money on building and maintaining strong customer relationship management program.

Why bother building relationships with customers? The answer would seem obvious—so that you can stay in business. However, when you examine the question further, you may find that there are more reasons than you think. This is where the customer relationship management (CRM) concept comes in. In effect, such initiatives strive to create ongoing friendships with customers and focus on making them feel comfortable with the organization and its service providers in order to enhance customer and brand loyalty. By training all employees, especially frontline customer service representatives, to more effectively interact with customers and deliver excellent customer service, organizations are more likely to gain and retain a loyal customer base.

To learn more about effectively creating a customer-centric organization that continually strives to improve service to internal and external customers while working to achieve customer satisfaction, get a copy of Customer Service Skills for Success.

Excellent Customer Service Strengthens Customer Relationships and Leads to Brand Loyalty

by Robert W. Lucas

Excellent Customer Service Strengthens

Customer Relationships and Leads to Brand Loyalty

Excellent customer service strengthens customer relationships and leads to brand loyalty. When organizations attain a high degree of brand recognition and a reputation for providing quality products and services at a competitive price while going above and beyond their customers’ expectations, they are typically rewarded with customer loyalty and repeat and referral business.

According to a 2009 J.D. Power and Associates North American Hotel Guest Satisfaction Index Study, “The highest-performing hotel brands differentiate themselves by meeting customer expectations consistently, whether it’s a guest’s first stay with the brand or they’re fiftieth. . . . By setting and maintaining high brand standards, hotels build a reputation for reliability, which breeds customer loyalty.”

There are numerous benefits that result from creating a customer-centric service culture where current and new customers come to assume that they will receive the same high quality of customer service as the last time they contacted an organization. Each time frontline customer service representative goes out-of-the-way to identify and fulfill a customer’s needs, wants and expectations, it strengthens the customer relationship. This typically leads to repeat business and word-of-mouth publicity to the customer’s friends, family, and associates.

Here are a few direct results that are derived from exceeding customer expectations:

Less need to obtain new customers through marketing, since current customers are aware of offerings and take advantage of them.
Reduced marketing costs, since direct mail, follow-up, and other customer recruitment activities are reduced.
Increased return on investment (ROI), since marketing can target specific customer needs.
Enhanced customer loyalty due to pricing and product service offerings that meet current customer needs.
Elevated profitability due to increased sales, customer referrals, and longer customer retention during the life cycle.

The above extract is from Customer Service Skills for Success, 6th ed. To learn more techniques and strategies for delivering excellent customer service, building stronger customer relationships, helping develop brand loyalty and become a better customer service representative, get a copy of the book along with Please Every Customer: Delivering Stellar Customer Service Across Cultures.

Create a Positive Customer Service Culture by Making Customers Feel Valued

by Robert W. Lucas

Create a Positive Customer Service Culture

by Making Customers Feel Valued

Organizations are often chasing the illusive loyal customer. Various research studies have shown that it costs less to keep a good customer than it does to attract new ones through expensive marketing and incentive programs. Related to this, it seems logical to focus on converting new and occasional customers into loyal customers who return regularly and tout the organization’s benefits and customer-centric approach.

Alas, many managers, organizational leaders, and frontline customer service representatives simply do not get the whole concept of keeping loyal customers who use the organization’s products and services. These managers try to hold costs down by hiring inexperienced and low-cost employees, do not want to invest a lot of money in training staff (other than rudimentary product and service knowledge), and offer no real support for the customers they already have.

If you work for an organization and want to create an environment that is known for stellar customer service and customer-friendly people and policies, consider the following strategies to help make customers feel valued.

Hire personalities, not bodies. It takes a special person to be successful in a customer service environment. Strive to find people who are focused on interacting with others, seem to enjoy the service environment and life in general and sincerely want to help others. Product and policy knowledge can be taught to most new employees, as can the requisite skills necessary to successfully interact with new and current internal and external customers (e.g. interpersonal communication skills, knowledge about various demographic groups, team building, and other similar skills).

Prove that the organization and employees value customers. Create policies and procedures that are customer centric (e.g. return policies, hours of operation, and allow employee empowerment so that they can make decisions without a supervisor’s approval).

Train employees to recognize regular customers. People like to be seen as a person and as someone who is appreciated and valued by the organization. Customer service training sessions should stress this important fact and encourage employees to use a customer’s name when greeting and throughout a conversation. Memory improvement might be added to the training schedule to aid people in developing better memory and aid recall of customer names and faces.

Develop customer recognition and incentive programs. If customers are not rewarded for their continued business, they are likely to go elsewhere, especially if service breaks down or they encounter a problem. Reward good customers with discounts, personal communications (e.g. a greeting and coupon on their birthday, anniversary or other special occasions) and a warm welcome when they contact the organization. Instruct employees to focus on the human part of a transaction first (e.g. a warm greeting or comments about previous contacts, purchases or visits) before moving to the business of why they contacted the organization and what can be done to assist them.

Doing these simple things and others can make a world of difference to many customers and can often make the difference between a transient and a loyal customer. For additional customer service tips and strategies for creating a positive customer service environment where visitors demonstrate brand and customer loyalty as a result of receiving excellent customer service, get a copy of Customer Service Skills for Success.

Customer Service Representative – Active Listening Tips

by Robert W. Lucas

Customer Service Representative – Active Listening Tips

Before you can effectively listen to your customers or clients as a customer service representative you must first prepare to listen. That is because active listening is a learned skill and is different from the passive action of simply hearing sounds. Not only do you need to take the opportunity to attend training sessions on how to become an active listener, but you must also focus your attention when listening and practice the skill on a regular basis in order to improve.

The following are some simple strategies you can use to increase the chances for a more positive interaction with your customers when talking to them face-to-face or over the telephone.

Eliminate physical barriers to effective communication. This means stop distracting actions. This includes using technology, taking notes (not related to the customer that you are serving), talking to others, or attending to other tasks.

Block mental barriers to communication. Many times you may have things going on in your brain that can cause you to not focus your complete attention on the person in front of you or on the telephone. Examples of this are biases against a person or group, preconceived ideas about what someone is saying or someone who reminds you of similar prior situations or people, anger, irritation, or physical and personal issues that distract from the job at hand. If you cannot appropriately attend to a customer or situation, excuse yourself and ask someone else to step in for you.

Focus on the customer and project a positive service attitude. Do this through your facial (e.g. smiling), non-verbal cues (e.g. posture and gestures) and verbal responses (e.g. tone, inflection, and pitch) while listening attentively to what they are saying.

Summarize your understanding frequently during a conversation. This is paraphrasing and involves repeating the customer’s message back to them in your own words. For example, once a customer has described why he or she came by or called, you might say something like, “So Mister Brown, if I understand you correctly, the issue is … Is that correct?” This approach lets the customer know that you were actually listening and helps ensure that you take the appropriate action or respond correctly. Just be careful to alternate your responses so that you do not use the same approach over several times. That would make you sound like a parrot and could actually irritate the customer.

Ask appropriate questions to clarify and get feedback from the customer. Closed-ended questions are good for affirmations that you understood something correctly or to get agreement or permission, but do little to involve your customer in a conversation. For example, “You would like to exchange this red scarf for one that has red in it but also has some more supple colors as well. Is that correct?” Closed-ended questions typically start with an action verb (e.g. do, did, can, should, or will) and normally lead to a short answer or yes/no response.

To engage your customers in more open dialogue, you might use open-ended questions. For example, “What would the perfect scarf look like to you Ms. Harrison?” This type of question allows the customer to take control of the conversation. It also can provide a subconscious feeling of empowerment, control, and decision-making. Such feelings can lead to less opportunity for dissatisfaction or change of mind later because the customer made the purchase decision and may not feel that you forced something on them that they did not want or like. Open-ended questions normally start with words like what, how, and why.

For more effective customer service tips, strategies and techniques for active listening, verbal and non-verbal communication with customers and other skills to help improve customer relationships, meet customer needs, wants and expectations and create a more customer-centric organization, get copies of How to Be a Great Call Center Representative, Please Every Customer: Delivering Stellar Customer Service Across Cultures and Customer Service Skills for Success. The latter book is the top-selling customer service textbook in the U.S.

The Cost of Poor Customer Service

by Robert W. Lucas

The Cost of Poor Customer Service

A recent experience with Century Link recently validated what I regularly tell customer service workshop participants and readers of my customer service books. I thought I’d share it with you along with customer service success tips that can improve customer service in any organization.

To reduce expenses, I decided to switch from my current Internet and cable provider to bundle those services along with my phones with Century Link. The technical process was fairly smooth, but the customer service support (or actually the lack of) has been a nightmare. On Monday after signing the agreement on the previous Thursday, I was on the phone for 4.5 hours with four different customer service representatives and a supervisor trying to resolve an issue related to the switch. On Wednesday, I spoke to three different Century Link employees, on Thursday two technicians came out to do the actual change over for Internet and cable and on Friday I was on the phone from 9:50 a.m. to 12:38 p.m. with seven customer service representatives and two supervisors. All for basically the same concern that I had.

In a nutshell, each person I talked to said the issue was resolved with my phone settings and service and that everything was set as promised in the agreement. In truth, that was not the case and I had to call back (multiple times) to let them know it was not resolved. I then had to repeat the story and what the previous person had said or promised (like many customers I am one of those people who write down the time periods of a call, name of the person I talked with and what was said in case something goes wrong). In virtually every new call situation, I was told there were no notes from the previous all in the system and that what was promised had actually not been done, so we had to start all over.

During the process over several days, there were three disconnects when the customer service representative attempted to transfer me or put me on hold. My phone was even totally disconnected at one point for almost a day because of an error on the part of one of the customer service agents. And the story still goes on unresolved as I wait for a second technician to arrive today…

Through all of this, there was a respite from the torture that I was enduring. An angel in the guise of a supervisor named Joan. Unlike a previous supervisor who listened to my issue and offered nothing but two unacceptable solutions, with no apology for my inconvenience or trouble, she took appropriate steps to get a repair call scheduled, apologized numerous times, did resolve a couple of the issues I had, and gave me a credit due to the phone disconnect. It was only when she transferred me to the repair department line that the torture came back with dropped calls and people who one after another told me incorrect information or failed to follow through.

This entire experience reinforced to me the importance of proper customer service training for anyone who is going to deal with customers on the front line. Everything that they do and say will likely have far-reaching implications for the representative and their organization. For example, I have told at least four of the friends of my experience and I am now relating it to you.

If you are a customer service representative dealing with external customers or an employee with internal employees, make sure that you take the following actions with every customer contact in order to better ensure a positive outcome and experience for your customers and potential customers:

Learn everything possible about your organization’s products and services. Customers assume that when someone answers the phone to represent an organization that they can truly assist with questions and issues.

Do not use statements that belittle your role and authority. For example, “I’m only an order taker.” In such instances, your customer immediately discredits you and asks to speak to someone with authority and advanced knowledge. They are also likely to become very irritated at having wasted their time with someone who could not have helped them in the first place.

Avoid tentative language. Customers call for a reason; not to just chat with you. They normally have a question, concern, or problem that they need your assistance in resolving. The last thing they want to encounter is a customer service representative who uses statements, such as, “I think,” “I’ll try,” “Maybe I can,” or similar non-committal phrases. Tell you, customers, what you can do, not what you think you can or cannot do. Statements such as, “I can/will” go a long way in reassuring the customer that the correct information will be provided or action will be taken.

Always maintain a positive attitude. Customers generally do not care what kind of day you are having, issues you face on the job and restrictions that you have in the workplace. They want quality customer service and to receive help with their situation or question. If you cannot provide this, you should not be answering a phone or making contact with a customer.

Do what you say that you will. Under-promise and over-deliver should be your motto. Do everything you can to assist the customer and if you do not have an answer or authority, get them to the correct person.

NEVER do a blind transfer. This is a situation where you attempt to transfer a customer to another person or department for further assistance and once that party picks up, you disconnect from the call. In many instances (such as mine) the number to whom you transferred the customer is not the correct one or there is music or recordings playing. Get an actual person on the line when transferring, ensure that they are the right person for the issue that you’ve explained to them and then reconnect to the customer. Introduce the customer to the second representative, thank them for calling and them professionally disconnect. Your job is done at that point. In my case above, there were at least three instances where I got transferred to a number only to have the call disconnect or have to go through a voicemail option system that ultimately led me back to the customer service department from which I was originally transferred in the first place.

Put yourself in the customer’s place. How would you feel if you experienced negative service such as I described at the beginning of this article? Chances are you’d be looking for a way to vent and share your experience with others.

In my case, I shared my thoughts and suggestions for improvement with Joan and asked her to send them up to her chain of command. With all the notes I took throughout the various calls, I could write a letter to the president of Century Link, as I’ve done numerous times in the past to other organizational leaders. In this case, the issues are so egregious and diverse, and the blatant lack of service is so obvious; I can only assume that the managers at Century Link already know about them, but choose to ignore them and do not properly train their staff.

Unfortunately, in a downsized world where organizations continually raise prices and look for ways to cut expenses, customer service training is viewed as a “nice to do” function, but is often limited or cut entirely. In the latter case, managers depend on other more senior customer service agents to conduct on-the-job training. That typically leads to poor quality of customer service, misinformation and people using a variety of techniques based on what they were taught. In the end, the customer, you and your organization suffer.

For more ideas on customer service strategies on how to meet customer expectations, deliver excellent customer service, increase customer satisfaction and loyalty, and reduce customer attrition, get copies of Customer Service Skills for Success and How to Be a Great Call Center Representative.

Three Negative Nonverbal Messages To Avoid When Serving Customers

by Robert W. Lucas

Three Negative Nonverbal Messages To Avoid When Serving Customers

Some customer service representatives develop unproductive nonverbal behaviors without even realizing it. These may be nervous habits or mannerisms carried to excess (scratching, pulling an ear, or playing with hair). In a customer service environment, you should try to minimize such actions because they might send a negative or annoying message to your customers. They can also lead to a perception of bad customer service.

An easy way to discover whether you have such behaviors is to ask people who know you well to observe you for a period of time and tell you about anything they observe that could be a problem. People develop unproductive nonverbal behaviors without even realizing it. These may be nervous habits or mannerisms carried to excess (scratching, pulling an ear, or playing with hair). In a customer service environment, you should try to minimize such actions because they might send a negative or annoying message to your customers. They can also lead to a perception of bad customer service.

The following are three common nonverbal communication behaviors that can annoy people and cause customer relationship breakdowns or comments about you and your organization when used with customers.

Pointing a finger or other object at someone

For many people pointing a finger at them is often viewed as a very accusatory mannerism and can lead to anger or violence on the part of your customer. If you must gesture toward a customer or toward an area or item, do so with an open flat hand (palm up) in a casual manner. The result is a less threatening gesture that almost invites comments or feedback because it looks as if you are offering the customer an opportunity to speak. Additionally, this is the appropriate means for pointing towards something in many cultures.

Raising an eyebrow

This mannerism is sometimes called the editorial eyebrow because some television broadcasters raise their eyebrow. With the editorial eyebrow, only one eyebrow arches, usually in response to something that the person has heard. This mannerism often signals skepticism or doubt about what you have heard. It can be viewed as questioning the customer’s honesty.

Peering over the top of eyeglasses

Many people who need glasses to read but not to see for distances may forget that they have on glasses when they are interrupted while reading or using them. As a result, they may speak to others while wearing their glasses sitting low on the end of their nose. This gesture might be associated with a professor, teacher, or someone who is in a position of authority looking down on a student or subordinate. For that reason, customers may not react positively if you peer over your glasses at them. Typical nonverbal messages that this cue might send are displeasure, condescension, scrutiny, or disbelief.

By improving your customer service skills, you enhance your opportunities to deliver excellent customer service. For additional useful customer service tips and information on how to create a customer-centric environment that can lead to enhanced customer relationships, customer satisfaction, and reduced customer attrition, get copies of Customer Service Skills for Success and Please Every Customer: Delivering Stellar Customer Service Across Cultures.

Encouraging Customer Loyalty Can Result in Increased Customer Retention

by Robert W. Lucas

Encouraging Customer Loyalty

Can Result in Increased Customer Retention

If you are a customer service representative, one of your key roles is to help create a customer-centric environment designed to identify and meet customer expectations. To accomplish this, you must ensure that you continue to enhance your knowledge of the organization’s products and services. You must also continually hone your customer service skills in order to communicate, negotiate, and serve customers while you deliver excellent customer service.

To get hundreds of ideas and strategies on how to create a positive customer service environment that can aid in achieving customer satisfaction, loyalty, and retention, get a copy of Customer Service Skills for Success.

Taking A Customer for Granted Can Lead To Customer Service Breakdowns

by Robert W. Lucas

Taking A Customer for Granted Can Lead To Customer Service Breakdowns

Taking a customer for granted is something that a customer service representative should never do. That is because customers are your reason for existing as an employee. They are also the key element in your organization’s success. For that reason, you must consciously go out of your way to identify and anticipate their needs, wants, and expectations, then address those in an expedient and professional manner. You can potentially accomplish this by showing customers what you and your company offer that other organizations do not. Also by demonstrating that you are working hard to gain and retain their trust and business.

Remember that just because someone is a customer today, does not mean that they will remain so in the future. Consumer opinions in many parts of the world have shifted related to customer loyalty. In the past, people often exhibited brand loyalty for cars, laundry detergent, restaurants, airlines, and many other items and services. With the advent of technology, global trade and easy access to alternative and comparable products and services, it is not unusual for someone to move to a new product, service or provider to meet their needs based strictly on factors like price, service or availability. The result of such shifts in consumer behavior is that many well-known major organizations and products have changed dramatically, evolved or completely disappeared in past decades. Examples are Montgomery Ward, Pontiac and Plymouth automobiles, Eastern Airlines, and Steak and Ale and Bennigan’s restaurants. In instances where manufacturers have recognized the need for product modifications to address customer needs, wants and expectations, they have modified or added additional varieties to their product lines (e.g. Coca Cola and Pepsi, Tide detergent, Cheerios cereal, and Crest toothpaste) in order to retain and satisfy customer needs and expectations.

In order to help ensure retain customers and build customer loyalty from your clients and potential customers, you must place their needs first. One way to do this is to build a sound knowledge of your organization’s products, services, policies, and procedures. You must also identify your competition and know their product and service lines, how those differ from yours and what they offer that you do not. In this latter instance, you must understand how to present your organization’s offerings in a manner that overshadows the competition. For example, ensure that you know what benefits and advantages your customers might receive from doing business with your organization and then present these to your customers in a positive manner.

Additionally, you must also continually seek to enhance your knowledge and skills while staying attuned to current consumer behavior and trends. Ultimately, your goal is to be the “go-to” person and organization for whatever products or services that your customers might need.

For hundreds of customer service tips and additional ideas and strategies for maintaining positive customer relationships, building customer retention and loyalty, and delivering excellent customer service, get a copy of Customer Service Skills for Success.

Build Customer Relations – PLAN for Positive Customer Interactions

by Robert W. Lucas

Build Customer Relations – PLAN for Positive Customer Interactions

Customer service representatives are on the front line when it comes to making a positive first impression on the potential and current customers. What you do (or do not do), say, and how you act with customers can either help build customer satisfaction and loyalty or can drive customers away.

An important strategy for delivering excellent customer service is to plan everything from your greeting to your closing statements before you come into contact with a customer. Know what you want and need to say, avoid unnecessary details or discussion, and be prepared to answer questions about the organization, its products and services, and the customer’s order.

To maximize your potential and create positive outcomes with customers, use the PLAN acronym as a guide to effective communication with those whom you come into contact with. The model stands for:

Prepare for Positive Customer Interactions
Let Your Customers Know They Are Important
Address Your Customer’s Expectations Positively
Nurture a Continuing Relationship

For additional customer service tips, ideas and strategies on how to more effectively communicate with customers, build stronger customer relations and help create a positive customer-centric environment, get copies of Customer Service Skills for Success and Please Every Customer: Delivering Stellar Customer Service Across Cultures.