Customer Service Tip for Adult Educators

The face of higher education is continuing to evolve. Ethnicity, the numbers of attendees in terms of age and sex, expectations, the manner in which information is delivered and virtually every aspect of the way you do business and education has been touched in some way by events over which you sometimes have no control.

Things such as world events, the economy, changing technology, competition from new sources, and the values of learners shift rapidly. The potential student population is also expected to grow in coming years as Generation Yers (Millennials – 1980s to early 2000s) are aging, since this is the largest generation behind the Boomers (1946-1964).

The one aspect of the whole process over which you and your organization do have control — is the level and quality of service that you and your institution provide to your customers – your students.

To deal with this trend…

If you remember nothing else related to customer service, think about this. EVERYONE that you and your institution come into contact is either a customer or potential customer! If you can get your mind around that fact and treat students and their caregivers with the best quality of service possible; then, you have tremendous opportunity to compete effectively with all other institutions of higher learning and knowledge sources.

This action alone can lead to customer loyalty and positive word-of-mouth publicity for you as an educator and your institution.

For information, ideas and strategies on how to deliver excellent customer service get copies of Customer Service Skills for Success and Please Every Customer: Delivering Stellar Customer Service Across Cultures.

About Robert C. 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.

Quote on Delivering the Best Customer Service Possible – Jeff Bezos

by Robert W. Lucas

Quote on Delivering the Best Customer Service Possible – Jeff Bezos

Customers are a funny lot… they pay you money that they worked hard for and in exchange only expect to receive what they need, want, expect and are promised by you and your organization. They truly do not expect that, when they contact you or someone else in your organization, they will encounter problems with the product and services received.

To help ensure that you meet their expectations, put yourself in their position and deliver the best possible customer service. Ensure that you have the knowledge, skills, and attitude that will provide you the tools necessary to effectively interact and communicate with them to determine what you need to do to satisfy them and help build customer and brand loyalty.

Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon.com summed this sentiment up in a quote:

“The best customer service is if the customer doesn’t need to call you, doesn’t need to talk to you. It just works.” Jeff Bezos

For ideas and strategies for delivering exceptional customer service to all potential and current customers get copies of Customer Service Skills for Success, Please Every Customer: Delivering Stellar Customer Service Across Cultures, and How to Be A Great Call Center Representative.

Here are a few more Jeff Bezos quotes to enjoy reading…

“I believe you have to be willing to be misunderstood if you’re going to innovate.”
“If you’re competitor-focused, you have to wait until there is a competitor doing something. Being customer-focused allows you to be more pioneering.”
“What’s dangerous is not to evolve.”
“Part of company culture is path-dependent – it’s the lessons you learn along the way.” – Jeff Bezos
“My own view is that every company requires a long-term view.”
“We’ve had three big ideas at Amazon that we’ve stuck with for 18 years, and they’re the reason we’re successful: Put the customer first. Invent. And be patient.”
“A company shouldn’t get addicted to being shiny, because shiny doesn’t last.”
“The best customer service is if the customer doesn’t need to call you, doesn’t need to talk to you. It just works.”
“There’ll always be serendipity involved in the discovery.”
“I strongly believe that missionaries make better products. They care more. For a missionary, it’s not just about the business. There has to be a business, and the business has to make sense, but that’s not why you do it. You do it because you have something meaningful that motivates you.” – Jeff Bezos
“The thing that motivates me is a very common form of motivation. And that is, with other folks counting on me, it’s so easy to be motivated.”
“Life’s too short to hang out with people who aren’t resourceful.”
“If you don’t understand the details of your business you are going to fail.”
“The common question that gets asked in business is, ‘why?’ That’s a good question, but an equally valid question is, ‘why not?’”
“We expect all our businesses to have a positive impact on our top and bottom lines. Profitability is very important to us or we wouldn’t be in this business.” – Jeff Bezos
“The human brain is an incredible pattern-matching machine.”
“We are stubborn on vision. We are flexible on details…”
“It’s not an experiment if you know it’s going to work.”
“Your margin is my opportunity.” – Jeff Bezos
“We see our customers as invited guests to a party, and we are the hosts. It’s our job every day to make every important aspect of the customer experience a little bit better.”
“Work Hard, have fun, make history.”
“You don’t want to negotiate the price of simple things you buy every day.”
“If you never want to be criticized, for goodness’ sake don’t do anything new.”
“A brand for a company is like a reputation for a person. You earn reputation by trying to do hard things well.”
“Maintain a firm grasp of the obvious at all times.” – Jeff Bezos
“If you do build a great experience, customers tell each other about that. Word of mouth is very powerful.” – Jeff Bezos

About Robert C. Lucas, Your Customer Service Guru that is a big fan of Jeff Bezos

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.

Bob Lucas B.S., M.A., M.A, CPLP is the principal in Robert W. Lucas Enterprises, Inc and an internationally-known author; learning and performance professionals. He has written and contributed to numerous books on the subject of customer service skill training.

He regularly conducts workshops on creative training, train-the-trainer, customer service, interpersonal communication, and management,
and supervisory skills.

Tips for Customer Service Representatives – Nonverbal Communication with Customers

by Robert W. Lucas

Tips for Customer Service Representatives – Nonverbal Communication with Customers

When interacting with customers, it is crucial to remember that many studies have found that nonverbal messages often overshadow verbal ones. This is why customer service representatives should continually remind themselves to guard the unspoken messages they send to customers and potential customers via facial expressions, gestures, posture, appearance, and other unspoken means. Strive to make all forms of communication positive.

To get a better idea of how you present yourself nonverbally to customers, ask a co-worker to use the following guidelines and evaluate your nonverbal communication during a service transaction with a customer. Once it is over, spend some time having your peer provide feedback on how well you did along with any suggestions for improvement.

Body Language – Does your body posture and positioning send a relaxed positive (e.g. confidence and self-assurance) or tense negative (e.g. uncertain, confused, or unconfident)

Facial Expression – Does your face say, “Hello, welcome, I am able and ready to serve you” or does it show a bored, disinterested employee who is going through the motions of providing service?

Eye Contact – Are you making appropriate and adequate eye contact to show interest without causing possible discomfort or offense?

The Tone of Your Voice – Does your voice project a smiling professional who sounds even-paced, comfortable and confident?

For additional ideas and strategies on how to effectively communicate with customers and potential 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.

About Robert C. Lucas

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.

Customer Satisfaction Quote – Alice MacDougall

by Robert W. Lucas

Customer Satisfaction Quote – Alice MacDougall

Customer needs wants and expectations drive their behavior. The challenge for customer service representatives and other employees in any organization is to properly identify what it takes to promote customer and brand loyalty. The easiest way to accomplish this is to ensure that effective customer service and interpersonal communication training is conducted regularly. Also, employees are empowered to handle complaints and other customer issues as they occur, without delays or having to wait for supervisory approval.

“In business, you get what you want by giving other people what they want.” Alice MacDougall

A quote by Alice MacDougall sums up the idea of customer satisfaction.

Here are a few more Alice MacDougall quotes to enjoy…

For the poor the whole world is a self-constituted critic; your smallest action is open to debate. No secret place of your soul is safe from invasion.
I simply don’t believe in failure. In itself, it doesn’t exist. We create it. We make ourselves fail.
Poverty is relative, and the lack of food and of the necessities of life is not necessarily a hardship. Spiritual and social ostracism, the invasion of your privacy, are what constitute the pain of poverty.
For too many of us ease is far more soul-destroying than trouble.
A few hours with Beethoven are more restful than sleep.
One must eliminate the traditional and cling to the essential.
When one is altering the face of the universe one cannot remember small helpful acts.
Really to succeed, we must give; of our souls to the soulless, of our love to the lonely, of our intelligence to the dull. Business is quite as much a process of giving as it is of getting.
The small perplexities of small minds eddy and boil about you. Confident from the experience that has led you out of these same dangers, you attack each problem as it appears, unafraid.
Work becomes at once a delight and a tyrant. For even when the time comes and you can relax, you hardly know-how.
Much of the success of life depends upon keeping one’s mind open to opportunity and seizing it when it comes.
Life means opportunity, and the thing men call death is the last wonderful, beautiful adventure.
I am always glad to think that my education was, for the most part, informal, and had not the slightest reference to a future business career. It left me free and untrammeled to approach my business problems without the limiting influence of specific training.
Hunger and cold, ill-health and pain are nothing. They pass. The thing that remains is ignorant criticism, well-meaning but futile advice, the contempt of a subordinate, the feelings of the underdog.
That is the wearisome part of business – there is no peace, no sense of certain, permanent achievement, no stability. The unexpected, and usually the awful, is forever happening.
Not only is orderliness an economy; it produces rest.
Perhaps nothing in all my business has helped me more than faith in my fellow man. From the very first I felt confident that I could trust the great, friendly public. So I told it quite simply what I thought, what I felt, what I was trying to do. And the response was quick, sure, and immediate.
Success is an absurd, erratic thing. She arrives when one least expects her and after she has come may depart again almost because of a whim.
In business everyone is out to grab, to fight, to win. Either you are the under or the overdog. It is up to you to be on top.

Learn About Robert C. Lucas – Your Customer Service Skills Expert and Award-Winning Author that is a huge fan of Alice MacDougall

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.

He regularly conducts workshops on creative training, train-the-trainer, customer service, interpersonal communication, and management,
and supervisory skills.

Learn more about Bob and his organization at www.robertwlucas.com and follow his blogs at www.robertwlucas.com/wordpress,
www.customerserviceskillsbook.com, and www.thecreativetrainer.com. Like Bob at www.facebook.com/robertwlucasenterprises

Target Unauthorized Access to Credit Card Data Will Impact Customer Trust

by Robert W. Lucas

Target Unauthorized Access to Credit Card Data Will Impact Customer Trust

While no one died (as when someone tampered with Tylenol tablets in the 80s) and the environment was not destroyed (as with the Exxon Valez in the 80s or BP oil spill in 2010), millions of loyal customers and potential Target customers have been impacted by their latest corporate PR nightmare as millions of credit card customers had their personal data inappropriately accessed. During some of the busiest shopping times of the year (November 27-December 15, 2013) someone gained unauthorized access to over 40 million credit files for Target customers who used credit cards to shop in their stores.

Even though no fraud cases have yet to be determined, Target is struggling to get ahead of this potential massive loss. Customers have complained that they are not able to access their online Target accounts or get through on crowded chat and phone lines. Losses could add up significantly for Target as they make their final holiday shopping season push. Like the huge T.J. Maxx lawsuits that followed a similar breach in the past, Target will likely be the focus of a class-action suit that might cost them large payouts. Couple that with potential lost shopping revenue, canceled Target Red credit accounts and a massive hit on trust from customers and potential customers and the company is not likely to have a very merry holiday season…or a good end of the year financial report. In addition, brand and customer loyalty will likely take a big hit into the foreseeable future, depending on how the company manages this situation.

An article on The Wall Street Journal’s Market Watch blog has more details about this incident.

Since trust is the key element of any customer-provider relationship, frontline customer service representatives have to be prepared to handle service breakdowns and customer complaints. To get ideas of how you might deal with such situations if your company encounters a crash and you need to initiate service recovery initiatives, get a copy of 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.

Customer Satisfaction Quote – Donald Porter

by Robert W. Lucas

Customer Satisfaction Quote – Donald Porter

Loyal customers are the most valuable asset of an organization that an organization can have. By identifying and meeting their needs, wants and expectations, customer service representatives and other employees can help ensure that they not only demonstrate customer and brand loyalty but also tell others about their positive service experiences.

“Customers don’t expect you to be perfect. They expect you to fix things when they go wrong.” Donald Porter

As Donald Porter, a V.P. at British Airways once said:

For strategies and techniques on how to build effective customer and brand loyalty in your organization, get a copy of Customer Service Skills for Success by Robert W. Lucas.

Here are a few more cool quotes from Donald Porter…

“No matter how great the reputation, all organisations are only as good as today’s performance.” – Donald Porter
“legions of disappointed customers have taken the opportunity to vent their frustration online”

Learn about the Customer Service Blogger – Robert C. Lucas who is a big fan of Donald Porter

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.

He regularly conducts workshops on creative training, train-the-trainer, customer service, interpersonal communication, and management,
and supervisory skills.

Improving Your Listening Ability Can Aid Customer Service

by Robert W. Lucas

Improving Your Listening Ability Can Aid Customer Service

Effective listening skills are crucial in building and maintaining relationships with other people, especially in a customer service environment. Unfortunately, it is a skill that many people do not learn or practice well.

To improve your ability to effectively and accurately receive information and messages from others, take some time to attend training programs on how to listen better. It will be money well spent and like any other skill, the more you work at it, the better you likely will become at using it.

Before attending training, verify the accuracy of your perception about your own listening effectiveness. To do so, ask several friends, family members and people in your workplace, who know your listening abilities well, to rate you. Have them use the scale of Outstanding, Above Average, Average, Poor, and Ineffective. Once they rate you, have them provide hints on how to improve your effectiveness. These submissions or ratings could be done anonymously in order to get more candid feedback. Once you get the information, objectively analyze it and then incorporate it into your listening improvement action plan, as necessary.

For more tips on how to improve your ability to effectively communicate and interact with customers in a variety of situations, get copies of Customer Service Skills for Success, Please Every Customer: Delivering Stellar Customer Service Across Cultures and How to Be a Great Call Center Representative.

About Robert C. Lucas

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

Three Ways to Enhance Customer Service in Any Organization

by Robert W. Lucas

Three Ways to Enhance Customer Service in Any Organization

Finding ways to build a strong customer-centric organization and help build customer and brand loyalty seems to take a lot of time in organizations today.

Here are three ways that customer service representatives and others in the organization can help ensure service success and better needs the changing needs wants and expectations of current and potential customers.

Decide on an appropriate course of action for resolution of problems or satisfaction of needs only after adequate information has been gathered through effective questioning.
Ensure that all employees have the same level of training and knowledge pertaining to products, services and that they adhere to policies and procedures for dealing with all customer situations.
Find ways to make sure that positive customer service becomes second nature to employees throughout the organization. This includes creating an environment in which service providers are proud of the organization, themselves, and the service that they provide.

For more ideas on effectively creating an environment that encourages customer and brand loyalty, 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.

About Robert C. Lucas

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

Delivering Positive Customer Service Every Time

by Robert W. Lucas

Delivering Positive Customer Service Every Time

With regular access to products and services from around the world, consumers no longer use cost as their single determining factor when making a buying decision. They look at other factors like delivery policy and times, quality, and levels of service received. Often, the deciding factor for some people is how well they are treated and if their needs are truly considered and met by service providers. The key to transforming visitors into loyal customers is for every employee at all levels of the organization to take ownership of each customer encounter.

Follow the ABCs of customer service for more effectively serving potential and returning customers.

Assume that every person with whom you come into contact is a cherished customer or potential customer and make them feel as such.

Begin each encounter with statements that make the person feel welcome and that you are truly there to assist them in whatever ways possible.

Create an environment on the telephone, via the Internet and in-person in which customers can access the information that they need to answer questions, educate them, and aid in making an informed buying decision.

About Robert C. Lucas

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

Inspirational Customer Relationships Quote – Nelson Mandela

by Robert W. Lucas

Inspirational Customer Relationships Quote – Nelson Mandela

When dealing with people of all types, it is important for customer service representatives and others in the organization to truly respect and appreciate those with whom they come into contact. This is because each person is different, yet similar and has needs, wants, and expectations specific to themselves and their situation. If you fail to work with your customers and try to give them the best possible service, you, your customer and your organization will fail in efforts to have a successful service outcome.

A quote by the popular former President of South Africa, Nelson Mandela, sums up this premise:

Here are a few more good quotes from Nelson Mandela…

“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.”
“When a man is denied the right to live the life he believes in, he has no choice but to become an outlaw.”
“I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.”
“A good head and good heart are always a formidable combination. But when you add to that a literate tongue or pen, then you have something very special.” ― Nelson Mandela
“It always seems impossible until it’s done.”
“No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.”
“Resentment is like drinking poison and then hoping it will kill your enemies.”― Nelson Mandela
“For to be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.”
“There is nothing like returning to a place that remains unchanged to find the ways in which you yourself have altered.”
“Do not judge me by my successes, judge me by how many times I fell down and got back up again.”
“I have walked that long road to freedom. I have tried not to falter; I have made missteps along the way. But I have discovered the secret that after climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb. I have taken a moment here to rest, to steal a view of the glorious vista that surrounds me, to look back on the distance I have come. But I can only rest for a moment, for with freedom come responsibilities, and I dare not linger, for my long walk is not ended.”
“Lead from the back — and let others believe they are in front.” ― Nelson Mandela
“I am not a saint, unless you think of a saint as a sinner who keeps on trying.”
“As I walked out the door toward the gate that would lead to my freedom, I knew if I didn’t leave my bitterness and hatred behind, I’d still be in prison.”
“There is no passion to be found playing small – in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living.” ― Nelson Mandela

About Robert C. Lucas

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

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.”