Positive Impressions Builds Strong Customer Relationships

Customers often judge an organization and the people who work for it based on the first impressions made by customer service representatives and others in the organization with whom they come into contact face-to-face or via technology. This is why it is crucial that you and others who serve customers take time to prepare for customer interactions by fine-tuning your interpersonal communication skills.

To ensure that you have the tools needed to deliver excellent customer service to current and potential customers, learn as much as you can about your organization, products, and services. Also, continually work to upgrade your knowledge of people from varies backgrounds and enhance your customer service skills. By taking these basic steps you will be better prepared to send positive messages through your appearance, voice and non-verbal cues and to provide quality customer service.

To learn more about ways to deliver the best customer service possible and make positive impressions on current and potential customers, get copies of Customer Service Skills for Success and Please Every Customer: Delivering Stellar Customer Service Across Cultures.

Customer Service Quote – Robert Lucas

by Robert W. Lucas

Customer Service Quote – Robert Lucas

“Effective customer service is often the deciding factor in a globally competitive world” Robert W. Lucas, Author of Please Every Customer.

National Customer Service Week was established by the International Customer Service Association (ICSA) in 1988 as a way for businesses and organizations to recognize the efforts of their customer service professionals. In 1991 President George H. Bush declared National Customer Service Week. In 2013, the theme was “United through Service”.

The idea behind the week is for organizations to celebrate service by doing things to boost employee morale and motivation through recognition and rewards for their efforts in satisfying customer needs, wants and expectations. By raising customer awareness across the organization and also reminding customers how vital they are to the individual employee and organizational success, companies can potentially enhance employee morale and increase customer and brand loyalty.

For useful resources and information on how to create a positive customer-centric environment in your organization, check out the ICSA and Alexander Communications Group websites.

For additional proven ideas and strategies on how to enhance the quality of service that you build with customers and to help aid customer and brand loyalty while increasing retention, get a copy of Care Packages for Your Customers by Barbara Glanz.

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.

Strengthening Communication with Customers – Tip#2

by Robert W. Lucas

Strengthening Communication with Customers – Tip#2

Be Consistent

Customers who feel that they have an active role in and control of a service-provider interaction often feel more important and valued. Improved interpersonal communication can lead to higher levels of customer satisfaction and retention and reduced stress for you and your co-workers.

Take advantage of the following strategy to build stronger relationships with your internal and external customers by being consistent.

People tend to like what is familiar. If customers come to know that they can depend on you and your organization to regularly provide timely, factual information, they will likely be more loyal. Provide information and updates to customers on a regular basis, not just when it is convenient for you. This is especially true when you are working on a problem or service breakdown. Remember that they do not know what you know. For example, if you are gathering information or need more time than expected, come back to the customer with periodic updates to give him or her a status check. Do not wait until the time or date that you were expected to resolve the issue to contact the customer; Otherwise, they are likely to be very upset.

For specific strategies on more effective communication with your customers, get a copy of Customer Service Skills for Success and Please Every Customer: Delivering Stellar Customer Service Across Cultures.

Strengthening Communication with Customers – Tip#1

by Robert W. Lucas

Strengthening Communication with Customers – Tip#1

Gather Information

Take advantage of the following strategy to build stronger relationships with your internal and external customers by gathering information.

Ask for customer input whenever possible. By knowing more about their needs, wants and expectations, you will be better able to provide services and products that satisfy them. Use communication strategies in publications, books and on the Internet to gather valuable information from people who you encounter on a daily basis.

About Robert W. Lucas

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

A 100 Percent ATTITUDE Is Crucial for Customer Service Representatives

by Robert W. Lucas

A 100 Percent ATTITUDE Is Crucial for Customer Service Representatives

Organizations are constantly looking for better ways to increase customer satisfaction, generate additional revenue and spark customer retention. While some customer service professionals say that brand loyalty and keeping customers for life is an unachievable goal, there are some strategies that can strengthen the customer-provider relationship. A few of these efforts include:

Hiring people who have “personality” and who really enjoy interacting with internal and external customers.

Delivering quality customer service face-to-face and via technology by training every employee to be adept at using the technology provided for serving their customers effectively.

Educating all employees on the policies, procedures, products, and services that customers should be able to expect them to know. Organizations are constantly looking for better ways to increase customer satisfaction, generate additional revenue and spark customer retention. While some customer service professionals say that brand loyalty and keeping customers for life is an unachievable goal, there are some strategies that can strengthen the customer-service provider relationship.

Building a customer-centric environment that lets customers know that they truly are valued. This includes using positive interpersonal communication skills (e.g. active listening, verbal and nonverbal skills, and asking the right questions).

Ultimately, the secret tool for making sure that customers want to do business with an organization is that all employees must continually develop and display a positive attitude when dealing with current and potential customers. To demonstrate the power of this trait, think about the following formula.

If the letters…

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Equals numerical values of…

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 18 20 21 22 23 24 25 26

Then…

A+T+T+I+T+U+D+E

1+20+20+9+20+21+4+5 =100%

To learn more about the power of positive customer service using sound and proven customer service knowledge, techniques and strategies, get copies of Customer Service Skills for Success and 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.

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.

Causes of Customer Service Breakdowns – Being Preoccupied

by Robert W. Lucas

Causes of Customer Service Breakdowns – Being Preoccupied

There are numerous reasons why customer service breakdowns occur. These run the spectrum from lack of sound customer service skills to bad customer service representative attitude.

In today’s hectic workplace where customer service representatives are constantly multitasking, it is sometimes easy to forget that your customers are a priority. Being preoccupied and not giving full attention to a customer is one quick way to cause a service breakdown. This is often due to trying to juggle multiple tasks or simply failing to care about the quality of customer service that you deliver.

If you have ever called or visited an organization only to have them put you on extended hold while they performed some task? Have you ever visited an organization where a customer service representative failed to acknowledge your presence and serve you right away? If you answered yes to either of these questions, you know how your customers might feel under similar circumstances. If you must put someone on hold while on the phone, do so only if you are currently serving another customer or you have no other option, but make sure that you explain why they are being asked to wait and how long it will take to get to them.

To prevent possible negative situations with customers from developing, if a customer arrives and you are performing an administrative function, such as filing, calculating, writing, or stocking, quickly get to a point where you can pause and serve the customer. In the meantime, take a moment to make eye contact, smile and either tell them or non-verbally (by holding up a single index finger) that you will be with the customer as soon as possible. This is an especially important action when dealing with someone from a culture in which relationships are an important aspect of business (e.g. the Middle East, Hispanic cultures, and Asia). Such efforts may not satisfy everyone, but they work with most customers, who understand that many service providers are doing more with fewer human assets these days.

To learn more customer service tips, ideas and strategies that might help prevent customer service breakdowns and how to better deliver excellent customer service to your internal and external customers, check out Please Every Customer: Delivering Stellar Customer Service Across Cultures and Customer Service Skills for Success.

Strong Customer Relations Result From Excellent Customer Service

by Robert W. Lucas

Strong Customer Relations Result From Excellent Customer Service

Providing excellent customer service should be the goal of everyone in your organization, not just front line customer service representatives. Ultimately, customer satisfaction and customer retention are about how well you care about your job and the quality of customer service you provide. By working closely with your customers to build and maintain strong customer relations with them, you not only have an opportunity to meet but also exceed their needs, wants and expectations.

To sum all this up, it comes down to possessing strong product knowledge and customer service skills and applying both anytime you come into contact with an internal or external customer.

Changing Consumer Values Are Impacting Customer Service

by Robert W. Lucas

Changing Consumer Values Are Impacting Customer Service

Throughout the world, there has been a tremendous amount of dynamic change in recent decades due to economic instability, quickly expanding and enhanced technology, global mobility where people move quickly and frequently, and other factors outlined in this chapter. The result has been a gradual shift in what many consumers hold near and dear or their values.

Changing Consumer Values Are Impacting Customer Service

Because different societies view what is important from different perspectives, clashes can sometimes result when service providers encounter customers who have values that differ from their own. The important thing to remember in such situations is that neither the customer nor the provider has the “right” set of values, they are simply different and each respect and honor those of the other party.

As a result of societal values, companies often change their approach to doing business as a competitive strategy and to attract and hold customers. This often includes shifting the way they do business, the products that they deliver and their manner of customer service. For example, because many consumers are now more cost-conscious, ecologically aware, and value sustainability, many automobile manufacturers are developing vehicles that are more energy-efficient, use ecologically sensitive fuels and cost less. Examples of this trend are the Chevrolet Volt, Toyota Prius and Nissan Leaf.

Obviously, companies have lofty goals, such as, excellent customer service, generating more revenue, and improving quality of service, customer satisfaction, and customer retention levels.

For more thoughts and ideas on how to more effectively serve today’s diverse customer base, get a copy of Customer Service Skills for Success and Please Every Customer: Delivering Stellar Customer Service Across Cultures.