Customer Service Is Driven By Many Factors

Any customer service professional who has been on the job a period of time will tell you that dealing with internal and external customers can be a challenge at times.

To succeed in providing excellent customer service requires patience, a desire to help others and sound customer service skills. As the world becomes more global and you encounter people of all types and backgrounds, you will be required to gain new talents and insights, and to continually update your knowledge and skills. Sound customer communications and better understanding of people, in general, can lead to more satisfied and loyal customers in the long run.

Interpersonal Communication – Your Key to Customer Service Success

by Robert W. Lucas

Interpersonal Communication – Your Key to Customer Service Success

To be successful in your interactions with customers whose values, beliefs and experiences differ from your own, you will need to broaden your scope of knowledge related to interpersonal; communication, especially nonverbal signals (cues).

Because nonverbal communication styles and interpretations often differ from person-to-person and from one culture to another, the likelihood of breakdowns in interpretation and misunderstandings of nonverbal cues is high.

To enhance your awareness and skills in this area, attend seminars on nonverbal communication and cultural diversity, explore books, articles, and other information online or at the library, watch other people and talk about differences with others that you know. The more you know, the better your interpersonal communication skills will likely become.

For additional ideas and tips on more effectively honing your interpersonal communication skills, get copies of Please Every Customer: Delivering Stellar Customer Service Across Cultures and Customer Service Skills for Success.

Nonverbal Communication Quote – Ralph Waldo Emerson

by Robert W. Lucas

Nonverbal Communication Quote – Ralph Waldo Emerson

The importance of effective nonverbal communication when dealing with customers cannot be overemphasized. This is because people send and receive nonverbal cues differently based on many factors in their backgrounds (e.g. culture, education, experiences, ethnicity, and many others).

As Ralph Waldo Emerson is quoted as saying:

Interpersonal Communication Skills Tip

by Robert W. Lucas

Interpersonal Communication Skills Tip

Effective interpersonal communication skills are crucial for delivering excellent customer service.

Verbal communication skills are important, but nonverbal communication cues are often more so. Still, while you may potentially gather a lot of information through nonverbal cues received from others, be careful of putting too much emphasis on your interpretation. Why? Because many factors influence the messages being sent by others. For example, nonverbal cues can have different meanings or be interpreted differently based on factors like gender, culture, diversity, education, personal experiences and other factors.

The easiest way to prevent misinterpretation is to always ask someone to clarify their nonverbal cues when you are not sure of their meaning.

For more tips on dealing effectively with customers, get copies of Customer Service Skills for Success and Please Every Customer: Delivering Stellar Customer Service Across Cultures.

Customer Satisfaction Quote – Horst Schultz

by Robert W. Lucas

Customer Satisfaction Quote – Horst Schultz

Meeting your customer’s needs wants and expectations are the keys to creating brand and customer loyalty.

As Horst Schultz is quoted as saying:

“Unless you have 100% customer satisfaction, you must improve.” – Horst Schulze, President of The Ritz Carlton Hotels

Nonverbal Communication Success Tip

by Robert W. Lucas

Nonverbal Communication Success Tip

Whether you are dealing with customers or potential customers, never forget that the way that you communicate verbally and nonverbally (interpersonal communication skills) will determine the outcome of your interactions. In particular, nonverbal cues can often override your spoken words.

Personality types, cultural and educational background, the environment in which people have been reared, and many other factors affect the manner in which nonverbal cues are sent and received. All of these and more can create communication barriers since nonverbal cues carry powerful messages, you should remember that there is considerable room for misinterpretation of the cues used by different people. The skills of recognizing, assigning meaning, and responding appropriately to nonverbal messages are not exact. That is because human behavior is too unpredictable and the interpretation of nonverbal cues is too subjective for accuracy of interpretation to occur with consistency.

To prevent possible communication and relationship breakdowns, take the time to study ways in which nonverbal cues are sent and received in various cultures and by different categories of customers people based on age, gender, personality style, abilities, and other factors. Use what you learn to measure your own patterns of nonverbal communication and send messages wit others accordingly.

For customer service tips, ideas and strategies on communicating with different types of customers in your own workplace, 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.

Customer Service Quality Quote – Robert W. Lucas

by Robert W. Lucas

Customer Service Quality Quote – Robert W. Lucas

In a global, competitive customer environment of today, the organizations that survive and prosper will be those that do the unexpected by determining the true needs, wants and expectations of their customers and addressing them. These are the companies and institutions that go beyond the traditional paradigms of business and the way that they deliver products and services to customers.

While many things are evolving that impact you, your organization and customers, there are still things that can be controlled.

As an international author and customer service consultant, Robert W. Lucas has said:

“The one aspect of the customer service process over which you and your organization do have control — is the level and quality of service that is provided to your customers.” Customer Service Quality Quote by Robert W. Lucas

For information on proven customer service processes and skills that can help forge a solid service strategy and help gain and retain customers, 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.

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.

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

Inspirational Customer Service Quote – Mother Teresa

by Robert W. Lucas

Inspirational Customer Service Quote – Mother Teresa

One of the easiest and least expensive ways to start building brand and customer loyalty is to train yourself and others in the workplace to send customer-centric messages to everyone with whom you come into contact.

A quote from Mother Teresa sums up this concept.

Mother Teresa has Many Famous Quotes, here are a few more!

Peace begins with a smile.
There are no great things, only small things with great love. Happy are those.
If you can’t feed a hundred people, then feed just one.
Spread love everywhere you go. Let no one ever come to you without leaving happier.
If you judge people, you have no time to love them.
Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless.
Be faithful in small things because it is in them that your strength lies.
Let us always meet each other with smile, for the smile is the beginning of love.
Every time you smile at someone, it is an action of love, a gift to that person, a beautiful thing.
If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other.

About Robert C. Lucas

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.

Communicating Effectively with Customers Who Have Disabilities

by Robert W. Lucas

Communicating Effectively with

Customers Who Have Disabilities

When the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act was passed in the United States, the number of people with disabilities was estimated to be over 43 million. Since then the number of aging societal members has swelled that number to more than 56 million people – over 19% of the population. The impact of those numbers is that more of your customers today and into the future have to deal with sight, hearing, speech and mobility impairments than ever before. These disabilities can create challenges in customer service, communication, and the workplace overall for you and other customer service representatives.

By educating yourself on the needs of people with impairments that reduce ability in the area of seeing, hearing or speaking can aid communication and help build stronger customer management and relationship skills. Through interpersonal communication skills, you are able to potentially improve customer and brand loyalty by enhancing overall customer satisfaction levels.

There are hundreds of pieces of literature and research in these areas available. Plus, each governmental jurisdiction has a multitude of agencies, nonprofit and advocacy groups that provide information. Start by a sound Internet search to identify resources.

For proven customer service ideas and strategies 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. Each of these resources provides sound practices for improving communication and relationship management skills.

Who is Robert C. Lucas?

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.

Customer Service Inspirational Quote – Karl Albrecht & Ron Zemke

by Robert W. Lucas

Customer Service Inspirational Quote – Karl Albrecht & Ron Zemke

Successful customer service representatives, and others in their organization who want to ensure high levels of customer and brand satisfaction, realize that only their dedication and positive attitudes can lead to success.

A simple concept summarized in the following statement, by noted customer service consultants and authors Karl Albrecht and Ron Zemke, provides a solid insight in how to shine in the service profession.

Other Amazing Quotes by Karl Albrecht…

There are only two ways to establish a competitive advantage: do things better than others or do them differently.
You seldom improve quality by cutting costs, but you can often cut costs by improving quality.
Start out with an ideal and end up with a deal.
Albrecht’s Law – Intelligent people, when assembled into an organization, will tend toward collective stupidity.
In an organization of any significant size, the executives cannot create the future single-handedly. They must develop the enterprise in a constellation of teams within the overall team if they hope to bring the special talents and resources to bear on the challenge of creating superior customer value and sustaining a competitive advantage in the eyes of its customers.
The Zen philosophy posits that ‘human beings suffer’ and ‘the cause of suffering is desire.’ The way to put an end to suffering is to stop wanting everything, all the time.
Customer needs have an unsettling way of not staying satisfied for very long.

Another Amazing Quote by Ron Zemke…

Customers don’t distinguish between you and the company you work for. To the customer’s way of thinking, you are the company.

For specific ideas and strategies on how to effectively provide stellar service to 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.

About Robert C. Lucas

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.