customer service

Customer Satisfaction Levels – Maybe Not as Bad as We Think

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Customer Satisfaction Levels - Maybe Not as Bad as We Think

Customer Satisfaction Levels – Maybe Not as Bad as We Think

It seems like everyone you talk to has a tale of a customer service situation gone bad. Is it because service is really getting worse or is it that people are just so frustrated with the economy, healthcare, politics, world events and other aspects of their lives that they need to vent about something.  Even so, customer service may not be all that bad after all in many instances.

In a survey by Robert W. Lucas Enterprises, people were asked the following:

On a scale of 1-10 (10 being highest), what is the average score you would give based on customer service that you have received in the past week from various providers? According to over 82 percent of respondents, the range was 6-8.”

On a scale of 1-10 (10 being highest), rate the general effectiveness of customer service in most organizations today.  According to over 71 percent of respondents, the range was “5-7.”

While not stellar in the implications, and while leaving an opportunity for improvement, maybe service is not as dismal as we sometimes think.

Want suggestions on how to improve the service that you and your organization provide to your customers? Get copies of Customer Service Skills for Success, Please Every Customer: Delivering Stellar Customer Service Across Cultures and How to Be  Great Call Center Representative by Robert W. Lucas.

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.

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.

Florida Hospital Altamonte – A Positive Approach to Customer Service

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Florida Hospital Altamonte - A Positive Approach to Customer Service

Florida Hospital Altamonte – A Positive Approach to Customer Service

As I often do in my books, articles, and blog, I like to share positive customer service examples like the one I am currently experiencing this weekend as a patient at the Florida Hospital in Altamonte Springs, Florida. It is always nice to encounter a positive, customer-centric organization where people really seem to strive to deliver excellent customer service and go out of their way to show that they do care about what they are doing, especially in potentially life or death situations.

Customer service in the healthcare business

I am always inspired by positive examples of customer service wherever I travel locally and away from home. That is because, too often, my service experiences are negative and sometimes lead to emotional confrontations. As a service provider and customer service author, the frustrating part of such experiences for me is that it does not have to be that way. My philosophy is that if you are not happy and do not like your job…QUIT! Why make your life and that of those with whom you come into contact miserable.

Hospitals are places for healing, compassion and sometimes death. No one WANTS to go to a hospital as a patient nor, in many instances, as a visitor. The latter reminds people of their own frailty and the fact they too may someday be a patient. Unfortunately, because in times of pain and heightened emergencies people often fail to recognize or acknowledge the degree of dedication and concern offered by the people who make hospitals work. These servants of mercy and concern work tirelessly for as many as twelve hours or more a day in an attempt to help comfort and heal the sick and injured.

After witnessing what happens at Florida Hospital – Altamonte Springs, first-hand as a patient and second-hand with members of my family have been cared for here,  I am impressed by the level of attention and devotion the entire staff seems to provide. From the frontline staff, such as Brittany (receptionist/check-in), Geneve, Mercia, and Maritza (nurses), and Ritchie and Nikki (Techs) there is an obvious attempt to meet the needs of each patient. Then there are the wonderful folks who work behind the scenes, such as, Linda (leadership team) Allie (housekeeping), Drake (food services), and Jonathan (housekeeping Intern) who help create an atmosphere of service that permeates the organization and makes the patient (customer) experience one that meets their wants and expectations.

Going above and beyond expectations

As you can see by the departmental titles, the organization has borrowed those names and practices from the hospitality industry that help a more professional and customer-friendly place to visit. Florida Hospital even has a Concierge Services group that can assist with things like sending flowers, arranging for car detailing, organizing spa services, getting hotel discounts for family and friends of patients, and much more. Not what one would typically expect at a house of healing.

The basis for quality customer service

In my forty years of experience in various types of service organizations, I have come to realize that the manner in which employees approach customers is typically driven from the decision-makers at the top of the echelon, It then filters down through directives, policies, procedures and customer service skills training. This is obviously true for Florida Hospital Altamonte. In speaking to numerous employees, they are enthusiastic about what they do and the organization and supportive of the management directives.

Florida Hospital – Altamonte is a great example for other organizations (especially healthcare) to model after in order to deliver the best customer service possible.

For ideas and strategies on how you and your organization can acquire the skills similar to those exhibited by the Florida Hospital staff and help create a more customer-centric organization, get a copy of Customer Service Skills for Success.

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.

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.

Three Tips to Enhance Customer Service

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Three Tips to Enhance Customer Service

Many things interfere with a customer service representative’s ability to effectively deliver customer service and help build customer and brand loyalty by increasing their satisfaction levels.Three Tips to Enhance Customer Service

Here are three tips for effectively dealing with potential problem areas that can interfere with your ability to provide the best customer service. These techniques can also assist in creating a more customer-centric environment that helps address your customers’ needs, wants and expectations.

Keep personal emotions under control. When your emotional state rises because of personal issues or an angry reaction to a person or situation at work, take a few minutes to get away, if possible. Ask a co-worker or your supervisor to cover for you while you go for a short break to clear your head. While away, do not dwell on the issues causing the reaction. Instead, read a book, take a walk and think of positive things, focus on other issues so that when you return, you will be ready to listen to your customers effectively and deliver quality service.

Address personal issues before coming into contact with customers. If you have personal issues that are distracting from your work performance and preventing you from effectively assisting your customers, seek help through your Human Resources department. Many organizations offer an Employee Assistance Plan (EAP) that provides support for financial, legal, health and many other personal issues. In most cases, services are outsourced to a third-party vendor and are not provided by your organization’s employees. The services are anonymous and no reports listing your name are available to your supervisors or other employees in the organization.

Work to improve your listening skills. To verify the accuracy of your perception about your own listening effectiveness, ask several people in your workplace who know you’re 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 on a piece of paper 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. You might checkbooks, articles, Internet sites dealing with the topic of listening and interpersonal communication, or enroll in seminars or college classes that cover effective listening.

For additional ideas and strategies for enhancing your customer service skills, increasing customer satisfaction, promoting customer retention and building brand and customer loyalty, get a copy 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

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.

Customer Service Quotes – George S. Patton

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Customer Service Quotes – George S. Patton

Delivering excellent customer service requires more than just going through the mechanical process of performing the requirements of your job as a customer service representative. To truly excel as a service professional, you must be willing to build a strong interpersonal relationship with your customers. This includes identifying and meeting the needs, wants and expectations of each individual customer rather than treating all customers in a similar manner. By effectively interacting with every customer with whom you come into contact, you strengthen your image and that of your organization.

A statement by General George S. Patton sums up an approach for you to take in dealing with customers in the future:

Customer Service Quotes - George S. PattonFor additional ideas on how to better serve your customers, get a copy of Customer Service Skills for Success and How to Be a Great Call Center Representative.

Learn All About Robert C. ‘Bob’ Lucas Now

Understand Why He is an Authority in the Customer Service Skills Industry

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

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

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

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

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

Customer Service Quote – Anonymous

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Customer Service Quote – Anonymous

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.”

Everybody has a bad day…get over it! Whenever you feel as if you do not want to deal with customers or that you would rather be doing something else, consider the following customer service quote:

“Treat every customer as if they sign your paycheck because they do.” – Unknown

Who is 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.

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.

Ask yourself if you and your co-workers all meet the criteria outlined in this description. If the answer is no, what knowledge or skills are needed in order to master the art of providing not just good, but excellent, customer service? Discuss any specific needs for training with your peers and supervisor so that you are better prepared to provide service in the future.

The following anonymous quote points out a key point related to customer service:

Customer Service Quote - Anonymous

Customer Service Quote – Sam Walton

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Customer Service Quote – Sam Walton

“The goal as a company is to have customer service

that is not just the best, but legendary.”

– Sam Walton Founder of Walmart

Customer Service Quote - Sam Walton

Customer service is not just the job of customer service representatives and others on the “front line.” It is a crucial role that everyone from the CEO down must fulfill in order for an organization to be successful.

Certainly, the first people to come into contact with a customer are often those who answer the phones or respond to electronic messages as part of their job description. However, isn’t that something that everyone in the organization does every day? The challenge is that many people who are not hired specifically to fill a position designated as “customer service” forget that they also represent the organization each time that they come into contact with someone during the day.  They often do not consider their peers or other employees as internal customers and fail to provide a level of quality attention that they deserve. This might happen when someone from within the organization asks for information, only to have to call several times to follow-up when it is not provided as promised.

The bottom line is that if every employee adopts a customer-centric approach to doing their job, their reputation and that of the organization will potentially soar. By creating a service culture where everyone takes responsibility for positive service delivery; everyone wins.

For ideas and strategies on how to develop a customer-focused attitude, get a copy of the book Customer Service Skills for Success.

Learn All About Robert C. ‘Bob’ Lucas Now and

Understand Why He is an Authority in the Customer Service Skills Industry

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

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

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

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

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

Provide the Best Customer Service Possible

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Provide the Best Customer Service Possible

Providing the best customer service possible means that you do everything in your power to ensure that your customer’s needs, wants and expectations are met. Obviously, there are going to be times when challenges arise in service delivery, but that should not stop you from looking for practical and equitable solutions for both your customer and your organization.

A key part of any transaction is going to be that you always keep your word with customers. They have many choices in selecting a service or product provider. If they feel you cannot be depended upon to take action, they simply leave, often without complaint or comment.

When you tell customers you will do something, do it. Do not promise what you cannot deliver; many people take your word as your bond, especially those from cultures where a handshake still seals a deal (e.g. Middle Eastern countries, Hispanic and Asian cultures). Your goal should be to provide customers with competitively priced, reliable products or services that you deliver with little or no inconvenience or difficulty. Break the bond, and you risk destroying the relationship.

If feasible after delivering a product or providing service, contact your customer to make sure that he or she was satisfied and that your service met expectations. This follow-up can be an informal call, a more formal questionnaire, or a friendly e-mail or text message (assuming they authorized you to send such correspondence).

Always strive to underpromise and overdeliver. An example of this concept in action would be for you to suppose that a customer drops off film to be processed at your store on Tuesday. The store guarantees that the photos will be ready on Saturday. If possible, develop the film before Saturday, and call to tell the customer it is ready. When he or she comes to pick it up, give a coupon for a discount on the next roll of film. Such proactive efforts help secure customer loyalty and brand loyalty.

Provide the Best Customer Service PossibleProvide Customer Peace of Mind in All InteractionsFor additional ideas and information on dealing with customers from diverse backgrounds get a copy of Please Every Customer: Delivering Stellar Customer Service Across Cultures. For ideas on how to better deliver customer service in a variety of situations, check out Customer Service Skills for Success.

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.

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

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

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

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

Customer Attitudes Are Affecting Service Delivery

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Customer Attitudes Are Affecting Service Delivery

Companies today are struggling with not just providing a good or excellent customer service. They now are searching for ways to provide the best customer service possible in order to stay competitive in a globally competitive marketplace.

One of the biggest challenges for many organizations is that customer behavior continues to evolve as society has become more mobile, technology-driven and frugal following the recent recession. Add to the mix a more diverse consumer base that, in many instances displays needs, wants and expectations that differ from the past and you have a situation in which customer service representatives or service providers in all industries are rethinking the way that they deliver customer service.

Customer Attitudes Are Affecting Service Delivery

Here are some recent study findings that indicate a changing consumer environment:

“Channel usage rates are also quickly changing: we’ve seen a 12% rise in web self-service usage, a 24% rise in chat usage, and a 25% increase in community usage for customer service in the past three years.” Leggett, K., Forrester’s Top 15 Trends For Customer Service In 2013, January 14, 2013.

“…speed of service more important now, regardless of whether they are on the  phone, web, or at the service location:

In essence, people are more likely to use technology to obtain products and services and less likely to tolerate substandard or slow levels of service in today’s fast-paced world of many choices. When your competitor is literally a mouse click or touchpad away, you cannot afford to be complacent or view the customer at the same level you might have in the past.

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.

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.

Strategies for Providing Professional Customer Service

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Strategies for Providing Professional Customer Service

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

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

Strategies for Providing Professional Customer Service

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

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

About Robert C. Lucas

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.

Service Recovery Strategies: Rebuilding customer relationships after breakdowns

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Service Recovery Strategies: Rebuilding customer relationships after breakdowns

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

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

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

Service Recovery Strategies: Rebuilding customer relationships after breakdowns

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

About Robert C. Lucas – Customer Service Guru

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.

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