The Sykes Group's OnPoint

Five Powerful Customer Service Secrets to Growing Your Business During Challenging Times

We are all faced with challenges during these changing economic times. How we overcome them and what leadership we provide will make the difference between success and failure

The secret weapon for being successful during this changing time is customer service. Outstanding customer service will make you stand out from the competition and make your organization successful. Whether your organization is for profit or non-profit, a private or government agency; or a big corporation vs. a small business, the following five customer service secrets will help you succeed in any situation:

1. Grow Your Business with Customer Service Basics
   Joy and I were looking to purchase a new cell phone and walked into a retail store. When we walked into the store, the young lady did not look up and acknowledge our presence. When she finally looked up, she asked without a smile and without emotion, “Can I help you?” To make a long story short, every question we asked was appeared to be a bother to the clerk and we quickly left without purchasing anything. We went to another store less than a mile away, and as soon as we walked in the store the clerk had a smile on his face and was attentive to our needs and questions. Within a matter of minutes, we had purchased two cell phones and were happy with our purchase.
   
   Realize that the customer has many options to spend their money and you may have only one opportunity to impress that customer. Treat the customer as the key to making your organization successful and value their time.
   
   Get back to the basics of customer service whether you are in front of the customer or talking to the customer by phone. Greet the customer with a smile, talk with the customer with enthusiasm, and take a sincere interest. Really listen to the customer’s wants and needs so that you can work towards finding a solution. Make eye contact when speaking with the customer. If you ask the customer a question, wait to hear the answer before doing anything else. These basics show the customer you really want to provide a solution for them.

2. Grow Your Business By Going the Extra Mile
   I have a membership and exercise at a local gym where I pay extra for their team-training program. One day I was running late and missed the last team training session. The trainer asked me to wait to see what he could do for me. He came back a few minutes later and shared that he would be willing to personally train Joy and me for one hour at no extra cost. We were impressed with the offer and the personal attention we received for the hour.
   
   Joy and I mentioned to the training director that we would like to train in the team training area by ourselves during the off hours. We like to do this because it is quiet in the room and we are able to think while we exercise. As a result of this conversation, the training director decided to initiate a rule that only team training members can use the exercise room during off hours.
   
   By going the extra mile in both cases, this business was able to please two members and made them feel special. Because of this special treatment, we will keep our membership, tell other potential members about the customer service, and the training director was able to initial a special “value-added” service to sell future potential team members when explaining why they should join team training.

   Challenge plus Opportunity equals Business Success

   What extra customer service can you give your customers so that they will continue to do business with you?

3. Grow Your Business With the Ultimate Customer Experience
   We continue to shop at a local grocery store chain that has higher prices, yet provides a combination of customer service tools that create the ultimate customer experience. They always have fresh, high quality produce and meats; they provide superior customer service every step of the way; and they give us the opportunity to save by offering double and triple coupons. Management is always visible to answer questions and assist the customer in any way possible. The clerks are always happy to look in the stockroom when asked. They create an enjoyable shopping experience every time. When was the last time you had a truly enjoyable customer experience?

4. Grow Your Business By Hiring the Right Customer Service Personnel
   We use a mailing retail establishment that is two miles further than the same establishment one mile away. Why do we do this? Because the business further away took the time to connect with us. They hire clerks with personality, who are excited to help us with our business. When we come to the store, they greet us by name and move quickly to retrieve our mail. When I call on the phone to see what mail has arrived, they are quick to find out and tell me exactly what mail arrived, thus saving me drive time.
   
   As with previous examples, these companies hire right the first time and will not accept employees who don’t meet their standards.
   
   Are your business frontline people helping you grow your business or putting you out of business?

5. Grow Your Business By Getting Involved With Your Customers
   Whether you own your business or are a manager for a business, get involved with your customers so that you can meet their goals. Take time to reach out to your customers by asking them about their customer experiences in your establishment. If needed, send surveys and offer a bonus for responding. The more your customer sees that you care about them, the more they will care about your business and increase your bottom line.

Apply these five customer service secrets to grow your business and your business will be even more successful during any economic environment.

Has This Ever Happened During Your Conversations?

"It is impossible to overemphasize the immense need humans have to be really listened to, to be taken seriously, to be understood. Listen to all conversations in our world between nations as well as those between couples. They are for the most part dialogues of the deaf." - Paul Tournier-Swiss Psychiatrist

That happened yesterday. I did this at the gym yesterday. I was exercising at the gym when I ran into the gym director. I wanted to have a conversation with her for the longest time. The conversation went like this:

Ed: "Hey Taryn!"

Taryn: "Hello Ed!"

Ed: "How are you doing today?"

Ed: "I need to talk with you for a couple of minutes."

Taryn: "Sure Ed, I just need to check on my ride."

If you noticed, I didn't wait for Tayrn's answer to, "How are you doing today?," before going into my conversation and "my wants." How many times have you had this happen to you? How did it make you feel? Or maybe, you did this to someone else?

Great communication skills involve two-way communication that is respectful. My sure you are checking yourself during the conversation so that both parties have a mutually beneficial conversation. Two great resources to enhance your communication skills are the following:

Enhance Your Conversation

Bite Your Tongue! 10 Ways to Be an Effective Listener

Has this ever happened to you at work, home, or with friends? Share your story with us.

P.S.-I apologized to Taryn when I met with her and we had a very production conversation.

Eight Customer Service Secrets to "Jumpstarting" Your Customer Service During Challenging Times!

Outstanding customer service is the key to creating a successful organization during any economic time... but especially during challenging economic times.

It's amazing how most organizations will invest millions, if not billions, of dollars on new computer systems, new displays, new phone systems, and new marketing campaigns to try to acquire new customers. The moment of truth comes, however, when the new customer has first contact with these organizations. If the customer is ignored, disrespected, and disappointed with the customer service experience, that customer may never come back. When this occurs, these organizations apparently haven't heard the old saying, "You only get one chance to make a great first impression."

What about the present customer base? Many times these customers are treated with indifference and, in many cases, quietly go away to do business with a competitor.

Why not jumpstart your organization's success with outstanding customer service? It doesn't matter if you are involved in retail, restaurant management, consumer products, or even the government, customer service is being recognized as the key to increasing productivity, decreasing employee turnover, and increasing an organization's bottom line. Especially during challenging economic times, the quality of your customer service determines if you remain in business to serve customers or cease to exist.

The following are eight secrets to giving outstanding customer service so that your organization will be successful:

1. Hire Right for Outstanding Customer Service
   Organizations that give outstanding customer service invest in hiring right each and every time. They realize that they want the best employees interacting with their customers. Who is the best customer service employee to hire? Hire for attitude, not for aptitude. Hire the employee that has a great customer service attitude and has a great personality, takes initiative, has great communication skills, can show empathy, and has an eye for detail. If a prospective customer service employee has a great attitude, you can always train that employee to learn the skills. Also, the employee should be a solution creator, not a problem maker.

2. Make Outstanding Customer Service Your Mission
   What is your organization's mission statement? What does the mission statement say about how you should treat your customer? Are you communicating this to all your employees, no matter what position they have in the organization? Take the time during meetings, e-mails, phone calls, and other communication opportunities to express the mission statement and how it relates to giving outstanding customer service. Ask during your meeting, "What did we do this week to live our mission statement and its customer service values?"

Go to the following link to read the rest: Jumpstarting Customer Service

Customer Service Expert Ed Sykes Shares How You Can Give Great Customer Service on National Public Radio Program

I recently had the pleasure of being on the popular National Public Radio program, HearSay with host Cathy Lewis. The theme of the program was customer service.

Customer service expert Bob Livingston and I discussed how to provide great customer service so that the customer experience brings the customer back again and again.

To listen to the customer service tips we shared on the program, please click on the following link:

Customer Service Tips

October 1-5 is Customer Service Week.

October 1-5 is Customer Service Week. In an environment that so few organizations do it well, I would like to recognize an organization that understands what great customer service is, and more importantly, applies it each and every time. The name of that organization is the supermarket chain, Harris Teeter.

The following are twelve reasons why I enjoy my customer experiences when shopping at Harris Teeter and don't mind paying a little extra for the food I buy:

1. Harris Teeter provides consistently great service no matter what store you shop.

2. Harris Teeter employees have smiles on their faces each and every time.

3. Harris Teeter employees give eye contact when interacting with customers.

4. Every Harris Teeter cashier will ask you "did you find everything you needed" and wait for the answer and provide a solution if you didn't before proceeding to ring you up.

5. Every Harris Teeter employee shows a "we're here to serve you" attitude.

6. Every Harris Teeter employee shows a "we will be more than glad to find it for you" attitude.

7. Every Harris Teeter store has a clean and inviting environment.

8. Every Harris Teeter makes checkout easy and fast even during rush hour.

9. Harris Teeter is focused on hiring service oriented employees.

10. All Harris Teeter employees are trained to understand and show great customer service.

11. Harris Teeter employees explain each time at end of check out how much you saved by shopping at Harris Teeter.

12. Harris Teeter employees always say "thank you for shopping at Harris Teeter."

Harris Teeter understands that the customer is willing to go out their way and pay more if the customer is given great customer service and feels appreciated. Whenever I go to Harris Teeter, it is a "shopping event." Thus, for Harris Teeter, it increases their bottom line. Hooray for Harris Teeter! They understand the right way to run a business.

Motivate Your Team for Outstanding Customer Service: Six Secrets of Customer Service Motivation

Providing outstanding customer service is one of the most rewarding yet challenging activities within your organization. Exceptional organizations that provide outstanding customer service will experience the following benefits:

• Increased customer satisfaction

• Increased revenues

• Increased repeat and referral customer traffic

• Less employee turnover

• Increased profits

So how do we support and motivate our customer service team to give outstanding customer service? The following are six secrets to motivate your customer service team to give exceptional customer service to your customers:

1. Provide Ongoing Learning - It's important that you not only provide training on organizational policies and technology, but also how to handle customers. Create an ongoing system for training and feedback. Request continuous feedback and have the "courage to listen" to your customer service team's responses. Your customer service team members, because they are on the frontline, can provide you with excellent information on how to service your customer. Market conditions are changing all the time and the one piece of information your customer service team can share with you can make the difference between success and failure. After receiving the information from your customer service rep, if necessary, provide the training to your customer service team so that they can provide outstanding customer service.

2. Adjust the Attitude - Constantly work on your own attitude and your team's attitude to providing outstanding customer service. As a customer service leader, always be aware of the tone you set and how your customer service team will be motivated by your attitude. If you are upbeat, your team will follow the lead and provide outstanding customer service. If you have a negative attitude, your customer service team will follow your lead and communicate this negative attitude to the customers they serve.
   
   Work with your customer service team members to create a positive attitude in the following ways:
   
   
   • Look at every customer service experience as a learning experience that is preparing them for future opportunities.
   • Put your team in the customer's shoes to understand the customer's "pain" and create empathy for outstanding customer service solutions
   • Have your customer service team take on the persona of a positive individual they admire to help them through a difficult customer service situation.
   • Create "positive triggers" to remind your customer service team why it is important to give outstanding service. Your trigger could be as simple as a family picture or a picture of an item (new car, home, etc.) that is important to you.

3. Give Incentives - Motivate your customer service team by giving incentives based on meeting your organization's mission, goals, and values. Be timely, fair, and public with your incentives. Also, when putting together an incentive program, ask your customer service team what they would like as incentives. Many times organizations will invest thousands of dollars on incentives which are not the ones their customer service team wants. Just ask!

4. Show Appreciation - Appreciate to motivate your customer service team as much as possible. Remember, many times they are facing very challenging customer service situations everyday. Keep them motivated by sharing your appreciation in a timely, sincere, fair, and encouraging way. For more detail on this, go to my article, Appreciate to Motivate, on my website. By consistently showing appreciation, you will motivate your customer service team to excel when it is most difficult for them to do so.

5. Support Outstanding Customer Service - Support and motivate your customer service team in a number of ways. You can support and motivate your customer service team by making sure the technology supports them and the customers. For example, I recently called my internet broadband company about a mistake on a bill. The automated system disconnected my call five times before I finally spoke with a customer service representative; and I told him that he must experience many upset customers if they experience the same. The customer service representative agreed and said it made his job very difficult.
   
   Support your customer service team by "cheer leading" their concerns to upper management. Champion their concerns to upper management and let your customer service team know the progress of each concern.
   
   Support and motivate your customer service team by keeping standards high for customer service. When your organization is facing challenging times, it is very tempting to lower standards. That's the last action you should take. By lowering standards, you decrease customer satisfaction, increase customer service turnover, and muddy your organization’s name in the marketplace.

Apply these customer service motivation secrets with your customer service team and you will have highly motivated customer service teams and happy customers, and your organization's bottom line will increase.

Happy Customer Service Week! (October 2-6, 2006) Quote #5

"Don't try to tell the customer what he wants. If you want to be smart, be smart in the shower. Then get out, go to work and serve the customer!" - Gene Buckley, Sikorsky Aircraft

Happy Customer Service Week! (October 2-6, 2006) Quote #4

"The single most important thing to remember about any enterprise is that there are no results inside its walls. The result of a business is a satisfied customer." - Peter Drucker

Happy Customer Service Week! (October 2-6, 2006) Quote #3

"Do what you do so well that they will want to see it again and bring their friends." - Walt Disney

Happy Customer Service Week! (October 2-6, 2006) Quote #2

'It starts with respect. If you respect the customer as a human being, and truly honor their right to be treated fairly and honestly, every thing else is much easier." - Unknown

Happy Customer Service Week! (October 2-6, 2006)

"As far as customers are concerned you are the company. This is not a burden, but the core of your job. You hold in your hands the power to keep customers coming back - perhaps even to make or break the company." - Unknown

Customer Service Secrets: Six Secrets of Outstanding Customer Retention

When I was Vice President of Sales for a New York based computer services company, I walked by one of my salesperson's desk when the phone began to ring and picked up the phone to answer the call. It was one call that tested my customer service skills.

It was a call from a Senior Vice President for Chase Manhattan Bank, N.A. She was not happy with the service our representative was giving her and said she was considering going to another vendor for her computer services. I let her talk as she vented her anger.

I reintroduced myself and let her know that I would personally appreciate her sharing her customer service concerns with me. I also let her know we valued her as a customer and wanted her business and that I would do whatever it took to make her happy with our company. She then let me know that someone better "make her happy" by the end of the day or we could forget about doing business again with Chase Manhattan Bank. I let her know I personally could see her in one hour, and she agreed to the meeting.

I put together the solution and took the #4 subway line to Wall Street to meet at her office. As I waited in the lobby of her building for an elevator, five women gathered around me to also wait for the elevator. The elevator arrived and we all walked into the elevator. I took the initiative and greeted the group of women and commented on the weather. This opened up the conversation between all of us and soon, with additional exchanges, we were laughing about our day.

I left the elevator, and one of the women also got off on the same floor. I asked her where the Senior Vice President's office was located, and she said she would be glad to take me to the office. We continued our engaging conversation along the way and, before I knew it, we were at the Senior Vice President's office door.

I was about to thank the woman for escorting me, when she walked around and behind the Senior Vice President's desk and announced that she was Senior Vice President and how could she help me. Let's say I was surprised. I introduced myself, we both paused for a moment, and then we both laughed.

To say the least, we had a very productive meeting, which led to a great customer relation with Chase Manhattan Bank and her for many years and with the bank even beyond her retirement. She was so impressed with her positive experience that day that she became my biggest advocate to other senior management within the bank, which led to new customers and millions in additional business.

What, then, are the secrets to customer retention and winning back an angry customer so that the situation becomes an outstanding customer service experience?

The following are six customer service secrets for winning back customers, increasing customer satisfaction, and increasing your bottom line:

1. Start with a Positive Attitude - Look at any customer service situation as a challenge and an opportunity to learn and grow, and take care of the customer's needs. Start with a positive attitude that says, "I want to help you and, together, we will find a solution." I always say, "You never know who is watching you, so always give them your best face.” Because I had a positive attitude in the above situation, I put on my best face when interacting with the women in the elevator, and this led to a positive impression of me with the senior vice president."



2. Listen with Empathy - Put yourself in the customer's shoes, experience his/her pain, and communicate to the customer you understand the pain. You can communicate your understanding of their pain by saying, "Thank you for sharing your concerns with me. If I were in your shoes, I would feel the same way."



3. Take Ownership - Don't make excuses for what happened with the customer. Apologize and take ownership for what happened with the customer. The sooner you take ownership of the customer service challenge, the sooner you can take ownership of the customer service solutions.



4. Communicate Your Plan of Action - Let the customer know what you are willing to do to take care of his/her concerns. The customer becomes frustrated when he/she feels uninvolved or uncertain as to what you are planning for the customer service solution. Ask for the customer's commitment to the plan before proceeding with the action. My plan of action started when I told the customer that I was going to take the subway immediately to meet with her, and the complete customer service plan was communicated during our first meeting.



5. Take Action - The most important customer service secret is taking action. You can go through all the other customer service secrets and if you don't take action, all your actions and credibility are lost. You increase customer retention when you make sure you deliver more than what is promised. Act quickly, act with a quality solution, and act with integrity.



6. Ask for the Business - During the customer service challenge, I expressed several times that I valued and wanted her business. This let's the customer know that you don't take his/her business for granted. It's even more important that you express to the customer that you want his/her business after the customer service situation is resolved. You can also give an extra incentive to the customer for acting now to continue giving you the business. It can be as simple as a discount coupon or some other special offering.

Apply these customer service secrets with your customers and you will increase customer satisfaction and customer retention and win back customers to increase your bottom line.

Bad Customer Service Is Not So Funny: Five Secrets to Giving Outstanding Customer Service

The following story tells how a customer experience went from funny to sad in less than 24 hours, and five secrets to creating an outstanding customer experience.

Recently, Joy and I were invited to go to a local comedy club. It was one of those clubs where you eat dinner while listening to the comedians.

We had a very enjoyable evening with our hosts. The comedians were funny and the meals were delicious. The server gave us our check for the meals and, after perusing the bill, gave the waiter our credit card for payment. I noticed that the waiter went to all the tables he served at the same time and collected all the receipts and credit cards, cash, and payments at the same time. We were a little concerned that the payments would be applied to the wrong receipts. However, we assumed the best and assumed the server had an organized system for applying the payments to the right receipts.

To read the rest of the story...

E-mail Protocol - 12 Simple Rules to Stay Connected

Electronic mail is a quick, easy, and convenient way to instantly link up with people around the globe. To ensure our messages don't confuse or alienate others, it's important to practice basic e-mail etiquette. Here are twelve simple e-mail rules to keep you connected and make sureevery communique is clear, polished, and professional.

Rule #1 - Be concise. Follow the KISS rule (keep it short and sweet). Get to the point in a clear manner. Keep paragraphs short - three or four sentences at most. If you find you need to send an e-mail that is longer than a few short paragraphs, revise the message or consider picking up the phone or paying a personal visit instead. Read more...

Common Courtesy Isn't So Common - 10 Telephone Blunders in Everyday Business

As youngsters, many of us were taught basic telephone etiquette. These lessons taught us the basic components of conducting a phone conversation - politeness, attentiveness, respect, and common courtesy. Unfortunately, it seems these lessons have been forgotten by many of today's companies. For many, the philosophy seems to say that it's easier to forgo these practices and, instead, choose to deal with the customer service consequences later. It seems the true cost to the bottom line is of not of any consequence. Why in a time of ever increasing competition locally and abroad, along with the knowledge of customers' high expectations, would anyone be willing to overlook and undervalue this most basic customer service skill? Read more...

Try Using a Little Customer Service Common Sense

Joy went to the local cafe to pick up dinner for the evening. I asked her to bring back a Jamaican Jerk wrap for me. She returned home with a devilish smile on her face. I asked her to share with me what she was thinking about that made her smile. She said the cafe server wrote on the food wrapper so that I can identify which meal belonged to me. This is what she handed to me.

The word "jerk" was written on the wrapper. I had a good laugh. What was the server thinking? I can't make this up.

It helps to have a little common sense when serving customers. Write Jamaican Jerk, Jamaican, or J.J., but don't write "jerk."

Have you run into a situation where the person serving you didn't show common sense? Share your story with us.

Poll Results State that Companies are Losing Billions Due to Apathic Customer ServicePoll Results State that Companies are Losing Billions Due to Apathic Customer Service

According to a recent online poll by The Sykes Group, 80% of poll participants say apathy or an "I don't care" attitude by organizations is the #1 reason they won't buy from the vendor again. Read more...

Five Secrets to Showing Your Customers You Really Care (Using Empathy for Outstanding Customer Service)

During our recent online poll, we asked the following question:

What upsets you the most when receiving poor customer service?

Eighty percent of the poll participants said the "I don't care attitude" of the person serving them upsets them the most.

Businesses lose billions of dollars of revenue each year because customers feel the organizations don't care about their business enough to make an effort to keep them. It takes five times more effort in time and money to win over a new customer than to keep an existing customer.

Then why does this happen? No training or poor training has a lot to do with it.

Here are five secrets to showing your customers you really do care about their situations when interacting with them: Read more...

Ten Customer Service Secrets to Win Back Customers

Recently I was facilitating an Outstanding Customer Service program and broke for lunch. Knowing that the restaurants in the area had much to desire as far as service I gave the students an extra fifteen minutes for lunch.

Sure enough a group of four students came rushing into the classroom with their lunches in hand. They sincerely apologized and quickly explained that they receive poor service at a restaurant (This restaurant is part of a national chain. Hint: its name references a day in the week. I can't give you the complete answer.). They went on to explain that after the waiter initially took their order, they waited 45 minutes before their food finally arrived. During the wait, no one came to check on them.

They went on to explain the food finally came and it was time to leave for class. They were not happy. They asked to see the restaurant manager. The manager sheepishly came to see them and asked, "What was the problem?" One of my students explained the situation to which the restaurant manager replied, "The food ticket only shows you were waiting for eleven minutes." My students were not happy and expressed it to which the manager asked them, "Would you like dessert?" My students again expressed they were not happy. Each time my students expressed their unhappiness, the manager would say she was sorry. My students weren't buying it. The manager then left without explaining where and what she was doing. The manager returned and told my students that their meals were free.Even though the manager gave them free meals my students said they will never go back to that restaurant or any other restaurant in that chain.

So why weren't these customers happy? The restaurant had an opportunity to turn a difficult customer service experience into a winning situation for all and squandered it. Not only will these patrons, my students, never go back to any restaurant in that chain but how many other people will they tell about their unhappy experience? The unhappy customer, on average, will tell 27 other people about their experience. With the use of the internet, whether web pages or e-mail, that number can increase in the thousands, if not millions with the click of a button. However, according to the Department of Consumer Affairs, 82-95% of unhappy customers will come back if impressed and actually refer five new customers.

Let's take a look at the ten secrets that will not only win back your customer in any situation, but have them referring new customers, but will add more money to your bottom line revenue.

1. Smile
   Nothing can turn a hostile situation into position moment faster than a sincere smile. A smile that says, "I want to help you in a positive way." It communicates you are positive about the interaction with the customer. A sincere smile enhances the communication process so that you can find the solution faster.

2. Introduce Yourself as the Solution Creator
   Make sure you introduce yourself, find out the customer's name, and let your customer know your position and why you are there. This lets the customer know you are taking responsibility to creating a solution for them. You might say something like:
   
   "Hello, my name is Mike. I am the manager at this location. I am here to assist you in this situation, please tell me about it."
   
   Notice I didn't say, "What's the problem?" By using "What's the problem?" you start the customer service situation in a negative note. The customer is thinking "You're the problem," "This establishment is the problem," "The whole world is the problem," etc. By starting your conversation with "I am here to assist you in this situation, please tell me about it" you are setting up a "verbal agreement" in the customer's mind to move to a solution.
   
   Note: If possible, please use the customer's name throughout the conversation.

3. Listen
   Customers want tell their side of the story and feel like they are only heard but you listened to them. Mentally take a step back and dedicate yourself to actively listening to the customer's story with an open mind so that you can find a solution. In the above situation, the manager stood silently while my students were explaining their story. Be active in your listening and create empathy ("put yourself in the customer's shoes") with statements such as:
   
   • "I can appreciate what you're saying."
   • "I can understand how you'd feel that way."
   • "I can see how you'd be upset."
   • "It sounds as if we've caused you inconvenience."
   • "What I understand the situation to be..."
   
   

   Please stay away communication that alienates the customer such as:

   • "I don't know why you are so upset."
   • "That's the first complaint we ever got on that."
   • "I know how you feel." (Because you don't)
   • "Boy, you're sure mad"
   
   In the above story, the students told the manager that they weren't happy with the service because they didn't have time to eat their meals. The manager, not listening, said, "Would you like dessert?" The solution was not more food. Listen for the solution!

4. Be Sorry for the Right Reasons
   Be sincere in your concern for the customer and say sorry the correct way. Many time in the heat of the customer service situation we what to show some sign of concern so we do the following:
   
   • The first words of the interaction with the words, "I'm sorry." First, you didn't find out any information from the customer to be sorry.
   • Say sorry throughout the conversation with saying what you are sorry for. When saying you are sorry, say exactly what you are sorry for.
   
   The students, even though the manager kept repeating she was sorry, didn't think the manager was sincere in her apology. The correct say to say you are sorry is:
   
   
   • "I'm sorry you had to wait so long for your food."
   • "I'm sorry that you were treated that way."
   • "I'm sorry that our employee said that to you."
   • "I'm sorry this situation happened to you."
   
   Let the customer know exactly why you are sorry. The students thought the manager's "sorrys" were insincere because she never mentioned why she was sorry.

5. Give Your Personal Assurance.
   Let the customer know you will personally create a solution for them. It could be as simple as saying, "I'm taking personal responsibility for this."

6. Ask Them What They Want
   One of the fears that we have when trying to satisfy the customer is that we think they want something out of our reach. Ask the customer, "What would you like you to do?" or "What would make this situation right for you?" You will be surprised that in most cases the customer will ask for less you were willing to give.

7. Use Statements of Conviction
   Sure the following to gain the confidence of the customer:
   
   • "We're going to do something about that!"
   • "We will make a change right now!"

8. Present a Clear Plan of Action
   Make sure the customer knows what you are going to do to correct the situation for them. 95% of making things right for the customer is making them aware that you are taking action to make a difference for them. Explain to them the actions and timelines you need to take to make things right for them. If you need to leave or make a telephone call to obtain additional information, say:
   
   
   • "Excuse me while I make a telephone call obtain the best solution for you. This will take five minutes, can you please wait?"
   • "Excuse me, I need to ask the person with the missing piece of information so that we can quick resolve this for you. Do you mind waiting five minutes?"
   
   Note: Make sure you get back to the time customer before the time you specified. If you promised ten minutes, get back to the customer before ten minutes. Rule of thumb, double the time it would normally that to get the information. If you know it will take ten minutes to get the answer for the customer then tell the customer you will get back to them within twenty minutes.

9. Move Quickly to the Solution
   If you applied steps 1-8 you are ready to give the customer the solution they wanted for a win-win situation. You can confirm this by saying the following:
   
   
   • "Would this be agreeable for you?"
   • "Is this the solution you were looking for?"
   • "Will this make things right for you?"

10. Ask for the Business
    If you did everything right this is the perfect time to ask the customer to come back and do business with your organization. You showed that you were professional, caring, sincerely, positive, and proactive. Why wouldn't they do business with you again?
    
    Some of the way you can say this is:
    • "We would appreciate the opportunity to serve you in the future."
    • "Please come back and I will personally guarantee you receive outstanding service."
    • "Here is a 20% coupon. Please use it on your next visit to our establishment."

It's important that you let the customer know that you appreciate their business and want them to come back. Remember, if you did everything right, not only will them come back but they will other people to do business with you. Use challenging customer service situations to build your business.

Bite Your Tongue! 10 Ways to Be an Effective Listener

Want to learn how to provide outstanding customer service? Our Outstanding Customer Service, Master Your Attitude, Assertive Communication, Conflict Management, How to Master Challenging People During Difficult Situation, and How to Handle Workplace Stress and Master Your Life programs can help you lead others to the next level. Also read our articles on motivation, goal setting, etc. Call us at 757-427-7032 or e-mail us at info@thesykesgrp.com.

Check Yourself for Outstanding Customer Service

Recently, a business associate, Mike, mentioned that he was doing a show at a local university and stopped by the faculty dining hall to get lunch. He said that, while waiting on line, the service was poor. The line moved slowly, the counterperson was disinterested in what she was doing…and it showed. It was not a pleasant customer experience.

It was Mike’s turn to order and the counterperson continued to show her disinterest…no eye contact, moving like it pained her, and no enthusiasm in her voice. Then when she finally looked up to give Mike his food, she noticed his nametag with his name and company. She realized that Mike worked for a bank where she just opened an account. Well, she turned into another person. She was excited when telling Mike about her excellent experience at his bank. In an instant she was vibrant, alert, smiling, and alive!

The question is, "Why couldn’t she behave that way whenever she interacts with a customer?" We can ask this question whenever we interact with people in customer service situations. In many situations, the persons serving us act like they are auditioning for the role of a zombie in the movie, "Dawn of the Dead." Whereas they can use less energy being lively and produce a great experience for everyone involved.

The reason this happens is because the customer service persons do not "check themselves" for outstanding customer service. When you "check yourself" before serving the customer, you prep yourself to give your best for the customer. When you "check yourself," you are prepared for any customer service situation. When you "check yourself," you make the situation positive for the customer and yourself.

The following are three ways to "check yourself" to give outstanding customer service:

1. Check your Attitude
   Make your attitude say, "I can help you today." This means that you want to help, you want to take responsibility for the solution, and you are proactive in creating solutions for the customer. Make sure your attitude is positive for outstanding results. Keep a mirror by your desk and look into the mirror before you start a customer transaction and say the following:

• “I will help someone today."
• “I have a great attitude."
• “I am solution-oriented."
• “I will make a difference today."

2. Check your Body Language
   Make your body language show that you are eager to listen to the customer. This means standing or sitting erectly if communicating face-to-face. Sitting erect in your seat is especially important when communicating over the telephone because the customer can "hear" your apathy over the phone. Check yourself to make sure you are smiling. Check yourself to make sure your body language is showing that you want to listen. This means direct eye contact, arms uncrossed, a slight nod of acknowledgment, and, most importantly, your body facing the customer to show that you are completely "engaged" in the conversation.

3. Check your Voice
   Make sure your voice is energized and positive. This means that you do not sound monotone and your voice has vocal variety (see my article “Cat in the Hat”). Check your voice to make sure your have a lively pace without cutting off the customers before they finish their thoughts.

By just applying these three techniques, you will produce happy customers and make your job as a customer service expert so much easier.

Click on the "comment" link below and share your thoughts with us.

Want to learn how to provide outstanding customer service? Our Outstanding Customer Service, Master Your Attitude, Assertive Communication, Conflict Management, How to Deal with Difficult People, and How to Handle Workplace Stress and Master Your Life programs can help you lead others to the next level. Just click here to find out how. Also read our articles on motivation, goal setting, etc. Call us at 757-427-7032 or e-mail us at info@thesykesgrp.com

Leave Your “Buts" Behind for World Class Customer Service

How many times have you heard something similar to this in a customer service situation?

Customer: “Why don’t you just do it this way and it will take care of the situation."

Customer Service Person: “I understand what you are saying but we can to do it this way."

Then the situation magically goes downhill from there and it is difficult to win back the customer.

The customer service person used the one word that has a powerful negative effect when dealing with customers. The one word, if you can imagine, brings out the horns on the customer’s forehead, turns his face red, tightens his teeth, and clinches his hands…the word is but.

This is because but is an exclusive word. The use of but negates everything that was said previously by the customer. The customer then feels alienated and disrespected. It says to the customer, “You discounted or ignored everything I just said and you are going on with your agenda. Well, you don’t respect me, so I won’t respect your solution."

Replace the use of but with this powerful, positive word that will make the customer feel like he is are a part of the solution, put a smile on his face, and change the mood to the positive…the word is and. And is an inclusive word. If you think about it, and in math equals the function of addition. The use of and says to your customer, “I value what you just said, and we will take that into consideration as I share my solution with you.”

Remember, 90% of satisfying the customer is making the customer feel like you are listening to them. The use of and says to the customer I am listening to your input.

Lets apply this to the above scenario:

Customer: “Why don’t you just do it this way, and it will take care of the situation.”

Customer Service Person: “I understand what you are saying, and we can to do it this way.”

As you can see it is a more positive response to the customer’s feedback. Instead of the customer being on the opposite side of your solution, by using the word and you create a bridge for the customer to cross to consider your solutions. Bottom line, your customer is more likely to quickly accept your solutions.

So, if possible, record yourself in a conversation so that you can see where you are using >but. Then work at substituting and in place of but. It may feel a little awkward at first. However, the more you use and the smoother it will sound and you will see immediate results. The benefits are less stress for you, positive customer service situations, and happier customers. Remember, leave your "buts" behind and you, too, will provide great customer service.

Click on the "comment" link below and share your thoughts with us.

Want to learn how to provide outstanding customer service? Go to our website at www.thesykesgrp.com for more information. Call us at 757-427-7032 or e-mail us at info@thesykesgrp.com.

Ed Sykes is a professional speaker published in the areas of leadership, change management, customer service and teamwork. He works with business and government organizations who want to reach the next level of success and individuals who want to perform at their best. You can email him at esykes@thesykesgrp.com, call him at (757) 427-7032 or visit his Web site at www.thesykesgrp.com.

Publishing Guidelines: You are welcome to publish the following articles and newsletters in its entirety, electronically, or in print free of charge, as long as you include our full signature file at the end of each article for ezines, and my Web site address in hyperlink for other sites. Please send a courtesy link or email where you publish to info@thesykesgrp.com.

Customer Service Week News - Great Job Bank of America!

Recently I walked into my Bank of America branch and received my usual upbeat and personal greeting. The teller asked. "How can I serve you today Mr. Sykes?" I then told her about the transaction I wanted to perform and then she said, "It would be my pleasure to serve you today!" Then when she finished completing my transaction she then asked is there anything else, waited for my answer, then said "It was my pleasure to serve you today Mr. Sykes, have a great day!"

Wow! When was the last time you received service like that. I am usually pleased with the level of service that Bank of America gives me. That's why I bank there. The branch manager, Mr. Amos D. Brunson IV, has taken his staff to a higher level. He instituted a "happy praise" contest. As staff members are heard saying happy phrases such as "It would be my pleasure to serve you today," "I'll be happy to do that for you," "thank you for allowing me to help you today," etc., a gold star goes up on a bulletin board that can be seen by customers and employees. His employees receive instant recognition for raising the level of service.

As I stayed and watched, the employees were also having fun thinking of new "happy phrases" to use with their customers. Mr. Brunson also rewarded them in accordance to the number of gold stars they receive.

Great Job to all, and especially Mr. Brunson, for being proactive at taking customer service to another level.

Share your stories of Wow! customer service with us.

Celebrate Customer Service Week