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Unit9CustomerServiceWhenyoubuysomething,whatareyouexpecting?Customerstodayarenotonlyinterestedintheproductstheyareofferedbutalltheadditionalelementsofservicethattheyreceive:(fromthegreetingtheyreceivewhentheyenteraretailoutlet,totherefundandhelpthattheyreceivewhentheyhaveacomplaintaboutafaultyproductthattheyhavepaidfor)Highqualitycustomerservicehelpstocreatecustomerloyalty.ListeningTextAHowtoProvideSuperiorCustomerServiceFindingnewcustomersismuchmoreexpensivethanretainingexistingones.Customerserviceismorethanjustkeepingcustomershappy.It’saboutrevenue,becausealostcustomermeanslostrevenueandanunhappycustomercandamageyourreputation.Contents1.WhatSuperiorCustomerServiceMeans2.KnowingYourCustomers’Needs3.SomeWaysofAchievingThis4.IdentifyingYourKeyServiceActivities5.Follow-upWhatSuperiorCustomerServiceMeansWhatissuperiorcustomerservice?Superiorcustomerserviceisservicethatexceedsyourcustomers’expectationsandwillmakeyourbusinessstandoutfromyourcompetitors’.(Gotoanyamountoftroubleforallofyourcustomers.Don’ttreat“big”or“small”customersanydifferently.)Whatarethebenefitsofsuperiorcustomerservice?Satisfiedcustomersnotonlytendtoreturntobuyagainfromyoubutarealsolikelytotalkpositivelyaboutyourbusinesstoothers.Customerreferralsarepowerfulandacustomerwhofeelscomplimentedthatyou’vegoneoutofyourwaytohelpthemwithasmallmatterisverylikelytoknowsomeonewho’dfitintoyour“bigandbest”customercategory.Abadcustomerserviceexperienceissharedwitharound10otherpeoplewhoarelikelytotellanother10.Fromthemomentthecustomerthinksofpurchasing,rightthroughtothefinalsale,thereareopportunitiesforthebusinesstoaddcustomerservicetotheprocess.Tobeeffective,customerservicemustbeconsistentlygoodineverypartofyourbusiness.KnowingYourCustomers’NeedsThereisnopointprovidingservicesthatarenotvaluedbyyourcustomers.It’s,therefore,importantthatyoudevelopagoodunderstandingoftheirneeds.SomeWaysofAchievingtheService1.Regularlyaskyourcustomersaboutyourbusinessservices.2.Providefeedbackformsforyourcustomerstocomplete.3.Phoneorvisitcustomersatcriticalpoints,e.g.aftertheinitialsales,andaskifyourproductorservicemeetstheirneeds.4.Considerusinganoutsideagenttogetfeedbackfromyourcustomers.5.Welcomecustomercomplaintsandmanagethesepromptlyandpositivelytoavoidlossofcustomersandnegativeword-of-mouth.6.Keepalistofcustomercomplaintstoidentifyanypatternsandthecauseofdissatisfaction.7.Learnwhatyourcompetitorsaredoingtoachievecustomersatisfaction.IdentifyingYourKeyServiceActivitiesItisusefultoidentifythosekeyserviceactivitiessothatyoucanreviewyourperformanceanddecideonwhatinitiativesyoucantaketoprovidesuperiorservice.Whencommunicatingwithyourcustomers,keepyourlanguagepositive.“Wewon’tbeabletoseeyoubeforeFriday.”“We’llbeabletoseeyouonFriday.”Typicalinteractionsinclude:respondingtophonecalls;providingproductandserviceinformation;takingcustomerordersanddiscussingservicerequirement;sendingfollow-updocumentation,e.g.toconfirmorders;billingandmanagingpayments;after-salesservice;dealingwithafter-salecomplaintsFollow-upYourcustomerserviceinitiativesdon’thavetostopwhenthesalesprocessiscomplete.Followingupwithyourcustomerscanreapbenefitsthroughrepeatpurchaseandreferrals.However,anyinitiativeyoutakemustbeseenbythecustomertobevalueadding.Initiativestoconsider:Sendthank-younotes.Makefollow-upcallstocheckthattheproductorservicehasbeensatisfactory.Useemailalertsfornewproducts/services.Recognizecustomerachievementsthroughcertificatesorawards.Makefollow-upvisitswithoutnecessarilymakingasalespitch.Exercise1:MultipleChoicep157BDEExercise1:DosandDon’tsp157Dos:235Don’ts:146TextBDealingwithComplaintsRealizeTwoThings:First,youcannever“win”andit’scrucialtoacceptthefactthatwithanycomplaint,youmaindutyistominimizetheeffectofthatandtotrytorectifythesituationtoultimatelyreachthemostmutuallyacceptableresolutionasyoucan;Thesecondthingtoremember,unlessyourunaonemanoperation,isthatanycomplaints,nomatterhowfiercetheyare,shouldneverbeperceivedasapersonalattackonyou.Tipstodealwithcomplainteffectively1.Listen2.Recap3.TheApology4.TheResolution1.ListenListeningtoacustomer’sgrievancewithoutinterruptionisthefirstthingyoushouldbepreparedtodo.Notonlywillthatenableyoutoassesstheircomplaintmorefully,ifyouinterrupthalfwaythroughtheircomplaintorgetannoyedwiththem,they’relikelytogetevenmoreagitatedthantheyalreadyare.“Iknowwhatyou’reabouttosayand…”2.RecapOncethey’vefinishedmakingtheircomplaint,youneedtofirstlyrecaptheissuetoletthemknowthatyou’veunderstoodthereasonfortheircomplaint.Oncethat’sagreed,youshouldthenapologizetothecustomer.And,ifyou’veheardincorrectly,youneedtoaskthecustomertoiteratethecomplaintandthenapologize.3.TheApologyWhenyouapologize,it’simportantthatyoudon’tpassthebuckanddon’tmakeexcuses.Whetheritisorisn’tdirectlyyourfault,youaretherepresentativeofthecompanyheresoit’simportanttoacceptresponsibility.“I’msorryMr.Smith,butourorderprocessingteamsareabitshort-staffedatthemomentasseveralofthemareonholidayandthat’swhytherewasadelay.”“Idoapologize,Mr.Smith.Thatshouldn’thavehappened.Asyoudidn’treceiveyourgoodswithinthetimespe