|
|
| Customer Service Information |
|
|
Customer Service: Stop Sabotaging Your Customer Relationships
If you've called for customer service recently you're familiar with this recorded message "This call may be recorded or monitored for quality purposes." I immediately think to myself, "Oh great, here comes the game of 20 questions." Now don't get me wrong. I spent many, many years training Customer Service Reps. (CSR's). I'm all for making sure customers receive the best possible service. What I'm not for is the pre-scripted list of questions CSR's are required to ask, regardless of whether they are applicable to the situation at hand. I've seen some checklists with as many as 25 pre-scripted "call quality" standards that CSR's are required to use. If they don't, and someone happens to monitor the call, they get marked down. Ludicrous I say! Let me give you a few highlights from a recent call I made to my well-known auto club: CSR: What is the year, make and model of your vehicle? Me: 2000, GMC, Yukon, Denali CSR: There is no 2000, GMC, Yukon, Denali (obviously it couldn't be found in her list of computer options so she needed to tell me I was wrong) Me: Yes there is, I drive it every day CSR: What's wrong with your vehicle? Me: I don't know. It won't start. CSR: Does it need to be towed or jumped? Me: I don't know. I don't know what's wrong with it. CSR: Well do you think it needs to be towed or jumped? Me: I have no clue. CSR: Where is your vehicle? Me: In my garage. CSR: Can you push it out of the garage into the driveway or the street? Me: No. It's a full size SUV. I can't push it anywhere. CSR: Is there another way you can get it out of the garage? Me: No. It won't start. Eventually, after I'd jumped through enough hoops, the call finally ended. Chances are it wasn't the CSR's idea to get her laughs for the day by asking me stupid questions. Instead, her own company sabotaged her ability to quickly and efficiently take care of her customer, by requiring she use a scripted questioning process. What Could Have Gone Better? For starters, rather than telling me that the make and model of my vehicle didn't exist, she could have said that she was having trouble finding it in her database, and then asked for verification. Next, instead of asking me twice about whether the truck needed to be "jumped or towed", she might have asked if I had any ideas about what could be wrong with it. And finally, considering that she already knew the vehicle wouldn't start, asking a woman to push a truck out of a garage seems a little unreasonable. What Needs To Change? First, re-think your call quality standards. You may have too many standards; they may be too focused on internally created "shoulds", with very little focus on what matters most to your customers. Involve your CSR's and customers in the process. Secondly, empower and train your CSR's to think, act and personalize service to best accommodate the given situation. One size does not fit all, or even most! Teach your CSR's how to recognize different communication styles, and then how to adapt their personal style so they can best relate to the customer as an individual. In other words, teach CSR's how to treat customers how THEY want to be treated. And thirdly, continually ask for feedback from CSR's as well as customers. Make time to find out what's working and what's not working. Pay attention to what they have to say. Make ongoing improvements that benefit everyone. Repeat the cycle. Companies spend thousands, if not millions of dollars each year to acquire new customers, yet sometimes they forget about how to best take care of the customers they already have. Everyday your customers and your CSR's make decisions about whether to stay with your company or go to your competitor. Loyalty is built on good, solid relationships. Your company relies on the loyalty of your CSR's to service your customers. And great customer service can set you apart from your competition. Take action now! Stop sabotaging those relationships with unnecessary standards that don't really matter to your customers. Your customers and your CSR's will love you for it. About The Author As the owner of Essential Connections, Lora Adrianse is a catalyst for clients who aspire to create dynamic business relationships with their colleagues and customers. She authors a free monthly newsletter, "Relating@Work". Go to her website to subscribe now! www.connectionscoach.com
|
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
5 Ways Customer Service Managers are Implementing to Increase Customer Focus According to a Forum Corporation survey of commercial customers lost by 14 major service and manufacturing companies: CEM Can Improve Customer Loyalty 'A 5 percent increase in customer retention increases profits by 25 to 95 percent.' How to Deliver Exceptional Customer Service Having been in business a number of years, I'm amazed at the number of people who don't have the slightest idea of what customer service is. Customer service is not a way of doing things ? it's an attitude. Create a Positive, Upbeat, Can-Do Workforce and Dazzle the Customer with Your Caring! Given the choice of dealing with a positive, upbeat employee with a "can-do" attitude or dealing with a disgruntled, distracted, uninterested one, which would you choose? No contest. Customers always want the best experience possible; they want it to be easy and pleasant to do business with your company. Enter the real challenge of "Relationship Management," the relationships. Until all of our business is done electronically, and much of it might be, managers, in addition to making sure the work gets done, still need to be concerned with the performance of the most important link in the customer connection - people. Customer Service and The Human Experience Historically, customer service was delivered over the phone or in person. Customers didn't have many choices, and switching to competitors was cumbersome. Today, these methods are but two of the many possible touch points of entry for any given interaction. With all the options the Internet brings, competition is literally a click away. If, as has been reported, 65% of your business comes from current customers, then in order to stay in business, you best focus on winning the satisfaction and loyalty of those customers. Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder However, in the world of business, this cliché may not necessarily be true. Sometimes it can be more like 'Out of Site, Out of Mind'. Raising The Bar For Online Magazine Subscription Services And Customer Service After years of flying below the radar in the magazine subscription service arena online, MagMall.com is gaining traction real fast. In December, the subscription retailer relaunched it's once relatively boring (though clean) site with the express intent of competing more effectively against its rivals. Key to the makeover is allowing customers to manage all their subscriptions online year after year. The new look came after Magmall.com spent 18 months learning about web design and usability with the help of the 2 founding brothers of FuturenowInc.com. Now, the web site has far less colors than before and the navigation system has been uprooted completely to simplify the entire process of finding magazines and filling out an online order forms MagMall's reentry into the highly competitive magazine subscription industry is not only expected to pull in new consumer customers, but provide a lift to its efforts to expand into new markets. Since September, MagMall has created a new division to sell gift certificates to magazine subscriptions in any custom denomination. Plus, it has launched new services just for small and large businesses looking to manage all their magazine and newspaper purchases. "The new site design is a way to pull in new customers and keep them there longer," says Jason Ciment, CEO of Magazine Mall Inc. "Plus, with the new online account management system (which is soon to get a name), we are enhancing customer loyalty in ways we never could before." Oil Change Customer from Hell or Hoax; You Decide Evacuation, "E-Vac" Oil System for Oil Changing What Every Employee Should Know About How to Prevent Customer Service Conflicts There are five techniques that have been proven to be effective in resolving, minimizing, and preventing conflicts. And by conflicts I am referring to any of the following that may take place between two or more people: misunderstanding, miscommunications, arguments, disagreements, mixed messages, fighting, etc. More Customers - Watch those Little Things Two situations, two perfectly acceptable experiences, but in one case, an excitement about great service and in the other case, just OK. Responding to Complaints It's possible that in the course of your business dealings, you may (just may) have to deal with a complaint from a customer or client .... The Great American Customer Service Unawareness Campaign Q: I'm so sick of you so-called business experts always saying the customer is always right. This is my business, not the customer's, so I'm the one who's always right. Sure, they can have an opinion, but in the end it's up to me to decide who's right and who's not. And if the customer doesn't like it they can take their business elsewhere. What do you say to that, Mr. Business Expert? -- Paul W. Is Your CRM (Customer Relationship Management) System Doomed To Fail? "Right, People. Let's blast out that mail campaign we've been planning for so long." Handling Angry Clients What do you do when your client gets mad at you? How do you handle this? An angry client can be one of the biggest time and energy drains on a sales person. Debt Elimination Scam May people these days have a problem with mounting debt. The average person is well below the bad credit limit and is in desperate need to fix it. Listening to Customers - 5 Tips In a strange juxtapositioning of articles, this month's UK 'Management Today' has three pieces, relating to the importance of listening to customers. What Every Employee Should Know About How to Win the Loyalty of Customers Dr. Michael LeBoeuf, in his cassette album entitled, Win Customers and Keep Them for Life presents twelve principles that will transform the workplace into a customer-driven, highly motivational team. Dr. LeBoeuf's program goes like this: Your Number One Asset Customers put you in business, keep you in business, and they can put you out of business. Therefore, your overriding feelings at all times should be: customer love, customer satisfaction, and customer convenience. How Do You Create Customer Loyalty? Another sad fact of life is that these days, very few customers are loyal. Most of their loyalties lie with their bank accounts, and you can't blame people for watching their shrinking dollars. If you have regular clients, offer them an extra incentive now and again. Thank them for visiting and remember their names. Give them an additional discount for regular business or a promotional item to remember you & your business. Losing Angry Customers This article offers five ways to help you deal with angry customers. While the goal of all businesses is to have only happy customers, we also have to be realistic and realize sometimes we are going to anger a customer. Isn't it best to know in advance how to deal with an angry one, of course it is. Read on?..
|
