Customer Service 101

Efren J. Galvan

Director, Admissions, Records & Enrollment Technology

Orange Coast College

Customer Service 101• Who are our customers? (2 types)a) Internal-(Faculty, Administration, colleagues, supervisors,

Board of Trustees, etc…) b) External-(students, parents, prospective students, alumni,

campus visitors, etc…)• Question: What is your definition of a “customer”?

• Answer: Someone who depends on YOUR work in order to complete THEIR own work.

• Customer Service is “meeting needs, solving problems and developing loyalty”

• “Fabulous service is quite simply ordinary people doing ordinary things extraordinarily well”

Betsy Sanders-Nordstrom’s first female store manager

Perceptions of Customer Service

• Customers Perceive Service 5 ways

• 1) Informational

• 2) Generational

• 3) Cultural

• 4) Perceptions

• 5) Expectations

Customer Expectations

• 1) To be taken seriously• 2) To be treated with respect & courtesy• 3) To get immediate action• 4) To be listened to• 5) To gain some sort of “compensation or

restitution” for their difficulty

Remember your ABC’s…

Always Be Customer Driven! Where would we be without Students?

Telephone Etiquette Tips Greet: warm and friendly professional greeting including company

name and your name. It is suggested that the greeting end with a helpful statement

Listen: one of the most important techniques in telephone etiquette is to actively listen to the customer. Listen for both content as well as intent. By listening actively, you can respond with a statement that assures the customer you heard.

Empathize: Put yourself in their shoes. How would you feel if the situation were reversed?

Probe: Probing is not a technique that comes naturally to everyone. But it is a required skill for customer service. Keep it simple and remember the basic open questions: Who, what, when, where, how.

Telephone Etiquette Tips• Common Courtesies: Ask permission to place a caller on hold and get the callers

attention when you return. Call the customer by name when you get back on the line if you placed them on hold. If you think the wait time will be longer that 1 minute, say so!

• Avoid Rhetoric: Don’t speak to them as if they know, chances are that they don’t. “According to State Ed Code Section 68000…”

• Offer solutions/alternatives: If you know that what the customer wants can’t be done,

offer solutions that may be good alternatives. • Tone: since you are not face to face, the most important measure of good

communication is voice quality and tone. Keep it positive and enthusiastic. • Nice = Nice

• Appreciation: before hanging up, make sure to express your gratitude for the customer’s patronage: “Thank you for calling the OCC Answer Center, have a great day”

• Go the Distance: Take time to extend yourself in some way to make a positive lasting impression on the caller. “Is there anything else I may assist you with?”. (video)

Dealing with the Irate Customer1) Own your Attitude

Be Professional

Cooperate and Collaborate

2) Basic Customer Service

Greet the Customer/Student

Connect in some way

Listen with your full attention

3) Special Skills

Show you care

Apologize if appropriate

Ask short, guiding questions

Agree with something

2) Advanced TechniquesUse positive language

Allow the customer to make small decisions

Know what you can /can’t offer

5) Breakthrough TechniquesTransfer the Custormer

Take a timeout

Draw the Line (example case, using techniques)

Questions?

Thank you for attending our workshop today!