Frances Ogujawa

SUPERIOR CUSTOMER SERVICE

TRAINING

Who is a customer?

A customer (also known as a client, buyer, enquirer,

purchaser etc.) is the recipient of a service, idea, information or

goods received from a vendor, supplier, and

company for monetary or other valuable

consideration.

He is someone a company believes will benefit from

its goods and services while the company benefits

from the customers

patronage (money)

He can be both internal and

external customers.

It is the provision of services to a customer before, during and after a purchase. This varies depending on the product, service, industry and individual customer. The success of a product/company most times depends mostly on customer services.

Customer service is also a means of providing customer support to clients to enable them make an informed decision on their choices and needs. Satisfied customers can help spread good word for your product/company thereby increasing clientele and revenue

What is customer service?

EVERYONE- ALL EMPLOYEES OF THE COMPANY

Everything an employee do that is customer-facing is marketing. Every

phone call, mail and face to face interaction is customer

care/marketing.

Who are customer service providers?

Appearance: Personal appearance is most often relegated to the background when talking about customer service

especially for personnel dealing with over the desk or over the counter clients. This is a very key aspect of customer service as you are the face of the company. The front line

“attack” of the company. Your total appearance from hair ,shoes and diction speaks volume of who you are and

what the company represents.

ESTABLISHING YOUR ATTITUDE

Facial Expressions: The power of a smile - Nothing much can be done to alter your face (except through surgery) but you can do a lot about the expression that is on it. A sincere, genuine or forced smile

does wonders to your face and sets the tone for dealing with a customer.

ESTABLISHING YOUR ATTITUDE CONT’D

Smiling is contagiousLowers stress and anxiety- though not easy to smile in stressful situations but it helps calm you down thereby reducing

your anxiety level

Makes you more attractive

Makes you more approachable

Makes you trustworthy

Makes you a better leader

(Let’s quickly run through the benefits of smiling)

This is very important because having the right

attitude to work and being constantly positive has a ripple effect on how you deal with customers on a

day to day basis. You have to be able to rise above all

your work related and personal issues to enable you remain positive. Think

positive thoughts.

Staying energized and positive

This is one of the most important aspects of personal presentation

or one of the most important form of establishing your attitude. Your

body language should be in tandem to your verbal

communication but most times people tend to read, interpret and believe your body language more

than they do your verbal communication.

The way you sit, stand, your gesture, mannerisms

and your facial expressions will say more

about you and your emotions at any given time than your words

Your state of mind or state of being at any given point in time

increases some good or bad behavioral

habits inherent in you

Body language

Understanding yourself and being aware of the signals you give off under certain

conditions; like stress, nerves or happiness can help you understand and manage positively the signals you

give off to others.

Working on your body language is a way of

improving your personal presentation. You can use

body language to show approval, disapproval, convey enthusiasms and show good

manners

Body language Cont’d

Types of Body languagePositive Body Language Negative Body Language

Maintaining eye contact

with the speaker

Smiling (as a greeting)

(welcoming or parting ways)

Leaning slightly forward to show you are paying full attention

Nodding in agreement

A firm handshake

Not maintaini

ng eye contact

Tapping foot

fingers etc

Rocking back and

forth

Scratching

Continually clearing

your throat

Fiddling with hair, ear lobes, jewelry, jacket,

glasses etc

Picking fingers

Yawning

Before you can successfully address a customer’s needs, you have to understand the products or services being offered by your organization. This is very key, as

an informed customer service personnel actually closes a deal 50% before it gets to the unit or personnel in charge of attending

to the enquiry

Addressing customers needs

The key to good customer’s service is

treating a customer the way you would want to be treated if the tables

were turned.

Understand the fundamental fact that everybody is different with different

aspirations, motivations, backgrounds and reasons for

coming to you. By understanding their various

needs; you can achieve a greater level of customer

satisfaction.

Understanding customer’s problems

Endeavour to listen attentively to what the customer is saying or

complaining about, allow customer to finish talking

and reiterate what he/she said to show

better understanding before proffering

solutions

Don’t be in a hurry to respond without fully understanding what and where the customer is coming

from

Staying outside the box and going extra mile:

understanding your business and understanding your clients problem will enable you profer solutions even if you have to profer solutions by thinking

outside the box. Don’t be rigid or straight jacketed when

offering solutions. Be very creative.

Understanding customer’s problems Cont’d

If you cant profer a solution right away, think of the next best thing

and ways of solving the problem and having the customer satisfied

Going the extra mile: this you can achieve by doing something as

simple as getting up and taking the client to another office that can

proffer solution if you cant

Be true to your words and don’t make unrealistic promises. If there is a change in any given situation

alert the client.

Understanding customer’s problems Cont’d

I am sure you are familiar with the age long adage “customer is always right” This sounds

good but not necessarily true. Customer can be wrong!!! However, always note that

customer is always the customer. He can be wrong but his status as your customer and source of your increased source

of income dictates that you communicate and deal with him

effectively.

DEALING WITH DIFFICULT CLIENTS AND DE-ESCALATING ANGER

Listen: listen attentively maintaining a positive body

language. Don’t formulate answers before the customer completes

his/her statement. Don’t be defensive

Empathize: put yourself in the customer’s position and try to see the problem from his point of view.

That will enable you empathize with him.

Accept: accept whatever the customer says at face value especially when you know he

is wrong. In the customer’s head, he is right. When you accept him, he will be able to relax and possibly get to the main bone

of contention quicker.

Respect: respect the customer. Don’t attack or be defensive. If a customer feels disrespected, he

will perceive it as a personal attack and that will escalate the situation

Negotiate: if you successfully employ all your points above, customer would

by now feel relaxed and less aggressive. He will most likely drop his guard and enter into negotiations with

you believing that he will be fairly treated with honesty and integrity

Ways to deal with difficult clients and de-escalating anger

Customers are not able to observe your body language, facial expressions, hand gestures etc but they are able to feel and appreciate you/your services from your voice, your tone, pitch,

diction and vocal infliction

The following variables determines how a customer responds to a customer service rep over the phone

Verbal presentation: this includes your pitch tone diction mood, vocal inflection. Customers respond either in kind or react in accordance with the quality and style of presentation. Your voice can make

a customer feel warmth, appreciated, good or can put a client/customer in a defensive mood

CUSTOMER SERVICE OVER THE PHONE

Acknowledgements: this deals with

welcoming the client acknowledging the client with an open

statement, company name, your name

offering to help etc

Actively listening: Paying close attention to what the client is saying. Listening to hear and understand the nature of the call. The customer can quickly

catch on that you are not paying attention especially when they say something that requires a

response from you and you didn’t respond or they have to repeat a couple of times before

you respond.

Taking interest: Paying attention to each

customer and participating in the conversation is one

way to gain customer confidence. Letting the customer feel that you are interested in the

concerns leads to better understanding of the situation, and

paves way for a satisfactory resolution.

Limit hold time: don’t remain silent for long periods of time on the line as the customer is

talking. Chip in responses to let the

customer know you are not dead and still

actively involved in the discussion. Limit hold

time to the minimum by getting back to the

client intermittently to show concern apologize

where and when necessary

Taking interest: Paying attention to each customer and participating in the

conversation is one way to gain customer confidence. Letting the customer feel that you are interested in the concerns leads to better understanding of the situation, and

paves way for a satisfactory resolution.

Limit hold time: don’t remain silent for long periods of time on the line as the customer is talking. Chip in responses to let the customer

know you are not dead and still actively involved in the discussion. Limit hold time to the minimum by getting back to the client

intermittently to show concern apologize where and when necessary

Control: Customer service rep needs to remain calm, cool and collected at all times. Ask questions for clarity and

better understanding of the situation before proffering solutions. Don’t jump into conclusions before the customer finishes but be firm and assertive in a

positive manner

Urgency: Don’t rush a customer through calls or keep a customer waiting

endlessly on the line while you source for solution. L earn to work quickly and efficiently and also to multi task. Talk

and type at the same time while conducting research and ask questions

as you go along

Customers are the reason we are here so keep in

mind always. Appreciate them by thanking them

for their time and business and always leave a customer feeling better than they did when they

initially called in.

Satisfying customers over the phone need not be difficult and

time consuming but it takes effort,

awareness and practice to understand and operate with care.

Keep practicing positive communications and

mannerism and pretty soon, satisfying

customers will come easy to you. Continuous practice makes perfect.

Customer Appreciation

How you treat your customer makes the difference between a loyal returning customer who will become your

company/organizations ambassador through word of mouth advertising; from conversations and storytelling and

Lost opportunity/revenue and negative influence for your organization, which you would have chased to your

competitor.

CONCLUSION