Customer Service:Serving YOUR Customer in Any Employment HierarchyPresented By JP Jones

What is a Customer?

cus·tom·er/ˈkəstəmər/Noun

a person or thing of a specified kind that one has to deal with.

How to Identify Your CustomerAnswer the Questions:What problem do you solve?

Who needs what you provide?

Who do you answer to?

Who is impacted by your job?

What holes appear if you were removed from the equation?

Types of “Customers”

Those Above Those Below Those Around

Customers “Above”

Who do you answer to?Your Boss, Supervisor,

Manager or Direct Report

Their Boss, Supervisor, Manager or Direct Report

And so on . . . .

Customers “Below”

Who relies on you?Clients in service based

industries

End users for product or services

Shoppers or customers

Customers “Around”

Who intersects with you?Other departments

Colleagues and Peers

Anyone lateral to you in the organization

Every Day Tasks

Three moments when good customer service is crucial:

Problem Solving

Crisis Management

Customer Service is

ALWAYSCRUCIAL

Traits and Scenarios

Traits of Good Customer ServicePatienceProbably the last thing we want to hear is the importance of patience when dealing with our “customer”. Unfortunately, it’s vital.

Scenario: You are asked to explain a new procedure via email. You spend valuable time writing out and clarifying the entire procedure. Once sent, you receive a follow-up question almost instantaneously. You know that question has been answered in the text already and they have given their speedy response the recipient did not read the email. How do you respond?

Response:How we want to respond:“You didn’t read the email. Or you would already know the answer to this question.”

How we should respond:“Great question. The answer can be found in the third paragraph of the previous email. There is a lot of information there, it’s easy to miss some of it. Let me know if you have any other questions.”

Why This Response?Let other people save faceDale Carnegie sums it up best, and How to Win Friends and Influence People, with principle five: Let the other person save face.

With our response we have pointed out that our email wasn’t read, point to the recipient toward the proper answer and and managed to do so in a nonconfrontational manner so as the recipient will not feel the need to defend themselves.

Case in PointA Designer’s NightmareAfter a particularly trying design project where revisions from the client seemed to have no end, I was finding my irritation level rising like the tide. With each correspondence I struggled to stay calm and professional.

Once the project was finally completed, the client sent an email thanking me for my unwavering patience throughout the process. I realized in this process that although I was internally irritated, I had passed a customer service test by not allowing the customer to sense that irritation which would have harmed our relationship.

Traits of Good Customer ServiceGive ‘em the PickleBob Farrell of Farrells Restaurants in the Northwest sums up the concept of going the extra mile.

“Your business is not what you sell, it's who you serve. So...Give`em the PICKLE!”

Traits of Good Customer ServiceWhat is Your Pickle?Your pickle is anything you throw into a situation for free.

Scenario:Imagine that you work in retail. A customer purchases a shirt and you bag it up. Then they asked for an extra bag for a purchase they made in another store that was temporarily out of bags. How do you respond?

Response:GIVE ‘EM THE BAG!Why do we do this? That bag has become a pickle!

It’s more important for the customer to leave your store happy then it is for you to save the $.20 on a bag.

“Give ‘em the Pickle” = “Pick Your Battles”

Who wants to lose a customer over $.20??

Are there exceptions?

Case in PointThe Logo Pickle When the client approaches me to create a logo for them they are not just hiring my software expertise. With each client I strive to educate them on what their logo should accomplish for the organization, how to select a great logo from the designs that I provide and what to keep in mind as they grow the organization as it relates to their branding.

The result of this educational approach is an increased level of respect and security on the part of the customer that they’ve come to the right place.

Traits of Good Customer ServiceResponsibilityProviding good customer service is not synonymous with never making a mistake. But it is synonymous with correcting those mistakes without shifting blame.

Scenario:You make a mistake on a project and a headline is misspelled in a document. The mistake is not found until after printing. Your boss alerts you to the issue. How do you respond?

Response:How we want to respond:“I didn’t see the mistake. The person that approved the document should have caught it.”

How we should respond:“I’m so sorry; I clearly did not review the document as thoroughly as I should have to catch that error for you. I will make sure this doesn’t happen again by _______________ And I will correct the immediate problem by ________________”

<<Insert Problem-Solving Here >>

Why This Response?Never blame-shiftBy taking responsibility for your mistakes you will gain the respect of your “customer.”

Never point out that someone else should have caught your mistake.

Don’t make excuses, even when they are valid.

Strong Problem Solving Skills Make You

Invaluable to Customers

1. Problem-solving makes you invaluable to the organization

2. Problem-solving makes you invaluable to the customer

In most cases the original problem is

not nearly as important as

providing a solution.

Traits of Good Customer ServiceProblem Solving:Regardless of your industry, problems WILL happen. How you solve them equates directly to your customer service level.

1. Identify the problem

2. Approach the problem from all angles

3. Ask for input about the problem from those involved as needed

4. Determine the best course of action based on factors of time,

budget

and customer satisfaction

5. Communicate the problem and the solution

6. Follow through with the action required to solve the problem

Traits of Good Customer ServiceStay PositiveIn the face of a disgruntled customer if you can stay calm, pleasant, and upbeat rather than getting defensive the situational control will shift to you.

A drop of honey catches more flies than a gallon of gall.

— Abraham Lincoln

Traits of Good Customer ServiceStaying Calm in Crisis:Ask yourself, what is my initial responsewhen faced with a crisis situation?

In any industry, crisis and emergency situations will occur it’s how you handle

those situations that counts.

Traits of Good Customer Service Three Basic Reactions:

The sky is falling!

Hide and watch

Calmly assess the situation

Which one is most valuable to the organization?

Is The Customer Always Right?

What if the Customer is Wrong?Empathize with problemProvide education Provide alternative solutionsFollow up afterwards

Customer service is not merely facilitation:

it is education, maintenance, appreciation and reconciliation

SummaryGood Customer Service Is:

Allowing others to save face Owning our mistakesCreative problem-solving Staying positiveBeing calm in the face of crisisAnd most of all, “Give ‘em the Pickle”

Contact

Visit www.jpjones.marketingClick on “IAAP Special” image for resource slides and special offers