min managing difficult customers

BUSINESS PRESENTATION

MANAGING DIFFICULT

ADMIN

JSSK01

MODULE 1

CUSTOMERS - THE KEY TO

SERVICE RECOVERY

1

Icons

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Time Allocation. Feel free to change the minutes.

Individual work

Pair work

Group/class work

Activity Sheet available

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Objectives

Explain why customers complain

Recognise the value of complaints to an organisation

Practice steps to manage complaints effectively

Apply steps to handle complaints for effective results

Brief the participants with the objectives of the programme as per shown in the slide

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Lead In

Watch the video, identify the following elements and present your findings:

The issue

The consequences

What would have been the effect if the issue had been dealt with earlier?

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Start off the programme with this lead in. This lead in activity is about a video titled United Break Guitars.

After which, get them to answer the questions in groups and present it.

Timing:

5 minutes (video) + 10 minutes ( discussion) + 5 minutes(presentation/group)

Debrief: complaints if not well managed will cause more problems to the organisation. With todays social media, the corporate image will be casually jeopardised easily and the complaints will go viral on the internet.

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Video 1

Note about the video:

"United Breaks Guitars" is a trio of protest songs by Canadian musician Dave Carroll and his band, Sons of Maxwell. It chronicles a real-life experience of how his guitarwas broken during a trip on United Airlines in 2008, and the subsequent reaction from the airline. The song became an immediate YouTube and iTunes hit upon its release in July 2009 and a public relations embarrassment for the airline.

Musician Dave Carroll said his guitar was broken while in United Airlines' custody. He alleged that he heard a fellow passenger exclaim that baggage handlers on the tarmac at Chicagos OHare International Airport were throwing guitars during a layover on his flight fromHalifax Stanfield International airport to Omaha, Nebraskas Eppley Airfield. He arrived at his destination to discover that his $3,500 Taylor guitar was severely damaged. Fox News questioned Carroll on why he checked the valuable guitar and Carroll explained that it is difficult to bring guitars onto flights ascarry-on-luggage. In his song, he sang that he "alerted three employees who showed complete indifference towards me" when he raised the matter in Chicago. Carroll filed a claim with United Airlines which informed him that he was ineligible for compensation because he had failed to make the claim within its stipulated "standard 24-hour timeframe".

Note for trainer: You can share with your participants that this is one of the videos uploaded by Dave Carroll related to his dissatisfaction towards United Airlines. This programme will cover a series of videos by Dave Carroll as a result of failure to manage customers effectively.

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Overview

Module 1:

Customer Expectations and Dissatisfaction

Module 2:

Preparing the Right Mindset to Approach Difficult Customers

Module 3:

The Fundamentals to Approach Difficult Customers

Module 4:

Connecting with the Customers

Module 5:

Saying NO Effectively

Module 6:

Winning Back Difficult Customers

Tell the participants that this 3-day programme will cover 6 modules as shown in the slide.

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Overview

Module 1:


Module 2:


Module 3:


Module 4:


Module 5:


Module 6:


Module 1 covers customer expectations and dissatisfaction. It will give the participants an overview of what is expected by customers, what they want and what causes them to be dissatisfied. Within this module, they will also learn how dissatisfaction, if not managed well, it will lead to more difficult and embarrassing scenarios.

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Activity 1

Each group will be given an envelope that contains cut out words. Use all the words given and form 7 phrases commonly used in customer service.

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Timing: 15 minutes

Instructions:

Trainers required to prepare few envelopes ( based on the number of groups in the class) and each envelope must have the cut out of the below table.

Each group will be given an envelope which contains cut out words. They are required to form 7 phrases commonly used in customer service. They need to use all the words. The answers are given in the next slide which can only be projected after the activity is over.

Variations:

To make it more fun, if you can observe that the participants will probably be struggling, after the first 5 minutes, you may want to give some hints. Example, read out the first word from each phrase. And after the next 5 minutes, you might want to read the last word in each phrase.

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Activity 1

Answers:

Doing ordinary things extraordinarily well

Going beyond whats expected

Adding value and integrity to every

interaction

Being at your best with every customer

Discovering new ways to delight those you serve

Surprising yourself with how much you can do

Taking care of the customer like you would take care of your grandmother

Answers:

Doing ordinary things extraordinarily well

Going beyond whats expected

Adding value and integrity to every interaction

Being at your best with every customer

Discovering new ways to delight those you serve

Surprising yourself with how much you can do

Taking care of the customer like you would take care of your grandmother

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Discussion 1

In your group, choose a phrase that you like the most and state the reasons.

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Timing: 5 minutes (discussion) + 5 minutes (presentation/group)

Based on the phrases that they formed, get them to choose the phrase that they like the most and get them to explain the reasons.

Debrief:

Tell them(regardless whatever phrase they chose), the phrases represent the expectations that a customer might have. The common element from the phrases is that the customer would like you to do and give the best at all time. But sometimes, we unknowingly tend to treat customers in a way that they are not satisfied. Then lead them to the next slide which is a discussion on their own experience as dissatisfied customers.

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Discussion 2

In groups, think of a time when you were dissatisfied with a product or service you paid for and answer the following questions:

What was your immediate reaction when you found out the product or service wasnt up to your expectation?

Imagine your complaint was handled well... How would that make you feel?

Imagine your complaint was not handled well.... How would that make you feel? What would you do?

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Timing: 10 minutes ( discussion) + 5 minutes ( presentation/group)

After they have shared their experiences, tell them that the overall feeling is that we will feel upset when our requests are not well-managed and it will become worse if our expectations are not achieved.

This will cause dissatisfaction and the common reasons for dissatisfaction are concluded in next slide.

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Reasons for Customer Dissatisfaction

They didnt get what was promised

They were lied to

Nobody listens to them

They got an unexpected surprise

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They didnt get what was promised

If you purchase a whatzit that promises to revolutionize the way you experience at-home theatre, and all the whatzit does is create static on your television set, you might be upset about that. The anger displayed by the customer in this type of situation stems comes from the frustration of unmet expectations.

What to do: Clarify the customers expectations before the customer leaves your place of business. Follow up to see if the product or service is meeting his/her expectations, and then intervene if necessary. Adhere to the customer service standard to under promise and over deliver (Trainers to explain meaning and give examples), so the customer perceives that his/her expectations have been exceeded rather than ripped off.They were lied to

Customer service providers should never gloss over the details of a sale, or forget to mention that one important detail. If a customer believes that s/he has been lied to, the customer service relationship will not only die, but the repercussions of such a monumental blunder will haunt the offending company for years to come by way of poor reputation and dwindling profits. Better to risk losing a customer by being honest than to risk the companys reputation by bending the truth.

Nobody listens to them

If customers feel as though they are being ignored, they will resort to behaviours that will get their attention. Service delivery standards exist to prevent this from happening. For example, simple actions at the first point of contact with the customer such as making eye contact, smiling, and acknowledging the customer will immediately enable the customers perception that the company is attentive. Listening carefully to customers complaints and requests, clarifying through questions and feedback, and following through on their requests will increase the likelihood of overall customer satisfaction.

They get a bad surprise

Imagine taking your car in for an oil change, and returning to find out they have retrofitted your engine without your consent, and the bill is astronomical! Talk about a bad surprise. This is an extreme and highly unlikely example; however, customers often get bad surprises, and as you might expect, may react poorly to them. Customers need to be well informed, and always presented with alternatives and options. When a customer is dissatisfied, s/he often knows how s/he wants the situation resolved ask the customer what they want and then do your best to satisfy their request. By doing this you will not only solve the customers immediate problem, but you will engender that customers loyalty for going the extra mile.

Impacts Of Customer Dissatisfaction

Dissatisfied customers will walk away!

Dissatisfied customers will spread the word!

Dissatisfied customers will be the worst type of angry customers!

Therefore, the impact of all these will be :

Dissatisfied customers will walk away!

Customers might be driven away to our competitors due to poor complaint management

Dissatisfied customers spread the word!

The average wronged customer tells 8-16 others and in doing so damages many potential future customers.

Dissatisfied customers will be worst type of angry customers!

Dissatisfied customers might stay but they will be the worst type of angry customer and make your life even more difficult which lead them to be very angry and disgruntle.

So, what are the stages of anger? To explain these, lead the participants to the next slide.

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Stages of Anger

Annoyed

Frustrated

Infuriated

Hostile

Every time a customer becomes difficult, they will start with the first stage. But inability to handle dissatisfaction well, will bring the customers emotion to the next stages:

STAGE 1:Annoyed (irritated)

Translation:Im pissed off, but not for long.

Description:The petty pissed off stage happens when you are irked by an everyday incident but still rational enough to realize that though its bothersome, its also relatively unimportant and youd look like a massive lunatic if you made a big deal out of it.

Triggers: Being interrupted during your lunch break, running on the treadmill next to someone who smells bad or hearing Call Me Maybe for the 67thtime in a day.

Symptoms:Eye-rolling, a brief internal-monologue-of-what-you-would-like-to-say-but-realize-would-be-way-out-of-line-if-you-did-say-it, and potentially letting out a heavy-breathed huff!

STAGE 2:Frustrated (unable to fulfil desire)

Translation:Im definitely angry, but Im keeping it undercover until I receive further validation

Description:Now were getting somewhere. When the Undercover Angry stage hits, you secretly begin to enjoy your anger. Though you may think you appear mature and under control, you are a mere tick away from going overboard a tick away from back-flipping off the ship of reason into a sea of self-rage and we all know it. Your grip on reality is quickly slipping and you are, in fact, bubbling toward the aforementioned boiling point.

Triggers:The most popular frustration triggers consist of a multi-pronged attack of petty annoyances in a short time-frame, your overbearing mother taking one too many jabs at your emotional psyche on the wrong day or your weird, yet again. Like, dont they have anywhere else to be?

Symptoms:Talking about it. With everyone. Any way you can. You will lambast the situation to anyone on G-Chat who doesnt have an orange inactive symbol by their name and you will probably suffer from light perspiration at the very thought of someone not agreeingenoughwith you. It is also likely that you will indulge in some passive aggressive tweeting.

STAGE 3:Infuriated (enrage)

Translation:I have now knighted myself with the right to be furious

Description:and anything you say or do will be held against you in the future and/or posted on YouTube, you big, hot-mess of an embarrassment. You have relinquished any hope for keeping this a private matter and are now openly sharing your endearing fury with the outside world. You, my infuriated friend, are toeing the line of a public-disturbance citation.

Triggers:Infuriated folk have most likely accumulated a weeks worth of bad luck and, by this time, are hunting for a reason any reason, to let somebody have it. So, triggers could include anything from boss-drama to boyfriend-drama to someone getting your order wrong at McDonalds (theres always that one guy!).

Symptoms:Forget Twitter. Your wrath now deserves an upgrade to the entire Facebook network. Perhaps, a starring role in some anonymous hate-crime website, as well (doesnt everyone know by now that those sites areneverreally anonymous?). After you realize that social media outbursts arent satisfying enough, you will feel inclined to take to the crowded streets for the sole purpose of shoulder-slamming innocent passersby before telling off your significant other, best friend, guy-at-the-coffee-shop, etc.

STAGE 4:Hostile (attack)

Translation:GET OVER HERE!

Description:Is it a coincidence that hostile and hostage have the same root word?

Triggers:Any thing. Every thing.All the things.

Symptoms:ANNIHILATION (To destroy completely)

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Avoid Customer Dissatisfaction

Deliver ultimate customer service

Listen to customer feedback

Handle difficult customers and complaints well

Deliver ultimate customer service

It is important to deliver onyour service commitment, whether it is the quality of your product or the speed of your delivery.

2. Listen to customer feedback

It is equally important to have a good understanding of your market if you want to avoid complaints. You can also help prevent complaints by considering what it is like to be a customer of your organisation. Aiming for zero complaints may be unrealistic, but it is worth remembering that a complaining customer can be beneficial. Not all customers will complain, so the one that points out an area of your business that needs attention should be thanked. Deal with them courteously and swiftly, and inform them about any action taken.

3. Handle difficult customer and complaints well

There are some sound business reasons to become adept in handling an angry customer. Research indicates that customers who complain are likely to continue doing business with your company if they feel that they were treated properly. It's estimated that as many as 90% of customers who perceive themselves as having been wronged never complain, they just take their business elsewhere. So, angry, complaining customers care enough to talk to you, and have not yet decided to take their business to the competition. They are customers worth saving.

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Overview

Module 1:


Module 2:


Module 3:


Module 4:


Module 5:


Module 6:


Module 2 will explain on how you prepare your mindset in approaching difficult customers. Handling difficult customers is always perceived as a daunting task which can lead to an emotionally stressed situation. Therefore, we need to know what is required to handle them and at the same time, to have a stress free conversation with customers.

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Activity 2

String Game

Follow the instructions given by your facilitator.

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Instructions:

Get the participants to be in pair.

Give each person a1-metre long string

In each pair, they will have person A and B

Each person needs to tie his/her right hand with one end of the string.

Now, Person A needs to tie another hand with another end of the string.

Person B needs to slip over his string on the string of person A and tie his/her left hand.

Tell them that they have to release themselves from their partner without releasing the string, knot or cutting it. They have 5 minutes to do so.

After 5 minutes, get them to stop and check which pair has managed to do it.

Then, give them the solution and tell them that the string game looks impossible at first.

Debrief: The same thing goes to managing difficult customer. We need to open our mind and look at different ways on how we can manage them. Once we can manage them, we can resolve all the problems and avoid future ones.

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Discussion 3

List common reasons why customers become difficult.

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Timing:

10 minutes ( discussion) + 5 minutes ( presentation)

Instructions:

Get the participants to be in groups

Ask them to list all the common reasons that causes customer complaints

Debrief: tell them that based on what they have presented, the reasons of complaints are common and evolve around typical reasons which will be shown in next slide.

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You didn't do what you promised.

Your product didn't do what it's supposed to do.

It's a long time before someone answers the phone.

Whenever I ring in and get transferred to another person I often get cut off.

Bad attitude

Not willing to seek a solution

Not giving full product explanations

Not willing to admit a mistake

Not keeping you up to date

Broken promises

Common Reasons for Customer Complaints

Common reasons for customer complaints

1. You didn't do what you promised.

When did you last review your advertising material or web site? Do they contain service promises which sounded great at the time but have since been forgotten? For example, do you promise to deliver within 24 hours but changes in processes have meant that it is no longer possible? No one may have complained yet but sooner or later someone will.

2. Your product didn't do what it's supposed to do.

When did you last undertake a quality check of your product? Random checks can help weed out poor quality workmanship before a customer spots it. When buying your stock or finished item do you test it?

3.It's a long time before someone answers the phone.

Hanging on the phone while it rings and rings is very irritating. It conjures up images of staff sitting drinking coffee and chatting; not the impression you want to portray and not the way to put customers in a buying mood! Do your staff understand the importance of the phone being answered promptly?

4. Whenever I ring in and get transferred to another person I often get cut off.

Have your staff been trained in getting the best out of your phone system? Do all staff have a handy list of extension numbers to avoid annoying sorry wrong department' answers? Ask a friend or business colleague to ring in and take note of what happens good and bad.

Mark Bradley says, We usually encounter a number of interesting correlations that fundamentally prove that operational accuracy leads to customer satisfaction.

Take some time to look at your business from the customer's perspective and you should be able to stop customer complaints before they hit your desk.

It's not only the operational side of the business which can let you down; the human side of business can also generate complaints your staff! No matter how good your product is one loose cannon in your team can upset everything. What actions can your staff take that can lead to a customer picking up the phone or putting pen to paper?

5. Bad Attitude

There's no getting away from it some people have a bad hair day every day! The way they speak to people is enough to turn the most mild mannered of customers against your company. They act as if the customer is an interference to their daily routine. A person with poor job skills can be taught the relevant knowledge or skills but a person with a generally bad attitude, the proverbial chip on the shoulder, is harder to bring into line.

These type of people are the ones who never acknowledge your presence when you are standing in front of them, or still chat away on the phone The solution? Get them away from your customers.

6. Not Willing To Seek a Solution

These people are the ones who may acknowledge a customer's problem but just can't be bothered to find a solution; it's too much hassle. The stock answer is, I can't help. It's company policy. Their favourite words are I can't, Yes, but, won't, shouldn't. They can find nothing positive to help the customer. If this happens, your customers will walk away thinking you are a can't do' instead of a can do' business.

7. Not Giving Full Product Explanations

Your product may be the best in the world, but if it doesn't do what the customer wants then you have one unhappy purchaser. Lack of understanding of how the product or service meets the customer's requirements could be down to your sales staff being too anxious for a sale persuading the buyer that the product is just right when it clearly doesn't fit what the client needs. This is partly down to sales training but also attitude. Do you want staff that are happy to sell to your customers on this basis?

8. Not Willing To Admit a Mistake

Isn't it refreshing to hear someone say, Do you know, you're right. We really messed this up. If you get this as an opening line when making a complaint, you immediately know you're in business. However, sometimes getting a business to admit it has made a mistake is like pulling teeth. If you're in the wrong, get your staff to own up and say, Yes, we were wrong, it can take away the emotion which sometimes blocks successful resolution of complaints.

9. Not Keeping You Up To Date

In any effective complaint handling process, everything can be done according to the book, but it can all be thrown away if the client is not kept up to date. A complaint, followed by days of silence, allows doubt and anger to bubble up again. It may be that the person handling the complaint had a bad time when taking the initial query; he's not motivated to pick up the phone and engage in another torrent of abuse! However, not speaking to the client can only make matters worse, and so guaranteeing that the next call will be even more interesting! Get strong' characters to front your complaints, people who are not intimidated and are happy to solve problems.

10. Broken Promises

This is probably the most frequent reason for human cause of complaint; Yes, I'll do that for you. Leave it to me. What happens? Nothing! The impression given is that your staff just don't care, or that the customer is not important. Impress upon your staff the importance of following through on their promises. Any broken promise will compound a complaint.

Note: Trainer can provide more relevant examples wherever needed.

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What are Complaints to an Organisation?

Feedback

Image

An indicator/benchmark

Value

Value placed on the customer - The organisation is committed to effective complaint handling and values feedback through complaints. This is to show that customers are important to the organisation

Image as customers are important to them, organisation will create customer-centred brand and improve their image

Ability to support products and services complaints handling will be the indicator whether organisation is ready to provide support in order to improve the delivery of their products and services

Value of the product and service the effectiveness of complaint handling will show the efficiency and value of products and services

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Complaints: When Does It Happen?

A product or service does not meet the expectations of the customer

A product or service is faulty and does not function correctly

As they discussed the common reasons of complaints, tell them that complaints are typically related to 2 things which is are:

A product or service does not meet the expectations of the customer

A product or service is faulty and does not function correctly

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Why Handle Complaints?

Change from product driven to customer driven

Business environments have became more competitive

Service is the key to success

The reasons why it is important to handle complaints effectively and efficiently are:

Change from product driven to customer driven to be a customer centric organisation instead of just a product centric organisation

Business environments have became more competitive the ability to do this will help organisations to be ahead of their competitors

Service is the key to success complaints is about the level of service delivery. And its crucial to be no. 1 in providing excellent service because it is a characteristic needed in todays organisation regardless of the types of products offered.

The next video will tell how a disappointed customer behaves or reacts when complaints not managed. This is the video where Dave Carroll made his statements about how trust on the organisation was destroyed and how difficult it is to regain the trust of customers.

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Video 2

Statement from Dave Carroll

Transcript of the video:

Hi, everybody. Im Dave Carroll, and Im coming to you from an undisclosed warehouse somewhere in Nova Scotia, Canada, and I would like to express my deep gratitude to everybody in the world whos been supporting United Song One the way you have, which is more than I ever could have hoped, especially after two days.

United has been in contact with me, and they have generously, but late, offered us compensation, and Im grateful for that, but like I said before, Im not looking for compensation. And if they would choose to give that money that they were thinking I might want to give it to a charity of their choice, Id be very happy to see that happen. Id only ask that theyd share that news with us as to where that money went.

Id also like to mention Ms. Irwig she was mentioned in Song One, and through many of the posts I read, she may be treated a little unfairly. And in my experience, she was a great employee, and unflappable, and acting in the interest of the United policies that she represented. So, I think she deserves a bit of a break, and one day, I hope to have a good laugh with her about [aboot] all this, because in Song Two, I feature my dealings with her a little bit better, in a very lighthearted way. So, stay tuned for Song Two, everybody. Its coming very, very soon. Thanks.

Debrief:

This is to show how the trust from customer about the organisation is totally destroyed and it will be more difficult to get back the customers. They will be more skeptical and wont be bothered anymore with any plans/actions. Dissatisfied customers can do even worse with the presence of social media. Organisation will face worse situation mote than before. This proven when within 4 days was the video being posted online, United Airlines' stock price fell 10%, costing stockholders about $180million in value.[17]However,American,Continental,Delta, andSouthwest Airlinesalso had drops in their stock price on that date, and United's stock price had varied widely all that quarter, including some days with drops greater than 10% in value.

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Overview

Module 1:


Module 2:


Module 3:


Module 4:


Module 5:


Module 6:


DAY 2

Start off day 2 with the recap session on what they have covered so far. You may want to use the idea of standing in circle to do this recap.

You are required to have a tennis ball. You will start the session by telling everyone to stand in a big circle. Tell them that you will throw the ball randomly to one of them and that person needs to give one word which they remember the most from first days session. After which, the person needs to throw it to another person and that person needs to do the same thing. Let them do this until each of them get the chance to catch the ball and say the word and they remember most from the 1st days session

This is a very quick activity to check their understanding and retention of information. This also will make them alert and ready for the next lesson.

Tell the participants that on day 1, they stopped with Preparing the Right Mindset to Approach Difficult Customers. Get them to give their opinions on what are the fundamentals, after which, proceed to the next slide.

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The Fundamentals

Show Empathy NOT

Sympathy

Building trust

Discover customer dissatisfaction

Tell the participants that in approaching difficult customers , they are required to have 3 key elements which are:

1. Discover Customer Dissatisfaction

2. Show empathy not sympathy

3. Building trust with your customers

Instruction:

To understand these better, they will walk through the details in the following slides.

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1.

Active

Listening

2.

Ask

Questions

Discover Customer Dissatisfaction

In discovering customer dissatisfaction, we need to listen and ask questions. The following slides will guide them but they have to remember that they need to believe in what they are doing and it must be done with sincerity.

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1. Active Listening

Pay Attention

Show That You're Listening

Provide Feedback

Defer Judgment

Respond Appropriately

Dont be selective

For the first one in discovering customer dissatisfaction, we need to be an active listener. Active listening is about doing the following:

Pay Attention - Give the speaker your undivided attention, and acknowledge the message. ...

Show That You're Listening - Use your own body language and gestures to convey your attention. ...

Provide Feedback provide feedback to ensure that you stay focussed and being objective. This is also to ensure that what you have understood is correct.

Defer Judgment don't judge your customers because we have no idea what they went through so far

Respond Appropriately respond when you need to, do not make customer perceive the conversation as if he/she is talking to the wall

Dont be selective don't listen to only what you want to listen, listen to the whole situation and understand the triggers.

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Activity 2

5

A bird in the the bush

This is a sample of optical illusion which usually people only pay selective attention. They only see what they want to see. This optical illusion is one of those situations where your brain works faster than your eyes and you think you have read the text correctly when in fact you have not. So let us start by looking at this optical illusion again. What do you see? Here we can see an image of a triangle with some red text written inside it. The text is a simple short message and reads "A Bird In The Bush." Or does it? Read the text inside the triangle again and you will see the actual phrase. It is A Bird in the the bush.

This is what always happens to our brain when we are with difficult customers; we are selective in giving attention. We just focus to what we want to see or hear. This could lead to the worst case where customers will feel that we are not paying attention to what has been said. This will trigger anger and move the customer to the next level of dissatisfaction.

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Activity 3

Listen carefully to the tape of Caf Scene and tell the class what do you hear?

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This activity is another example of how we are selective in giving attention.

Instruction:

Get the participants to listen to the audio.

Debrief;

This audio Caf scene shows how we are selective to what we hear because of the surrounding distractions and external factors which cause us not to hear the whole story from customers. Therefore, we might conclude the problem faced by customers inaccurately. What we need to do is, whenever we have difficult customers, pull them aside and listen to them attentively. Hear the whole story. Dont do anything other than listening!

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Activity 4

Remove six letters and what remains is a common word

SIBAXNLAETNATESRS

SIBAXNLAETNATESRS

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Another thing about not being selective when dealing with difficult customers is being selective in interpretation. Selective interpretation is a method for reducing dissonance by interpreting ambiguous information so that it seems consistent with ones beliefs, thoughts, or actions. When we read the instruction just now, we assumed and we believed that all we needed was to remove six letters out of all the letters shown. But, if we look at it from another perspective and what we need to do is to remove SIX LETTERS.

So, tell the participants not to assume and not to just interpret it according to their own beliefs. . So, after removing SIX LETTERS the answer is BANANAS.

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Activity 5

Listen to the story of the Kampung Baru school bus and answer the question given.

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Instructions:

Kg Baru school bus ( 2 audio files; Kampong Baru School Bus 1 and Kampong Baru School Bus 2).

Get participants to listen to either one only. Get them to answer the questions asked in the audio. You can observe that they were trying to calculate to get the answers. The answer is their own age. They need to listen to the whole story and answer accordingly.

When they tried to guess the answer, they are actually using selective retention. Selective retention is when an individual only remembers information that is consistent with their current beliefs. They believe that they need to calculate the age. They even did not pay attention to the first and last statement. So, they cant do this, they need to pay 100% attention and retain the information fully.

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Focusing on the environment

Daydreaming

Too rigid following process

Busy looking for answers

Mentally tired with personal problems

Panic when customer is difficult

Assuming the answer

Being selective in listening

Barriers to Listening

There are always reasons why we cant focus entirely on customers. This is caused by the following barriers:

Focusing on the environment

Daydreaming

Too rigid to follow the process

Busy looking for answers

Mentally tired with personal problems

Panic when customer is difficult

Assuming the answer

Being selective in listening

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2. Ask Questions

Discovery of customer dissatisfaction also requires us to be intelligent and ask effective questions. It is very important to know how to ask questions in order to get this type of customers to give their cooperation and arrive at expected solutions. Types of questions that can be asked are:

Open Questions require more than a yes or no answer and encourages the customer to give more information.

Closed Questions require one word or short answers and are often used for clarifications.

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Open Questions

require more than a yes or no answer and encourages the customer to give more information.

Closed Questions

require one word or short answer and are often used for clarifications.

Be Empathetic NOT Sympathetic
SYMPATHYThe act of imaginingand interpreting the thoughts, experiences of others from our own lensThe act of imaginingand interpreting the thoughts, experiences of others from the customers lensEMPATHY

The fundamentals of approaching dissatisfied customers is also about being empathetic and sympathetic.

Sympathy is The act of imagining and interpreting the thoughts, experiences of others from our own lens and empathy is the act of imagining

and interpreting the thoughts, experiences of others from their own lens. It means empathy is about putting ourselves in customers shoes. We need to attempt to understand customers feelings, emotion and the hurdles that they went through.

Sympathy, while highly valued in our culture, can actually be very disempowering. The sympathetic perspective tends to place you above the other, placing you in an Im fine and youve got a problem stance. While this statement may not be uttered, it may be the underlying sentiment. Expressing sympathy this way can actually accentuate a person state of mind, and is less likely to empower someone to resolve this self-limiting point of view.

On the other hand, coming from an empathetic perspective, you understand what the other is feeling but you dont necessarily go there with them. Instead, you view them as capable of working through the issue at hand. To be empathetic to someone in pain, you might say something like, I sense that youre hurting. What we are going to do now is.......

As an example, when customer came to you with the dissatisfaction that he/she couldnt access to his/her online account; instead of just saying that i am sorry for the difficulties, can you try again?, you may want to say I am sorry for the difficulties, but may I know what is the message appeared when you tried to login?..By doing so, you are indirectly telling them that you understood about their feeling and you are ready to assist them.

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How to Show Empathy?

Speak in a language that the customer understands

Be sensitive to your customers situation

Avoid giving your personal opinion regarding the issue

Use the Feel, Felt, Found technique

Showing empathy is easy. What we can do are the following:

Speak in a language that the customer understands

Speaking your customers language also means not bombarding your customers with a lot of industry jargon in an attempt to look smart. Your message can get lost in a sea of buzzwords or crash on the rocks of technical jargon. We often become so familiar with our products and services that we lose touch with the laymens terms that our customers are using. When you take your car to the mechanic, he may be talking about bearings and tie rods, but all you want is for the car to stop making that infernal clunking noise.

Be sensitive to your customers situation

If a customer says he is having the worst day of his life, you might say, "I'm sorry to hear that. What can I do to make your day better?". Not only are you showing interest, but you are showing you are sensitive to the customer's situation. Even if you cannot personally understand or relate to what the customer is saying, you can be considerate in your response.

Avoid giving your personal opinion regarding the issue

Everyone has his or her own allegiance to a certain belief system. Regardless whichever, its best to keep those beliefs private and not project them onto others in the form of advice. Instead of making a blanket statement based on personal opinions, stop and consider that your customers could have the opinions that might be different.

Use the Feel, Felt, Found technique

TheFeel Felt Foundtechnique is a proven strategy for moving customers easily and gently to a new mode of thought. It is a great technique for overcoming difficult customers. Tell the participants that you will explain this in the following slides.

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The Feel, Felt, Found Technique

Tell them you understand how they feel,

tell them theyre not alone,

then tell them there is a way to come to a resolution and show them that there is still a way to work it out.

You also can create empathy with your customer by telling them you understand how they feel. It tells them that youre listening and it creates rapport. Moving on to felt tells them theyre not alone. Youve worked with people who have felt the same way. It moves their focus off the objection and moves them to a place of trust.

Finally, the found is a way to come to a resolution and show them that there is still a way to work it out.

So the basic Feel, Felt, Found technique works like this:

FEEL: I understand how you feel.

FELT: In fact, thats not the first time I heard that others have felt that way, too.

FOUND: And what they found was (explain to them how you resolved the concern)

Feel - Tell them I understand how youfeel.This is intended to tell the customer that you have heard them, and can empathise.

Felt - Tell them about someone else whofeltthe same way initially.Youre telling the customer that they are not alone, and that things can change.

Found - Then tell them how that personfoundthat when they did what you wanted/bought the product, they got what they wanted.

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I understand how you feel, some customers have felt the same way and they found that once they understood what was needed it was easily resolved.

I can understand your frustration sir. Unable to do the transaction when we really need it would be frustrating for anyone. However if we work on this together, we can resolve it very quickly.

I know youre upset, I would be too. Heres what we can do..

FELT

FEEL

FOUND

Examples

Explain to the participants about the examples.

37

Discussion 4

In groups, create phrases using feel, felt and found technique in the scenarios which will be given by your facilitator.

15

Timing : 10 minutes (discussion) + 5 minutes ( presentation/group)

As they have understood about feel, felt and found technique, get them to do the discussion. They are required to create phrases which will be given by you. What you need to do is make sure that they are ready with flip chart paper and marker pen. Read scenario 1 and give them 2 minutes to create the appropriate sentence to the scenario. When 2 minutes is up, read scenario 2 and get them to do the same . Repeat this until they have covered all scenarios. After which, get them to present it to the class and they need to use proper intonation when they are reading it.

Debrief:

Ask them whether they think that customers will be more focussed and participative. Yes, they will and we can have a clearer mind and be objective while coming out with solutions/actions.

Scenarios:

Scenario 1: Terry Welch entered your shoe store over 30 minutes ago and seems to be having trouble deciding on the style and colour of shoes he wants.

Scenario 2: Chris Dulaney is back in your lawn mower repair shop. This is the third time in less than two weeks that she has been in for repairs on a riding mower. Chris is getting upset because the problem stems from a defective carburettor that has been repaired on each previous visit. She is beginning to raise her voice, and her frustration is becoming evident.

Scenario 3: You are a telephone service representative for a large retail catalogue distribution centre. Youve been at work for about an hour when you receive a call from Pat Mason, who immediately starts making demands (e.g., Ive only got a few minutes for you to tell me how to order. Look, Ive read all the articles about the scams telemarketers pull. Ill tell you what I want, and you tell me how much it will cost. Listen, what I want you to do is take my

order and get me the products within the next two days. I need them for a conference.

Scenario 4: You are a cashier in the express lane at a supermarket. As you are ringing up a customers order, a second customer approaches, squeezes past several people in line and says, Im in a hurry. All I have is a quart of milk. Can you just tell me how much it costs, and Ill leave the money right here on the register.

Scenario 5: You are a very busy switchboard operator for ComTech, a large corporation. A vendor whom you recognize from previous encounters has just called to speak with your purchasing manager. As in previous calls, the vendor starts a friendly conversation about the weather, how things are going,

and other topics not related to business.

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Building Trust with Customers

Respect and validate customers views

Focus on the facts not customers behaviour

Be positive

Choose to respond not react

Do not show resistance

Uncover the truth

When you have dissatisfied customers or receive complains, what you need to do to gain their trust back are:

Respect and validate customers views

Stephen R. Covey, in his 7 habits of highly effective people says rightly that when we are understood we feel affirmed and validated. He coined the expression: 'Seek first to understand, and then to be understood', which serves as a constant reminder for the need to listen and respect the other person before you can expect them to listen to you.

Focus on the facts not customers behaviour

Remember, the customer is just as frustrated as you are. If you are patient and concentrate on the conversation, you will be better able to understand what the customer is saying.

Be positive eliminate all negative perceptions that they have about customers

Choose to respond not react

Dont take the anger personally. As a professional, recognize that customers may have legitimate concerns buried somewhere in their anger and venting. They may be overreacting, but you need to remain objective, assess the problem, and focus on solutions. Whenever possible, use the customers name. This personalizes the conversation and makes it difficult for the customer to attack you. Maintain a friendly manner. Show the customer respect, even in the face of disrespect. Demonstrate no reaction in the face of difficult behavior. Use appropriate body language. Move closer to the customer and maintain eye contact. Listen for the unspoken message. Focus on subtleties in a callers voiceinflection, pacing, and the overall tension level.

Do not show resistance

Do not hesitate when you need to handle difficult customers. If you show hesitation, immediately eliminate it because the feeling will be shown in your voice, gesture etc. this will make customers even more difficult.

Uncover the truth

Understanding the context of a complaint is key. The best customer service provider is the one that seek to understand the broader reasons for the problems, address the root causes, and create feedback loops to continuously improve interactions upstream and downstream based on the problems raised.

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Overview

Module 1:


Module 2:


Module 3:


Module 4:


Module 5:


Module 6:


Module 4: Connecting with the Customers will be the next step to approach difficult customers. The future belongs to companies who better connect with their customers. Winning in theeconomystarts with understanding your customer. Getting more focused on a meaningful value proposition, creating innovative ways of expressing and delivering your value, and building new systems to support your platform will help create a sustainable advantage. The foundation to connecting with your customers is to start with building trust with them. Dissatisfied customers are losing the trust about us. So, what we need to do is to regain the trust. Next slide will share on how to do that.

40

Steps to Manage Complaints
Let them vent!Acknowledgement & apologyIdentify the complaintDetermine actionConfirm action and thank customerTake action and deliver on promisesListen and do not interrupt"I can understand why..."Summarise key issues and main complaintOutline action plan and gain agreementThank them for their feedbackDo what is promised, follow up

The standard steps to manage complaints are:

1. let them vent! - listen and do not interrupt

2. acknowledgement & apology - "I can understand why..."

3. Identify the complaint- summarise key issues and main complaint

4. Determine action - outline action plan and gain agreement

5. confirm action and thank customer - thank them for their feedback

6. take action and deliver on promises - do what is promised, follow up

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Activity 6

Follow the instructions given by your facilitator and fill in the spaces in your handout with your replies using positive phrases.

10

Timing : 10 minutes

Trainer can start by asking participants to discuss and fill in the answers

Whats your problem?

Youll have to.

Im not authorised

I am not very sure

Dont get upset with me

We are not aware of the update

Its company policy

These are the terms and conditions you must follow!

I cant help you with that

Ask them to share and debrief with recommended answers as shown in the next slide.

42

Whats your problem?

Youll have to.

Im not authorised

I am not very sure

Ways To Say

I apologise for the inconvenience, if we could refer to the policy signed

What I can do is transfer you to the expert and her name is Cindy

For security reasons, we advise..

Ill research the issue and get back to you as soon as possible

I can hear youre upset. Lets work together and Ill solve this for you.

I can help you with that. I need to place you on hold for 1 minute while I research that. Is that ok with you?

Im going to transfer you to Ajay, he is my team manager

I need your assistance to ....

How may I assist you, Ms. Siti?

Dont get upset with me

We are not aware of the update

Its company policy

These are the terms and conditions you must follow!

I cant help you with that

This are the answers to activity 1:

Whats your problem? - How may I assist you, Ms Siti?

Youll have to. - I need your assistance to ....

Im not authorized - Im going to transfer you to Ajay, he is my team manager

I am not very sure - I can help you with that. I need to place you on hold for 1 minute while I research that. Is that ok with you?

Dont get upset with me - I can hear youre upset. Lets work together and Ill solve this for you.

We are not aware of the update - Ill research the issue and get back to you as soon as possible

Its company policy - For security reasons, we advise..

These are the terms and conditions you must follow! - What I can do is transfer you to the expert and her name is Cindy

I cant help you with that - I apologize for the inconvenience, if we could refer to the policy signed

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Positive Phrases

Every word and phrase you choose conveys mood, tone and meaning

Choose the words with care to improve customer experience

The importance of choosing positive phrases and words while managing difficult customers are:

Every word and phrase you choose conveys mood, tone and meaning

Choose the words with care to improve the customer experience

So, if you fail to do that, customers will get more emotional and react more negatively. At the end, the organisations image will suffer.

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Negative vs. Positive Phrases

Cant

But

Maybe

Try

Probably

Problem

Should

Unfortunately

Sorry

No

Difficult

ve

ve

What I can do is

However, although, and

Certainly

Will

Certainly, definitely

Challenge, concern, issue

Will

However

I apologise, I understand

What I can do is

Challenge

These are some examples of Negative phrases which can be replaced with the suggested positive phrases

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Role Play 1


5

Tell them that now, in making sure that they have understood what has been taught, they are required to demonstrate it through role plays. Choose participants randomly, one CSP and one customer, get them to spend 2 minutes to discuss and 3 minutes to present it. Do the random selection of participants for each scenario as below:

1. You dont know the answer to the customers question.

Let the customer know that you dont know the answer; ask your manager or supervisor.

2. You have to say no to the customers request.

Apologize, if appropriate, and tell the customer what you can do. Explain your reasons for saying no.

3. Your computer is moving slowly and the customer is getting impatient.

Tell the customer your computer is moving slowly; use transition statements to avoid long periods of silence.

4. The customer has unreasonable expectations.

Emphasize what you can do for the customer.

5. The customer is sceptical about what youre telling him.

Offer to show him proof or documentation; ask a manager or supervisor that you have told the customer.

6. The customer is angry for no apparent reason.

Speak in a calm voice; acknowledge the customers feelings.

7. The customer refuses to give you all the information you need.

Explain why you need the information and then ask the customer to reconsider giving it to you.

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Short Story

Follow the instructions given by your facilitator .

10

Get the participants to spend 5 minutes to read the short story given. In groups they are required to summarise the story. Get them to write it on a flip chart paper. Ask them : what are the differences which happened in the story? What made the customer happy again?

The story is:

I had a problem with a new piece of electronic equipment and went to the store that I bought the equipment for assistance. The first technician I talked with insisted that there was nothing wrong with his companys equipment, that itmust be my fault. When I explained that everything in the network had worked perfectly until I powered the new item up, he laughed at me. When I asked to see his supervisor, he responded with theinfamous two letter expletiveand left me. I was waiting and finally spoke with adifferent techwho was able to resolve the problem in a matter of minutes and who then asked his supervisor to join us. When I told the supervisor of my earlier experience, she asked me to give her one day so she could resolve the problem. She said that she will call me back for any updates. I went home and not later than 30 minutes, I received the call from the supervisor and she told me that necessary actions were taken against the first technician and she apologised for the inconveniences that I went through. She hopes that I wont use the experience as a reason to stop going to the store. It went from being the worst customer service experience ever to one of the best in less than an hour.Submitted by: Ron B.

Debrief:

Tell the participants that dealing with customers is about the attitude of our choice. By being proactive, sounding convincing and keeping the promise is the attitude that we have decided to do. We also can choose not to behave as desired, but we must be ready to face the consequences.

After which, lead them to the next slide on how to connect with different types of difficult customers.

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Know-It-All

Reluctant speaker

Soothing Delayer

Talker

Untrained

Types of Difficult Customers

Hostile Aggressor

Constant Complainer

Display the slide and tell them that these are the types of difficult customers

After which, randomly call out participants to share their understanding about each type of difficult customers

This is to just gauge the participants level of understanding about the type of difficult customers.

Summarise their answers and tell them that each type shown in the slide will be explained and discussed in detailed in next few slides.

48

Reluctant Speaker

What are they like?

Genuinely incompetent or passively aggressive

Does not volunteer information

Short, one-word responses

May play stupid or ignorant

How to handle them?

Identify the reason for their reluctance

Start by using yes/no questions to get them talking

Then graduate to open-ended questions

What are they like?

Genuinely incompetent or passively aggressive

Does not volunteer information

Short, one-word responses

May play stupid- ignorant

How to handle them?

Identify the reason for their reluctance

Start by using yes/no questions to get them talking

Then graduate to open-ended questions

Give them examples or get them to give/share examples based on their experience.

49

Soothing Delayer

What are they like?

Will stall and delay

Super nice and sensitive

Seek to appease and not offend

Agreeable

Indecisive

How to handle them?

Reassure

Take the lead

Open-ended questions

Reinforce solution

What are they like?

Will stall and delay

Super nice and sensitive

Seeks to appease and not offend

Agreeable

Indecisive

How to handle them?

Reassure

Take the lead

Open-ended questions

Reinforce solution


50

Untrained

What are they like?

Suffer from basic lack of knowledge

Seek to be led through support call

May be stressed due to expectations

Have feelings of inadequacy

How to handle them?

Is this request within scope?

Be helpful, but manage your time

Adjust your level to the customers

Respect their dignity

Use other groups when feasible

Direct them to helpful materials

What are they like?

Suffer from basic lack of knowledge

Seek to be led

May be stressed due to expectations

Have feelings of inadequacy

How to handle them?

Is this request within scope?

Be helpful, but manage your time

Adjust your level to the customers

Respect their dignity dont look down at them

Use other groups when feasible - use support from your supervisor , peers etc if you need to

Direct them to helpful materials eg: website, leaflet etc


51

What are they like?

Seek to verbally control dialogue

Go off on tangents; lose focus

Repeat themselves

Will talk-over or interrupt you

How to handle them?

Interject politely

Politely insist on finishing your point

Ask questions and get them to focus

Use close-ended questions

Be pleasant and use finesse

Talker

What are they like?

Seek to verbally control the dialogue

Goes off on tangents (to suddenly start talking or thinking about a completely new subject); loses focus

Repeat himself/herself

Will talk-over or interrupt you

How to handle them?

Interject politely

Politely insist on finishing your point

Ask questions and get them to focus

Use close-ended questions

Be pleasant and use finesse ( use your skill and cleverness)


52

Constant Complainer

What are they like?

Fault finder, whiner, and complainer

Refuse problem responsibility

Blame you, product and organisation

Go on and on

How to handle them?

Dont agree

Get them focused

Push for first time solution

Judgment call on additional solutions

What are they like?

Fault find, whine, and complain

Refuse problem responsibility

Blame you, product and organisation

Go on and on

How to handle them?

Dont agree

Get them focused

Push for first time solution

Judgment call on additional solutions you have to make decision if there are alternatives


53

What are they like?

Self-proclaimed expert

Close-minded and unreceptive

Critical of outside suggestions

How to handle them?

Ask questions and get the facts

Let them know you heard them

Convey respect

Give credit when due

Know-It-All

What are they like?

Self-proclaimed experts

Close-minded and unreceptive

Critical of outside suggestions

How to handle them?

Ask questions and get the facts

Let them know you heard them

Convey respect

Give credit where it is due (acknowledge their contribution or ability)


54

Hostile Aggressor

What are they like?

Intimidating and explosive

Controlling and ruling

Quick to become angry and attack

Judgmental

Change resistant

How to handle them?

Stay calm

Stick to the facts

Speak clearly and do not sound condescending

Negotiate

What are they like?

Intimidating and explosive

Controlling and ruling

Quick to become angry and attack

Judgmental

Change resistant

How to handle them?

Stay calm

Stick to the facts

Speak clearly and do not sound condescending

Negotiate


55

Role Play 2



15

This is the role play to allow participants to practice their skills in managing difficult types of customers.

Trainer will randomly select the participants and assign them with the scenario.

Observe how they say no and debrief accordingly and lead them to the next slide.

Approximately 2-3 minutes for each scenario.

The trainer can also use related scenarios.

5 Role Play Scenarios on Managing Difficult Types of Customer

1. The caller who owns a shop selling frozen products has been waiting all day for a service engineer to repair her refrigerator who had promised to be there 5 hours ago.

2. The customer is calling about a telco bill which was over charged and the customer refused to pay that which has resulted in his/her mobile service being suspended.

3. The caller has telephoned a company with an enquiry regarding her/his debit card issue, but has not yet managed to speak to the customer service representative that could solve her/his issue.

4. A foreign customer has called up to enquire about the product which has been purchased from your store. However due to the language barrier, you could not understand the issue and your customer does not seem to understand your questions or explanations.

5.A well known Datin/Dato has called up requesting a special price for his/her friends at a restaurant, claiming that your boss is a close friend of him/her. However your boss are not in town and unreachable at that time for you to confirm that information. Therefore you are unable to fulfil his/her request and this has made the caller furious and threatens to get you fired.

56

Overview

Module 1:


Module 2:


Module 3:


Module 4:


Module 5:


Module 6:


DAY 3

Do the recap for Day 1& 2 modules. Below is the suggested idea for recap:

Instructions:

Give each group a piece of flipchart and some coloured pencils or crayons. Get them to draw their learning points (no words allowed). This reviews the previous day, is fun and gets the right brain working.

Give them 10 minutes ( to discuss and draw) and 5 minutes per group to present it.

After which, tell them that in connecting and approaching difficult customers which for sure will behave aggressively, we also need to know how to say no when we really cant accommodate the request which sometimes, can be the most difficult thing to do.

57

Apologise/

empathise

Provide an explanation

Offer alternatives

Get the customer to buy-in

Thank the customer

Customers Dont Take No For an Answer

Saying NO

Explain to the participants that the steps of saying no ( when its required) are:

Apologise/empathise

Provide an explanation why the request cannot be fulfilled

Offer alternatives (if available)

Get the customer to buy-in ( make them agree with the suggestion/answer)

Thank the customer for the feedback/complaint

To make the participants be more clear and understand better, during the explanation, you can get participants to suggest examples of phrases that can be used. Write it on flip chart paper, so they can visually see their ideas/thoughts. Once finished with the 5 stages, just click for 6th stage and ask them how about if customers Dont Take No For an Answer. Brain storm and lead them to the next slide.

58

When Customers Dont Take No for an Answer

If Customers Dont Take No For an Answer, the steps are:

1. Repeat The Five Steps slowly which was shown in the earlier slide

2. Acknowledge the hesitancy explain to them that customer is actually adamant and refuses to listen to any explanation. Get participants to give their idea on what to say and again write it on flip chart paper.

3. Escalate to management this is the stage where the situation cant be handled anymore and requires the involvement of upper level. Shows that we are concerned about them and you will escalate the matter to the upper level management for further action(s).Get participants to give their idea on what to say and again write it on flip chart paper.

59

Repeat The Five Steps slowly

Acknowledge the hesitancy

Escalate to management

Video 2

United breaks guitar 2

This is to lead in into next topic which is about handling challenging situation

Due to the ineffective handling, the customer came out with other versions of the video and it went viral around the world.

In the video, the customer just wanted the organisation to admit the mistakes and accept the fact that their policy in managing the issue was not up to expectations and required improvement.

Background of the video

Unlike the original, Song 2 has a lighter, more upbeat tone and focuses on the famous Ms. Earlwig, asking her and United to "come to [their] senses, accept the consequences," because then they could become "best buddies." We think that the lighter tone is meant to strike a more conciliatory tone with United. After all, they did reach out to him. In one day, Song 2 has already racked up 24,000 views and is on track to become a popular music video in its own right. It's just another example of the power of YouTube and social media. It has empowered the customer in ways never before possible. The song takes a humorous look at Carroll's dealings with "the unflappable" United customer service employee Ms. Irlweg, and targets the "flawed policies" that she was forced to uphold

The effect of the video is unimaginable. Because of the dissatisfaction , in May 2012, Carroll published a book,United Breaks Guitars: The Power of One Voice in the Age of Social Media,[15]detailing his experiences. In January 2013, the success of Carroll's online protest was used by the German television and news serviceTagesschauto exemplify a new kind of threat facing corporations in the internet age.[16]In June 2013, the NBC TVTodayprogram's panel discussed "how to properly complain and get what you want" and used a Carroll video as an example of a good way to complain while remaining "respectful" and "not yelling".

This is the simplest example how customers who are mistreated can put the future of a company in jeopardy easily by using social media. So , being a customer service professional in 21st century is no longer an easy job.

.

60

Overview

Module 1:


Module 2:


Module 3:


Module 4:


Module 5:


Module 6:


In some circumstances, we just cant avoid from customers from being dissatisfied and complaining. So what we can do is to regain their trust and make them come back to us. Therefore , in the final module we will touch on winning customers back.

61

Activity 7

Wind in the Willow


20

Timing: 10 minutes(explanation) + 10 minutes(activity)

Explain this exercise to the group, that it is about learning to completely trust others:

Pair them and make them stand in 2 circles, one inner and one outer circle

Tell them that they need to stand a little wider than shoulder width apart

Each person in the outer circle stands with one foot slightly in front of the other and be in a strong and stable position to support the leaning person.

Person in the middle closes eyes (inner circle), crosses arms over chest, tightens stomach muscles to be firm like a tree.

That person leans slowly backwards, the group member pushes/supports him or her gently back or to the sides.

Do this for few rounds by changing the positions (E.g.: inner to outer , outer to inner, move 2 persons to the left, move 2 persons to the right etc.)

Ask the person in the middle how they felt. Remember the words they say (afraid, worried, comfortable, nervous, excited)

Did they think they would fall?

Did they trust the team members?

Why did they trust them, was it because they had been briefed well and knew what to do? Or because you had seen them already doing it correctly?

As trainer, try to understand why people trusted the group.

As a debrief, ask them , falling partners are symbolised as dissatisfied customers. They are upset and next thing is they will loss their hope and will just walk away from you and the organisation. But before they really fall, you need to save them. When you start showing that you can support them, immediately the confidence is built and trust retains. they just need to see some proof in front of them and we as a company will win them back.

Tips and tricks

Make sure the person in the middle makes their body firm and rigid so they dont flop over.

Make sure the groups are not too far apart to catch the person.

62

Winning Back Through Service Recovery

The effort an organisation expends to win back customers goodwill once it has been lost due to service/product failure.

Winning back can be done by what we call service discovery. Service recovery is the effort an organisation expends to win back customers goodwill once it has been lost due to service/product failure.

63

The Need for Service Recovery

The high cost of lost customers

To avoid losing future customers

Customers might be driven away to our competitors

Service recovery is needed because:

1. The high cost of lost customers - It costs at least 10 times more to attract a new customer than it does to keep one you already have.

2. To avoid losing future customers - The average wronged customer tells 8-16 others and in doing so damages many potential future customers.

3. Customers might be driven away to our competitors - Customers might be driven away to our competitors due to poor complaint management

64

The Hidden Benefits of Service Recovery

Improve the overall quality

Reduce the incidence of poor moments of truth

Put the smile back on customers face

Most of the organisations feel that service recovery is a wasted process, but they are not aware that service recovery offers the following benefits:

The process can help improve the overall quality of service delivery as the service occurs.

Service recovery can reduce the incidence of poor moments of truth if information regarding customers dissatisfaction is put to good use.

Put the smile back on customers face

65

The Steps to Service Recovery

Apology

Urgent restoration

Empathy

Compensation

Follow-up

Service recovery can be done through the following steps:

Apology

Urgent restoration

Empathy

Compensation

Follow-up

66

Up My Service!

Every time you manage difficult customers, the next thing that you need to do is to plan and strategise how you can up your service and avoid the same situation from recurring.

67

Values of Complaints

Prevent complacency among staff

?

Get important issues straight to top managements notice

?

Reveal information that is lacking, wrong or out of date

?

Give information about customer preferences in marketing and promotions

?

Help monitor service levels and check consistency

?

Identify procedures that need to be revised

?

Educate staff about customers expectations in relation to service and products

?

Identify staff who need training or closer supervision

?

Highlight systems and services that need improvement

?

Up the service is part of the values that are established because of the complaints received. Other values are:

Highlight systems and services that need improvement

Identify procedures that need to be revised

Reveal information that is lacking, wrong or out of date

Identify staff who need training or closer supervision

Help monitor service levels and check consistency

Get important issues straight to top managements notice

Educate staff about customers expectations in relation to service and products

Give information about customer preferences in marketing and promotions

Prevent complacency among staff

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Activity 8


10

Timing: 10 minutes (improvement plan form to be provided)

As they have understood what can cause complaints and how to avoid these. Get participants to fill in an improvement plan form and tell them they have to stick to it and make sure that they are doing what they plan to do. Tell them that what they have put in today must be applied and complied to in their day-to-day tasks. Make it as habits and practices in managing their difficult customers and keep providing excellent customer experience.

Once finished , get them to listen to the video in consolidation slide.

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Consolidation

United Breaks Guitar 3

This is the consolidation video

The video is about the hope and expectations from customers. They just want the company to listen and respond accordingly to avoid what happened to them to happen to other customers. Their concerns about companys image and reputability.

Therefore, it is very important to listen to complaints, analyse them and do something about it to ensure that the existence, image and credibility of the organisation is maintained.

Background of the video:

The latest video acknowledges that Daves unfortunate experience with United has given his career an unexpected lift, and that he wishes United well with the changes that they say are coming, but that many people continue to face their own customer service nightmares. Catchy lyrics are delivered in a high energy, bluegrass tune featuring a premiere Canadian musician on fiddle and mandolin and a surprise dobra solo from a high profile Nashville recording artist.

This is what Dave Carroll said about this video: United Breaks Guitars Song 3 brings closure to my personal experience with United. Every good story has a beginning, middle and an end and UBG 3 does its part to round things out nicely. Song 1 gave a narrative of the facts and UBG 2 examined my relationship with a certain Customer Service Rep and how the United policies were keeping us from being Best Buddies. Song 3 wraps things up by acknowledging that this experience has been a career booster for me, that I wish United well in the changes they say are coming but that I continue to receive emails and hear stories that would suggest theres more work to be done.

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Food for Thought

And, this video is what they need to think about. This is a local incident where the customer became angry because one simple reason which was caused by the rigidity of the policy and insufficient explanation by the service provider.

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Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning- Bill Gates

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min managing difficult customers

Documents

minutes video

united breaks guitars

united break guitars

united airlines custody

canadian musician dave

difficult customersmodule

value of complaints

day programme