| |
| |
|
Customer Service Information |
|
|
|
Customer Service: Stop Sabotaging Your Customer Relationships
If you've called for customer service recently you're familiar with this recorded message "This call may be recorded or monitored for quality purposes." I immediately think to myself, "Oh great, here comes the game of 20 questions." Now don't get me wrong. I spent many, many years training Customer Service Reps. (CSR's). I'm all for making sure customers receive the best possible service. What I'm not for is the pre-scripted list of questions CSR's are required to ask, regardless of whether they are applicable to the situation at hand. I've seen some checklists with as many as 25 pre-scripted "call quality" standards that CSR's are required to use. If they don't, and someone happens to monitor the call, they get marked down. Ludicrous I say! Let me give you a few highlights from a recent call I made to my well-known auto club: CSR: What is the year, make and model of your vehicle? Me: 2000, GMC, Yukon, Denali CSR: There is no 2000, GMC, Yukon, Denali (obviously it couldn't be found in her list of computer options so she needed to tell me I was wrong) Me: Yes there is, I drive it every day CSR: What's wrong with your vehicle? Me: I don't know. It won't start. CSR: Does it need to be towed or jumped? Me: I don't know. I don't know what's wrong with it. CSR: Well do you think it needs to be towed or jumped? Me: I have no clue. CSR: Where is your vehicle? Me: In my garage. CSR: Can you push it out of the garage into the driveway or the street? Me: No. It's a full size SUV. I can't push it anywhere. CSR: Is there another way you can get it out of the garage? Me: No. It won't start. Eventually, after I'd jumped through enough hoops, the call finally ended. Chances are it wasn't the CSR's idea to get her laughs for the day by asking me stupid questions. Instead, her own company sabotaged her ability to quickly and efficiently take care of her customer, by requiring she use a scripted questioning process. What Could Have Gone Better? For starters, rather than telling me that the make and model of my vehicle didn't exist, she could have said that she was having trouble finding it in her database, and then asked for verification. Next, instead of asking me twice about whether the truck needed to be "jumped or towed", she might have asked if I had any ideas about what could be wrong with it. And finally, considering that she already knew the vehicle wouldn't start, asking a woman to push a truck out of a garage seems a little unreasonable. What Needs To Change? First, re-think your call quality standards. You may have too many standards; they may be too focused on internally created "shoulds", with very little focus on what matters most to your customers. Involve your CSR's and customers in the process. Secondly, empower and train your CSR's to think, act and personalize service to best accommodate the given situation. One size does not fit all, or even most! Teach your CSR's how to recognize different communication styles, and then how to adapt their personal style so they can best relate to the customer as an individual. In other words, teach CSR's how to treat customers how THEY want to be treated. And thirdly, continually ask for feedback from CSR's as well as customers. Make time to find out what's working and what's not working. Pay attention to what they have to say. Make ongoing improvements that benefit everyone. Repeat the cycle. Companies spend thousands, if not millions of dollars each year to acquire new customers, yet sometimes they forget about how to best take care of the customers they already have. Everyday your customers and your CSR's make decisions about whether to stay with your company or go to your competitor. Loyalty is built on good, solid relationships. Your company relies on the loyalty of your CSR's to service your customers. And great customer service can set you apart from your competition. Take action now! Stop sabotaging those relationships with unnecessary standards that don't really matter to your customers. Your customers and your CSR's will love you for it. About The Author As the owner of Essential Connections, Lora Adrianse is a catalyst for clients who aspire to create dynamic business relationships with their colleagues and customers. She authors a free monthly newsletter, "Relating@Work". Go to her website to subscribe now! www.connectionscoach.com
MORE RESOURCES:
Google News |
 |
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Got A Consumer Problem? Millions of people, just like you, end up with a consumer problem that they just can't seem to get resolved. No matter what they do. Customer Service - How Good Are YOU? At 8.30 am a wealthy client (on his way to make a presentation to the local council at 9 am) walked into a store that sells photocopiers. Debt Elimination Scam May people these days have a problem with mounting debt. The average person is well below the bad credit limit and is in desperate need to fix it. Clients - What They Want from You A growing number of individuals are finding themselves called to help others and go on to fulfil this call by training to become a practitioner in one of the healing arts.The range of conventional, traditional, holistic, complementary and alternative therapies is extensive with new thoughts on old themes being introduced almost daily. Service Equals Performance Equals Service Service can be described as a "performance" of some kind involving two parties whereby one party is the benefactor and the other party is the performing party receiving some type of monetary payment. The value of the Service depends on the personal experience of the benefactor. More Customers - Watch those Little Things Two situations, two perfectly acceptable experiences, but in one case, an excitement about great service and in the other case, just OK.The LaptopI have a laptop which is under warranty - 5 working day turnaround they said when I rang them about a power problem. Say It With Humor When you own a business, you may find yourself in situations that may be a little tricky to handle. Dealing with customers who steal is one of them. Listen to Suggestions If you are up to your ears in a stressful situation, it becomes difficult to think clearly. Sometimes, it is best to walk away from a problem, and think about it, rather than try to solve it with an instant solution. A White Paper: Profiting with Kindness In 2002, there wasn't much interest for Kindness in business, and some business people would question, "What does kindness have to do with business, anyway?" Is this a for real question or just to prove a point? Or perhaps they couldn't figure out what being kind really had to do with business. Or perhaps the word was a jargon word, an unfamiliar language. Find Out Where Your Firm Stands in Today's Customer Looking For Ways to Improve Sales and Customer Relationships?Find Out Where Your Firm Stands in Today's Customer Touchpoint Management (CTM) Revolution by Taking the CTM Quiz(San Rafael, CA) What could be more important than improving sales and your customer relationships? Today, there is a fast growing movement, a revolution, among organizations interested in improving their customer-centricity through a better understanding of customer interactions, or "touchpoints." Called "Customer Touchpoint Management" (CTM), the goal of this new movement is to improve customer experiences, and as a result, improve customer relationships. Whatever Happened To Customer Service? Do you remember the last time you went into a shop and the person 'serving' raced over to you, greeted you with a lovely smile, heaps of enthusiasm and said, "Welcome to our store, what can I help you with today?" And then listened attentively to what you had to say?Doesn't happen very often does it? In fact, while I was writing this, I couldn't recall when I had experienced it. I'm sure I must have yet it would have been so long ago, I can't remember. Call Center Services - An Ever Increasing Demand Are your company's call center services all that they could be? Even centers that were state of the art a decade or so ago might be out of date and inadequate today. As technology expands, so do clients' expectations regarding communication. Writing The Book On Great Customer Service Q: One of the big chain bookstores recently opened up near my small book store. Already I can see my business starting to decline. Customer Service and Call Center Outsourcing, Whats The Buzz? The buzz is all about customer service and call center outsourcing, also known as BPO (Business Process Outsourcing). According to Gartner, the outsourcing market in Europe has grown with over 6%, BPO with 10%. Your Number One Asset Customers put you in business, keep you in business, and they can put you out of business. Therefore, your overriding feelings at all times should be: customer love, customer satisfaction, and customer convenience. Stay - Say - Pay Would you like to have customers that stay with you anddon't buy from your competitors?Customers that say nice things about your business to otherpeople; pay you on time and accept the fact that you might be a bit more expensive thenother suppliers?Of course you do but how do we perform this miracle? It'sdead easy really; you only have to consider two factors: be Reliable and be Likeable.It almost goes without saying that it's vital to have areliable product or service. Learn to Anticipate Your Customers Needs This morning I was having breakfast with my good friend Diane at one of my favorite breakfast nooks. I enjoy the atmosphere there although I've been less than pleased with the customer service so far. Customers - What They Really Want - 6 Secrets of Customer Service What customers really want can be divided into two areas.Firstly - they want the core service of your business tomeet their needs. CEM Can Improve Customer Loyalty 'A 5 percent increase in customer retention increases profits by 25 to 95 percent.''The greater the loyalty of customers, employees, suppliers, and shareholders, the greater the profits reaped . How to Transform Your Voicemail into an Effective Medium of Communication "Hi this is Randy. Leave me a message after the beep and I'll get back to you as soon as possible.
|
| home | site map |
| © 2007 |
