Listening skill demand time over loaded service centre employees those who have to attend in short time all the available customers are apt to overlook the details the customer is trying to furnish them with or based on thier experience to make it easy for the customer before the customer even talks they begin questioning the cutomer this techinque most of the times works better with the cutomers. as most of the times the cutomers do carry the needed product information & they are totally depending upon the service advisors or the techinicians or those who are dealing with them even the receptionist can do this job. The Idea is helping the customers through service on all lelvels.

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Your mantra is awesome and Blog is toooo.... nice. Thanks

This was cool, thanks for sharing.

Thanks so much for your kind words Annette! I'm glad you've actually seen it implemented! Props to the Auto Service call center. Doesn't it help make everything about your job more enjoyable when you're all motivated and in the same mindset?

Thanks for sharing!

I really really agree! This is a great post. This seems to be hot topic these days. Your tag "recruit for attitude, train for skill" is the key! I have watched for years being in the CS field, whether it be with my own business or in the "brick and mortar" world. I worked in a call center in the Auto Service world, and this was something they truly believed in. Even down to the Geek factor you mentioned. :)
Thanks for sharing this.
~Annette

This is a very interesting article! Does the positive outlook on telecommuting mean that CSDP is now offering the telecommuting option to its employees? I believe your Careers page says that telecommuting is not currently available at your company. If things have changed, please update your Careers page.

Customer service must be outstanding or there won't BE a sale!

You're right about salespeople getting all of the accolades. That's because companies see customer service as an expense, rather than an opportunity. The ability to cross-sell, up-sell and generate referrals by the service that is provided adds to the bottom line. Anyone who touches the customer has the ability to delight or disappoint the
customer.

The way managers treat employees is how employees will treat customers. If you're yelling and screaming at your employees, they won't think twice about yelling and screaming at your customers. The fish stinks from the head down. Managers need to be positive role models for the reps so they know how to treat customers.

There is a way to recognize customer service employees (by the way, EVERYONE is a customer service employee!). The week of 10/4-10/8 is Customer Service Week. You can find out more about it here:www.csweek.com/customer_service_week.php

Hi Erin!
Thanks for recapping the discussion on Linked In.
I'd like to add to Glenn's commnet re: salt! Providing those motivated, courteous agents with the right opportunities to discover other needs and wants is easier to execute when you use technology to take action in real time, and make it EFFICIENT.
if your are interested, we've writtena quick post: 5 Ways Technology Can Help Maximize Incoming Customer Interactions to Increase Customer Satisfaction and Profitability:
www.getswyft.com/blog/detail/move_from_customer_satisfaction_to_customer_delight

What a horrific story! And I absolutely agree! Modern times call for modern practices that don't require jumping through hoops or running in circles. Thank you for sharing your story Ashley.

I just recently had this happen with the Credit Bureau. When my back checked my report they claimed I had two other credit cards and a student loan, neither of which were true, after calling the Bureau and spending 10 minutes typing in my SIN and Birthday and address the women made me go through it all again plus more! After 15 minutes verifying information with her the women was completely unhelpful at which point I asked to speak to her supervisor who made me go through whole thing again!!! Wasting a full forty minutes confirming it's infact myself speaking got me the answer "we can't tell you anything about what's on here unless you tell us what product you want to know about". Thank god my bank is living in the now and had my appointment with my advisor and a list of questions I needed to have answered within ten minutes.
Please people, we need to get with the times!

Your employees are your most valuable asset. You would be surprised to hear what your employees think about how you are treating them as well as what challenges they have.
While polls and questionnaires are a great way to get information, having an outside resource interview them to get their feedback is also very valuable.
The way you (as the business owner or manager) treat your employees has a direct impact on how your employees treat your customer. Make sure you are modeling the behavior that you want them to demonstrate.
Take care of your employees and they will take care of your customers.

SPOT ON BRO!! If you can't service what you sell, what good is the sale to the customer?

Keep on writing your articles man!

Best Regards -

Ken

I think the clue is in the title with this one so you could argue it depends on what is 'Ordinary Service'. As many have pointed out service levels do seem to have dropped in many areas so just completing the job effectively could be seen as 'extraordinary'. Having said that I personally think it has to mean exceed expectations and do this consistently, which may make it sound overly simple but just to summarise it I think it works.
Once you have accomplished this however, that standard could then become the 'ordinary' so you have to improve even more to continually provide truely 'extraordinary service'. Probably not a bad thing to aim for!

Teamwork is often a phenomenal force when defined correctly and inspired for full fruition. I will RT your post on Twitter.

Here is a definition and 4 keys to developing outstanding teamwork!
---------------
katenasser.com/teamwork-gems-create-startling-results/

katenasser.com/team-building-spring-training-best-teamwork-results/
---------------

I welcome your insights as well on these posts.
Kate Nasser, The People-Skills Coach

Wait! You forgot the salt. Salt your customer interactions with opportunities to discover other needs and wants in order to increase retention and loyalty.

I am truely impressed that someone could put something like this in writing and not only get the objectives correct but also the priorities. 1 & 2 are right on, #5 while very difficult to tell the customer is a must and it is nice to see on the list.

Good job! :)

I couldn't agree with you more about having the right mindset.
In my business as a Customer Service Trainer, before I start talking with employees about specific techniques and skills, I talk about attitude.
Without the right attitude, you're just going through the motions.
When employees have an attitude of ownership, of both the customer as well as their position, it translates into a better customer service experience.
Don't be fooled by potential job applicants with "five years of customer service experience". Just because they've been doing customer service for five years doesn't mean they've been doing it well!
Hire for attitude and train for skills. Your customers will thank you for doing so!

Excellent tips and I underscore and applaud #7 and #9. I will RT your post on Twitter because refreshing well written reminders always lift a Contact Center's morale!

Here's a post to expand even further.
----------------------
katenasser.com/customer-service-loyalty-the-connection/

Best wishes,
Kate Nasser, The People-Skills Coach

I couldn't agree more, Erin. (As you know) I also agree that the ability to care can probably not be taught; at least not academically. However I do believe that a caring mind can be developed through a caring leader. In my opinion development of the "caring mind" is based on timely and structured feedback as well as clear guidance on how to do things differently. Which will subsequently lead to a positive feedback for the agent and that will lead over time to a positive attitude and so on. The critical resource for the development is time. So no quick fix, I’m afraid. Good Customer Service takes time.

I agree with your basic premise that caring about people is the right way to do customer service. However, I'm not sure that caring is something that can be taught in a corporate setting. The ability to care about other human beings (and animals) may be a natural gift for some people, but for many, a caring attitude is learned in early childhood from loving parents. Companies might want to see if they can discern the ability to care in the people they hire. If this trait can't be discerned by an employer during the interview process, then it is also likely that it can't be taught.

Great thoughts. Having the right mindset is definitely more important than having all the right techniques. People don't care about techiniques as much as being cared about. Many times that involves training employees in how to treat people.
Gaylyn Williams, author of "Harness the Power of Exceptional Customer Service," 2010 1st place award winner.

A small blog post with remarkable power in communicating perhaps the most important element of service - desire. I will RT it on Twitter.

The right attitude is the difference. It is the hidden steering wheel behind everything that is said and done.

Here are two of my customer service posts that underscore what you have said here!
--------------------
Choose Your Attitude!katenasser.com/5-best-customer-service-emotionally-intelligent-thoughts/

The Best Mindset katenasser.com/best-csr-mindset-and-training-deal-with-irate-customers/

--------------------

Thanks for the wonderful reminder on attitude! I welcome your comments and contributions to my posts as well.

Kate Nasser, The People-Skills Coach

Thanks so much for the RT, Kate! That's really kind of you. I really enjoyed your video, and it's all so true! I'll RT your page as well! :)

Have a great weekend!
Erin

I like the idea of the quiz and this was a fun one for all CSRs and Tech. Support Reps to take. I will RT it on Twitter for you!

As for personality type, the most important step is to recognize the customer's type. The best CSRs adapt to personality type. Here's a post to expand on that with short video footage -- funny and informative. Hope you enjoy.
katenasser.com/best-csr-adapts-to-personality-type-for-a-customer-service/

Best regards,
Kate Nasser

Thanks so much for your kind words and insight! Everything you said is so true!

I couldn't agree with you more Erin. We are brought up to treat others the way we want to be treated. However, the way WE want to be treated is not necessarily the way THEY want to be treated. Everyone is an individual and comes with different needs, wants and desires. Often the only way to know what those are is to ask!

In my work as a Customer Service Specialist, I am always reminding others of the Platinum Rule. Thanks for doing it for the world to see!

Thanks so much for you comment. Trust definitely plays an important role in many aspects of a customer's relationship with a company, from first purchaser all the way up to loyal customer. But you're right--determining how trust is earned is definitely the hardest part, since trust means different things for different people. Would you mind telling me more about your "hierarchy of trust"? Sounds very interesting.

Thanks again!

Thanks for your post! Having been a consistent Toyota owner myself, your post really hit home. I have always had such a high level of trust and brand loyalty to them, that it was very hard to hear that their quality was having so many problems. With all of that, I still can’t say whether I would buy a Toyota again or not. So yes, Toyota, as well as Goldman, will have to do some serious work if they are going to regain the trust of their customers. It’s staggering how much business this is costing them now, and will cost them in the future. I think you have demonstrated very clearly how vital trust is to a business.

Thanks for commenting!

Erin,

I agree that trust plays an important part in the decision to buy, repurchase and recommend. The real challenge and an area where feedback plays a vital role is in uncovering what constitutes trust. In our work with companies on designing feedback programmes, we have developed a 'hierarchy of trust' from core product reliability through to shared values. It helps us in unpacking trust, which is an outcome of other things.

Thanks for sparking a useful debate.

Dave J

Erin,

I completely agree that trust is essential to building customer loyalty. It extends beyond customer service to a company's brand itself. Toyota and Goldman Sachs are perfect examples. Both are companies that built their brands based on trust. They sell extremely complicated products and services that few of their customers fully understand. Success was built based on the fact that their customers trusted them to sell high quality products. Recently, both companies have stumbled because they have squandered the trust that they have built over decades. Drivers now question the safety of Toyota's cars and, more importantly, their commitment to quality. Investors now question whether Goldman is trying to help them maximize their returns or if they are selling them products that Goldman itself is hedging against. Neither will be able to continue selling products at premium products unless they regain their key differentiator -- trust.

What a great blog. Thanks for your insight.