CUSTOMER SERVICEOvercoming Self-Deception

Customer Service• Research states that, on average, we tell 10 to 15 more people about a bad customer service experience than a good one

• 67% of customers don’t come back because of a bad experience they had with one person in an organization

• ‘Wow’ moments come from people not products

Discussion • Who is your ‘customer’?

• What are your thoughts about your customer service at Alliance Health?

• What are some issues we are facing? •Customer facing•Employee facing

Agenda• Leadership and Self-Deception

• Exemplifying Our Values

• Customer Service Application

• The Problem

• The Cause

• The Solution

• Activity

The Problem:•“The inability to see that you have a problem”

•Michael Scott and Toby Flenderson

Self-Deception

Being in “the box” – limiting our influence

The Cause:• “An act contrary to what I feel I should do for

another”• Conscience

• JUSTIFICATION

•Carrying “the box” with us• Executive Story

Self-Betrayal

Dangers of Being in “The Box”What do you think? • Inflate others faults

• Inflate own virtue• Inflate value of things that justify self-betrayal • Blaming • Invite mutual mistreatment

The Solution:•Getting out of “the box”

•Anti-solutions:• Leaving• Changing behavior• Changing other people• Implementing new skills or

techniques, etc.

•Realizing Potential

Changing of Mindsets

ACTIVITY• Is there a person in your life, past or present, who has seen the good in you

despite your lack of knowledge/awareness or foolish behavior? What effect has this person had on your life?

• Think of two or three people with whom you may be in the box with. Write those names downRemember, getting out of the box is not about changing behavior, it is about changing your

mindset. Think of a few ways that you can begin to understand their worth and value and start getting out of the box

ACT KIND• How does this relate to our core value of Acting Kind?

• How is this important to your customer service?

VALUESStimulus

Stimulus

Response

Response

Culture isn’t one aspect of the game... It is the

game! -Lou Gerstner, IBM CEO

The Office Video

Customer Service1. Having Purpose• Why I come to work; Purpose vs. Function

2. Personalized, Attentive Service• Three steps of great customer service

3. Helping Others• Service recovery

4. Professionalism and Personal Behavior• Service standards

Four Main Themes

Having Purpose

• Function is ‘what we do’• Task driven

• Purpose is ‘the reason we do it’• Values based

• Come to work to fulfill a purpose

Patient Service Values

POP QUIZ• What are our company’s

values? • Stay True• Act Kind • Be Great • Go Big

A Warm and Sincere Greeting• When in person:

•Make eye contact and smile•Observe and listen•Use the guest’s name

• Over the phone:•Answer within three rings•Don’t rush answering; calm and collected• “Hello, Alliance Health HR Department this is Benson. How may I assist you?”

Personalized, Attentive Service

* Use the member’s name!

Fulfillment and Anticipation of Needs• Connect with the customer (or employee) and adjust to his or her pace and situation

• Fulfill expected and expressed wishes

• Anticipate (unexpected) needs and desires

Personalized, Attentive Service

* Use the member’s name!

A Pleasant End to the Service Interaction• “Is there anything else I can do for you?”

• Make it memorable• “Have a great day/evening, good-bye.”• “Thank you for visiting us today.”• “Thank you for visiting/calling (Alliance Health or

department); good-bye.”• “It was nice speaking with you. Have a pleasant day!”

Personalized, Attentive Service

* Use the member’s name!

Helping Others

• Resolve problems and issues to complete satisfaction of customer

• Recover the customer from a poor experience

• Restore trust and confidence in the organization (or your team)

• Learn from the experience

• Prevent the issue from occurring again

Service Recovery, Creating Value

Professionalism and Personal Behavior

• Manage your brand•Everything we do effects the way our customers view us

• If it is a human performing a task, make it a human experience

• Don’t judge a book by it’s cover!

Service Standards

Too bad, everyone does

Review • Get out of the box!

• Treat people as people• Recognizing their worth • Means and Ends• Surface Level vs. Sincerity

• Unless it’s your fashion choice

See

Review1. Having Purpose

2. Personalized, Attentive Service

3. Professionalism and Personal Behavior

4. Helping Others

Recommended Reading ListLeadership and Self-deception By The Arbinger Institute

Proprietary information of Alliance Health Companies. Do not copy, distribute, or alter without consent.

Personalized, Attentive Service

1. A warm and sincere greeting, use the member’s name

2. Anticipation and fulfillment of each member’s needs (Fulfillment of unexpected wishes and needs)

3. A fond farewell, give a warm goodbye and use the member’s name

Three Steps to Great Customer Service

HBR• Get very close to the customer• Benchmark against itself on a consistent basis• Empower employees to address the unexpected

• Focus on internal service providers!• holistic definition of service: creating value for others• Don’t start by training people on specific service skills, scripts and procedures. Instead, educate them first to a better understanding of what service excellence really means.

15 Customer Service Tips• Patience… good service over fast service• Attentiveness… What are our customers saying?• Clear Communication Skills… leaving nothing to doubt, make it clear• Knowledge of basic operations• Ability to use positive language… focus on delivering results• Acting Skills… Sometimes you’re going to have to just fake it!• Time Management Skills… Don’t waste time with things you don’t know• Ability to “Read” the Customer… mood, patience level, personality, etc. • Be a Calming Presence • Goal Oriented Focus• Ability to Handle Surprises… make a plan, who, what, how?• Tenacity• Closing Ability… end the convo with confirmed satisfaction • Willingness to learn

7 Tips to Customer Service1. Be aware of the three things every customer wants:

•Customers want to be heard (problems, concerns, desires) Let them vent•Want to be understood... Ask questions, repeat concerns•Want to be cared for… feel important; see effort being made

2. SEC… Smile, Eye Contact, Comment 3. Listen… acknowledge and repeat4. Empathize 5. Create solutions 6. Clarify remedy7. Follow up with each client

Customer Service • Hire and nurture the 5 critical customer service skills:

1. Empathy… Step into the customer’s shoes 2. Positivity… its more about language 3. Patience… lack of makes us worse at doing hard things

• Negative emotions are addictive… watch for the cues; control self-talk4. Clarity… crystal clear communication

• ELI55. Improvement

• Improve just 1% a day