Strategies from the Best - from the Frontline to the Board Office · PDF file · 2018-01-30Customer Service Strategies from the Best - from the Frontline to the Board Office Presented

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Customer Service

Strategies from the Best -from the Frontline to the

Board OfficePresented by

Mary Beth Corace, Ph.D.

Customer Service

Understand how to prioritize the selection or “volunteer” the right attitudes for the first contact to your organization

Learn how to provide training, practice, mentoring, and easy acronyms to guide best ever customer service behaviors

Learn how to deal with hard to please customers

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Customer ServiceLearn about customer service

what it is

what impacts it

why we need to improve it

Identify examples of

Good customer service

Less than good customer service

Define current versus desired state

Define barriers and solutions

ResponsivenessSafetyEfficiencyImage“We Care About You”Teamwork

Customer ServiceWhat are we improving?

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Standards

Customer Service Standards of Performance Excellence -WE CARE

Problem Solving Model - Take HEART

Define the Improvements

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What is Customer Service?

Answering questions

Solving problems

Untangling bureaucratic procedures

Fixing what’s broken

Finding what’s lost

Soothing the irate

Reassuring the timid

Pulling a rabbit out of a hat

Hard work

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The customer is not always correct

BUT...


8QA PCS

The customer is always the customer and deserves to be treated

with respect, courtesy, and fairness

as if he or she is important

as if his or her opinions, needs, and wants are important to listen to

with maximum effort even if his or her expectations, wants, and needs may be impractical


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What Impacts Customer Service?

Customer service is a stressful job

Burn out

Customers are in a nasty mood

Unrealistic customer expectations

Management wants customers to be happy

Customers make assumptions about what you can and can’t do

101/30/2018 QA PCS

Employees have to sound pleased that an agitated customer bothered to call

The way employees are treated influences the way they treat customers

Ability to resolve a problem on the first contact

Customers don’t know how things get done in -and don’t care

Lack of identification of systemic issues – (So we solve the same problems over and over)


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Service standards in other sectors Fed Ex- absolutely, positively, overnight

LensCrafters- custom eyeglasses in about an hour

Amazon- Same day delivery

Same day dry cleaning

One hour photo developing

Affects customer expectations of “timely”


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How good a job you do for the nice and the nasty

for the smart and the dumb

for the people you’d like to take home

for the people you wish would go away

Determines public opinion


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Get it wrong erase all the memories of prior good treatment

Get it right undo all the wrongs that have happened before the

customer got to you


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How to prioritize the attitudes for the first contact to your organization

What are we improving?

Why do we need to improve it?

Who are the customers?

What are their requirements?

What is the improvement target?

What is the current state?

What is the desired state?

What are barriers to the desired state?

What are solutions to barriers?

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What Are We Improving?

Customer Service

Answering questions

Talking to one another

Answering phones

Documenting issues

Solving customer problems

Listening skills

Standards of Performance Excellence

Problem solving/service recovery skills

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Why Do We Need to Improve It?Lack of formal standards and procedures

Lack of training

Unacceptable levels of customer satisfaction and dissatisfaction

So, we must-

Implement Customer Service Philosophy Treat customers and each other the way you

would like others to treat you and your family

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Who Are the Customers?EXTERNAL - outside of the District

Parents

Families

Students

INTERNAL - work for the DistrictSupport Staff

Teachers

Principals/Assistant Principals

District Administrators

Transportation Department Employees

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What Are Their Requirements?

Customers perceive service in their own unique

idiosyncratic

emotional

irrational

end-of-the-day

total human terms

Perception is all there is Tom Peters, Management Guru

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What Are Their Requirements?Easy to access

Respect

Courtesy

Empathy

Feel they were heard

Fairness and consistency

Clear, concise information

Solve their problem

Timely response—On Time

Seamlessness (don’t refer to others)

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What Are Their Requirements?

Are there any others?

What are the little things that make a big difference?

What customers want and need is changing constantly

(Talk to shoulder partner)

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What Are Examples of Good and Poor Customer

Service?Exercise Identify examples of good and poor

customer service you have received from any source

Share

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Examples of GoodCustomer Service

Phone answered promptly with a smile

Connected to a live person who always used my name

Very accommodating to a new customer

Verbiage + tone was very important

Sincerely said “how can I help you”

Treated everyone like a VIP

Met needs beyond expectations

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Common Themes -Good Service

Helpful

Sincere with a smile

Empowered

Followed through on promises

Empathetic

Listened

Owned the problem

Recovery process

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Examples of PoorCustomer Service

I wasn’t the priority - talking to someone else in the background

Didn’t listen to me

Had no smile in their voice

No sense of urgency

Used excuses

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Examples of Poor Customer Service

Scheduled Appointments?!—Late?

Made me feel stupid or told me I was wrong

Constantly said “I’ll get back to you”

Failure to deliver on promises

Had an “attitude”

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Examples of Poor Customer Service

Lack of consistency in answers

Lack of feeling respected

Didn’t follow through on promises

Employee did not make eye contact and was goofing around with co-workers

Put me on hold before I could speak or even though I said no

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Top 10 Behaviors That Annoy Customers

1. I don’t know

2. I don’t care

3. I can’t be bothered

4. I don’t like you

5. I know it all

6. You don’t know anything

7. We don’t want your kind here

8. Don’t come back

9. I’m right and you’re wrong

10. Hurry up and wait

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Five Forbidden Phrases

1. I don’t know

2. We can’t do that

3. You’ll have to . . .

4. Hang on a second, I’ll be right back

5. “No” when used at the beginning of any sentence

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Common Themes -Poor Service

No sense of urgency

No ownership of problem

No follow through

Silos - not my problem

Already have the answer - don’t confuse them with the facts

Transfer customer to someone else

Repeating story over and over and over

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What Is The Improvement Target?

Create and nurture an environment where each employee can grow

share ideas

meet the challenges of providing safe transportation for PCS students in a timely and efficient manner

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What is the Current State of Customer Service?

Culture that discourages complaints

Too many policies and procedures

Bureaucracy that dampens any impulse toward improvement

Demanding customers

Combative customers

Too much turnover

Lack of appropriate training

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Budget limitations

Lack of knowledge of improvement plans

Lack of clear expectations

Lack of training and monitoring

Poor training

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Any additions to the list?

Any deletions from the list?

34QA PCS

What is the Desired State?

Goal is “one and done” Call one number

Talk to one person

Get question answered

Never transferred

Never have to repeat story more than once

A live person always answers the phone within 3 rings

with a smile using a script and performance excellence standards

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Person who answers has a smile

uses the performance excellence standards

has the ability to answer any question and solve any problem

keeps promises

manages expectations

Customer understands the rules and regulations

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Any additions to the list?

Any deletions from the list?

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Solutions to Barriers

Build a culture that customer calls are always the highest priority phone is always answered

back-up plan if not available

no calls roll to voice mail without caller approval

no phone rings forever

“I don’t know” is not part of the vocabulary unless followed by “but I will get the answer and get back to you”

no blind transfers allowed

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Identify non-negotiable policies

negotiable policies

level of empowerment to solve customer issues

behaviors expected of all employees

can’t do issues (skill deficiencies)

won’t do issues (motivation deficiencies)

don’t know how to do issues


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Break down walls between departments and functions

Improve ability to resolve complaints

Share real-life customer service experiences through story telling good experiences

not so good experiences

Use story telling to identify clues to what customers really want

managing customer expectations


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External and Internal Customer Service Standards

W Work together

E Excellent service to customers and each other

C Complete tasks in a timely manner

A Appreciate and embrace diversity

R Respond to concerns

E Efficient use of resources

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Problem Solving

Customers don’t expect perfection

Customers do expect that problems will be solved

Problem solving begins when you recognize that a customer has a problem

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Top Ten Recovery Expectations

1. Being called back when promised

2. Receiving an explanation of how a problem happened

3. Knowing who to contact with a problem

4. Being contacted promptly when a problem is resolved

5. Being allowed to talk to someone in authority

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Top Ten Recovery Expectations

6. Being told how long it will take to resolve a problem

7. Being given useful alternatives if a problem can’t be solved

8. Being treated like a person, not an account number

9. Being told about ways to prevent a future problem

10. Being given progress reports if a problem can’t be solved immediately

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Problem Solving Model -Take HEART

H Hear the complaint, concern, or issue

E Empathize and evaluate

A Apologize

R Resolve with urgency

T Thank you

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Dealing with tough Customers

Their goal is to get under your skin

They feed off your reactions Use your response to justify their behavior

Ignoring their rude and crude words sends the message that you are not intimidated

Quoting policy or rules gives them something concrete to scream about

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You are not obligated to continue a conversation with a customer if you are offended by their language

Make it clear to the customer stop this behavior and I’ll help you

continue and I won’t

If the behavior doesn’t stop, connect the customer to a peer or a supervisor

Dealing with tough Customers

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Four Types of ToughCustomers

Egocentric

Bad Mouth

Hysterical

Dictatorial

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Egocentric

Behaviors won’t wait his or her turn

will only speak to whomever is in charge

intimidates through name dropping

makes loud demands

How to deal with the egocentric Take some immediate action to help

Don’t talk policy

Don’t let his or her ego destroy yours

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Bad Mouth

Behaviors Caustic

Crude

Cruel

Foul language

How to deal with a bad mouth Ignore the language

Force the issue

Use selective agreement

#@*!!!

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Hysterical

Behaviors Screams

Animated

Jumps around

How to deal with an hysterical customer Let him or her vent

Take responsibility for solving the problem

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DictatorialBehaviors Insists on doing things his or

her way

Suspects sabotage if things

don’t go his or her way

How to deal with a dictatorial customer Fulfill his or her request promptly and

accurately

Accentuate the positive by stating what you can do for him or her

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Take Care of YourselfYou are no good to anyone when you are stressed out

overwrought

moody

belligerent

waiting for that first cup of coffee

Learn how to cope with and counteract stress

Only you can manage the way you react to a customer encounter

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Take Care of YourselfDisney concepts of onstage and offstage

Onstage anywhere a customer can see or hear you

Offstage everywhere else, safely away from the public

where you can let out your emotions

deal with them

put your game face back on

come back to the job

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Ten Stress Reducers1. Breathe - deep breathing is a stress-buster2. Smile - smiling is contagious3. Laugh - maintain a sense of humor4. Let it out - offstage5. Take a one minute vacation6. Relax - make a fist, then relax it7. Do desk/chair aerobics8. Organize9. Talk positive10. Take a health break - walk outside

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When you are at a loss, ask yourself “What would I want someone to do for me?”

Remember you cannot control people

you can only control your responses to them

it’s not what you say but how you say it

Best Practices for Pleasing Customers

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You represent the organization and are the organization in the customer’s mind

Remember your own experiences

No discouraging words

Let customers think you have all the time in the world

Give the customer a chance to change his or her mind

Cherish the customer who complains

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Take first-person responsibility

Don’t rely on the old standby of “I’ve never heard of that”

Find out how you’re doing by asking the customer

Make sure happy endings really happen

Laurels are for yesterday, not today

End every interaction with a thank you


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When you are at a loss, ask yourself “What would I want someone to do for me?”

Remember you cannot control people

you can only control your responses to them

it’s not what you say but how you say it


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Remember:

There are no “bad” customers

Some are just harder to please

than others!

Documents

Strategies from the Best - from the Frontline to the Board Office · PDF file · 2018-01-30Customer Service Strategies from the Best - from the Frontline to the Board Office Presented