Customer Service Revealing - The 5 Secrets to Success

Since I started in customer service staff in various customer service training courses I always tell my trainees to remember to treat every customer as though they are just about to sign my pay check because when serving customers that is exactly what customers do. As a customer service skills trainer I recognise how telecare service providers are called upon to do a number of different jobs roles. Depending on your callers needs, their emotional state and their situation. I do realise that it sounds like there are a lot of factors involved in telecare service however if you know what these roles are then you will have no problem fulfilling them.

The Host.

It is known in customer service that all relationships require trust and co-operation. Your role is to make customers feel welcomed. On customer service training courses we often speak about how you would welcome people into your home and treat them as a guest. You take on the role of a host to make people feel comfortable welcomed and important.

A little bit of small talk would go a long way also to allow them to realise that you are human too. If you have helped the customer then allow them to take your personal work e-mail address so that they can call you if there are any further complications.

The Teacher.

You will take a lot of information in one day from your customers. This can overload you and on customer service training courses this pat of the customer service role is often the one that people find difficult. A great strength that customer service courses will teach you as a detective is to always get your facts straight by asking questions such as what happened, where, when and how so that you can clarify the situation. Then confirm that you have the right information. This allows the customer feel as though they have been taken into account and listened to. Once the problem is solved, case closed.

The Detective.

You will take a lot of information in one day from your customers. This can overload you and on customer service training courses this pat of the customer service role is often the one that people find difficult. A great strength that customer service courses will teach you as a detective is to always get your facts straight by asking questions such as what happened, where, when and how so that you can clarify the situation. Then confirm that you have the right information. This allows the customer feel as though they have been taken into account and listened to. Once the problem is solved, case closed.

The Healer.

You need to reduce the customer's distress to empower them to express their concerns or difficulties. To do this you need to understand that the customer is frustrated and disappointed in your company's service. They may have had a broken promise in which case this should be admitted and apologised for. To prevent this you are always taught on customer service training courses the need to under promise and over deliver to ensure the commitment will be followed through on.

The Advocate.

Many people on customer service skills courses will say that the key to effective customer service skills is to remember that you are the voice of your company as well as being the voice of the customer to the company. When representing your customer to your company you need to state boldly and clearly in writing what the problem is as actions speak louder than words. The key is to use specific numbers to indicate the problem not broad generalization, get personal as these are people you are working with not numbers.

Tips for Improving Customer Service

Here are some tips on how you can improve the customer service in your business:

1. Assess the state of your company’s current customer service.
2. Choose one or two aspects of customer service to improve at a time.
3. Train all employees on the ways that all employees impact the customer service of the entire organization. Help each employee see how their behavior affects every other employee.
4. Promote a culture where each employee “takes ownership” of the customer that is in front of them right now. The clients issue is YOUR issue. Not someone else’s.
5. Consider what processes your company has that can be tweaked to improve customer service (such as delivery, installation, or billing processes).
6. Promote a culture of getting things done right rather than getting things done fast.
7. Minimise voice-automated systems wherever possible. They tend to put the customer in a bad mood before they ever get to the representatives.
8. Allocate more of your budget to customer service training for all team members.
9. Use new technologies, such as internet chat or Twitter, to boost the options available to customers seeking service.
10. Create some achievable goals so that customer service staff can measure their own progress.
11. Attach a reward mechanism to those customer service goals to acknowledge a high standards mentality.
12. Educate the team on the importance and value of a lifetime customer.

Through customer service training courses you will see that customers do not want to be dealt with or handled, they want to be helped and empowered through the problem by helpful hosts, teachers, detectives, healers and advocates.