This module provides the opportunity for service professionals to put themselves in the customer's shoes to determine what delights them and what irritates them. Participants will identify specific differences between average and excellent service. They will walk away knowing the difference "the little things" make in a customer's perception of quality service. Service professionals will realize that they are the company to most customers. They will understand that E / D = CP: Expectation divided by Delivery equals Customer Perception.
This module will detail the payoffs in profit and loyalty generated by excellent customer service. Each participant will be able to understand the total impact their individual service has on the organization's bottom-line results.
Listening is the first ingredient of effective customer service, yet most of us have never received formal training in this vital skill. This module will explore the depths of listening and dramatically improve your relationships with the colleagues and customers you talk to daily. Learn how to listen to what's being said and hear what your customer really needs.
Rapport is one of those things that you find difficult to describe. Building rapport means building a harmonious relationship, often in a very brief encounter. A two-minute encounter may lead a customer to characterize you and your organization forever. In this module, participants will practice ten tips for building rapport.
Communicate the message you want with body language, eye contact, tone of voice and gestures. Participants will become aware of the non-verbal messages they send customers through their body language. Participants will also understand the importance of prompt greetings and an efficient, organized workplace. First impressions are lasting impressions.
Daily telephone contact with internal and external customers means you have an opportunity to practice the research-proven techniques that make positive impressions on customers. Service professionals will learn proper, up-to-date telephone etiquette. They'll also focus on what customers "see" on the telephone when their voice carries the communication load. Successfully defuse disgruntled callers and handle complaints. After completing this module, service professionals will create "phone fuzzies," not "phone fury," when interfacing with customers.
The "problem" doesn't have to be a problem. Participants will focus on the appropriate mindset, practice a four-step model for problem resolution, and learn to give apologies that help rather than hinder the outcome. Service professionals might be surprised that sometimes the most difficult customers are the less vocal ones who simply disappear, never to return. Learn how to bring out the best in all kinds of people and to discourage difficult behavior in customers - and colleagues.
For those participants who also communicate with customers in writing, correspondence can often be difficult. Writers will find help with the 6Cs of style and receive guidelines on the most frequently written service letters: responding to inquiries and responding to complaints. Additional emphasis is placed on informal communication, i.e., fax, E-mail, etc.
In our diverse work force, there is no longer an excuse for lack of awareness about cultural differences that cause miscommunication. Service professionals will become aware of time and "ceremony" differences, appropriate conversational topics for building rapport, and the varying meanings of body language, silence, and words across cultural lines. Increase mutual respect and an awareness of cultural differences.
Almost daily, service providers handle stress-provoking situations generated by short deadlines, high performance standards, and sometimes "impossible" expectations from difficult customers. Participants will learn to deactivate their emotional fuses when they burn short.
In this module you will learn how to identify your own internal customers. In addition, participants will explore ways to investigate problems unique to this group and develop ways to stop destructive games. Participants will learn how to pinpoint gaps in in communication between their own department and the department of their internal customers. Finally, participants will learn methods of positive reinforcement for internal customers.
Participants will learn specific actions and behaviors that demonstrate desirable service attitudes. This module will define commonly used service attitudes and traits by agreeing on observable actions and behaviors. Participants will learn how to evaluate personal knowledge, skills, traits, and attitudes which can make them star performers.