Customer Service

Customer
Service
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In today’s competitive business world, it’s sometimes
all too easy for companies to get caught up in endless
examinations of ways to increase productivity, boost
sales, and streamline for maximum efficiency.
…Sometimes this focus takes away from a focus on
good customer service, and good customer service will
always be the backbone of any business that works
with people—which means all businesses!
“… the ability of an organization to constantly and consistently
exceed the customer's expectations.”
by ACA Group
If we are going to consistently

exceed customers’ expectations,
we have to recognize that every
aspect of business has an impact
on customer service.
Where is Customer Service
delivered?
 On the phone
 Face-to-face interaction
 Taking orders
 Social Media
 Providing information
 Email
 Selling or providing products and/or services
 Scheduling appointments
 Delivering or installing products
 Repairing and troubleshooting
 The list goes on and on!
How is excellent Customer
Service delivered?
 Appearance
 Attitude
 Positivity is a learned behavior
 Use empathy
 Put yourself in the customer’s
shoes
 Friendliness
 Response-ability
 Take action to solve the
problem
 Go the extra mile
“Customer service is just a day in,
day out, ongoing, never-ending,
unremitting, persevering,
compassionate type of activity.”
Leon Gorman, CEO L.L. Bean
Commitment
 A pledge to service and teamwork

 Keeping your promises
Team Thinking
“My actions affect everyone

in my organization.”
Communication
 Active listening
 Positive responses
 Empathy
Communication
 Get to the bottom of what the

customer is looking for
 Really make them feel heard
and understood
Service
 A personal commitment to make a
difference
 Know your stuff—you should be a
paid expert
Tips for Good Customer Service:
 Smile and be friendly
 Use a customer’s name if you know it
 Welcome the customer to your business
 Introduce yourself
 Ask “How may I help you?”

 Listen!
 Focus on the customer and value them
“Treat every customer as if they sign

your paycheck…because they do.”
Unknown
Danger Phrases
1. “I don’t know.”
2. “We can’t do that.”
3. “You’ll have to…”
4. “Hang on, I’ll be right back.”
5. “No” at the beginning of any sentence.
1. “That’s a good question, let me find out.”
Better Phrasing
2. “Let’s see what we can do.”
3. “The next time that happens, here’s
what we can do…”
4. “It may take me a few minutes to find
out. Are you able to wait while I check?”
5. “While we may not be able to do that,
here’s what we can do…”
Four common traits of great Customer Service providers:
Empathy
Customers need Responsiveness
someone who can relate Customers don’t want
to their problems and to be treated like an
show real interest in interruption. They
helping them. want attention, action,
and to feel important,
no matter how much
Motivation they spend.
You need a strong
desire to succeed. This
gives you a better Assurance
chance at employment Customers want to feel
and promotion. that their needs will be
met and promises will
be kept.
Handling an angry customer
1. Keep calm
2. Listen carefully to the complaint
3. Repeat the complaint back to make sure you
understand the problem
4. Apologize that it happened
5. Acknowledge the customer’s feelings
6. Explain what action you will take to correct
the problem
7. Thank the customer for bringing the problem
to your attention
If the customer is still unhappy, get help from

your supervisor.
 Competition and repeat business
 External customers
Effects of Poor Customer Service:
 Loss of 25% or more of the company’s

business
 Dissatisfied customers will tell at least
10 others not to shop at that business
 Those people will tell about 5 others
All this can happen because ONE

employee made ONE customer unhappy.
Keeping customers is important!
 Depending on the industry, the cost of poor customer
service can be three to ten times as much as good
customer service
 Market research shows it costs about five times as
much to attract a new customer through promotions
and advertising
 “If you make customers unhappy in the physical
world, they might tell 6 friends. If you make
customers unhappy on the Internet, they can each
tell 6,000 friends.” -Jeff Bezos
No company can survive
without repeat business!
 Returning customers account

for about 85% of total sales
 In other words: for every $100 in
sales, $85 was spent by a repeat
customer
“Good customer service is all about
bringing customers back and about
sending them away happy.”
- Susan Ward, About.com Guide
When there’s a problem…
“Customers don’t expect

you to be perfect. They do
expect you to fix things
when they go wrong.”
-Donald Porter, former V.P. of British Airways
When There Is a Problem
 Acknowledge that a problem exists
 Do not view the problem as a personal attack
 Ask questions to understand the problem
 Listen to the answers without interruption and
show interest and concern
 Clarify and verify by repeating the situation
 Simplify the problem by focusing on facts and
documenting a relevant chain of events
 Find the root cause of the problem
 Offer solution options to the customer
 Agree on a solution
 Follow up with the customer
 Organizational effectiveness, efficiency,
and morale
 Internal Customers
Excellence from the inside out!
 Internal Customers: people who work
within your organization
 All the customer service principles you
use for external customers should also
be used for internal customers
 Treat everyone with respect
 Be professional and show pride in your
organization
Customer Service
is not a department…
…it’s an
Attitude!
Like what you saw?
We hope you found this information

helpful. Check us out at
www.miworksmo.org.
• Give us any
questions/comments/concerns
• See our workshop schedule
• Learn more about Michigan
Works! Muskegon-Oceana
Sources:
Goodwill Industries International, Inc. Top Tips for Customer Service Training
Customer Service Relationships Buzz up! – May 25, 2010
Dec. 2009 – Version 1.0
Customer1 www.customerservicepoint.com
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Customer

If we are going to consistently

 A pledge to service and teamwork

“My actions affect everyone

 Get to the bottom of what the

 Ask “How may I help you?”

“Treat every customer as if they sign

1. “That’s a good question, let me find out.”

If the customer is still unhappy, get help from

 Loss of 25% or more of the company’s

All this can happen because ONE

 Returning customers account

“Customers don’t expect

We hope you found this information

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