Customer Service Dialogue

1. Customer Service Dialogue Sepp Swanson

2. Argumentative Guideline—Asking simple, polite questions with options keeps most situations under smooth control. • Impatient Guideline—Agreeing first on common points goes a long way in handling situations with difficult customers. • Leave-Me-Alone Guideline—Patience works wonders. Never press customers for sales or decisions. • Irritable/Moody Guideline—Do your job well. Be consistent in your positive behavior. You’ll have a natural, calming effect on customers and fellow employees. • Insulting Guideline—Go neutral. Serve customers promptly, and without emotion. You’ll feel an energizing power. Power properly used, is a good thing. • Domineering/Superior Guideline—Let customers have their say. But in the end, make sure that the right thing is done. • Suspicious Guideline—Explain and demonstrate goods erviceas many times as you need to. Some customers just “get it” more slowly than others. • Dishonest Guideline—Don’t jump to quick conclusions. If you say no and your assistant manager says to accept the return, you’ll look bad in front of the customer. Remember that compromising and negotiating are part of normal procedure in serving customers. • Slow/Methodical Guideline—Be patient with customers who need it. Mirror their methodical behavior. Help them along by not overwhelming them. They’ll come around when they trust your good intentions. • Complaining Guideline—Understand and respect what the customers are thinking. Your job is to help them overcome obstacles that prevent them from trusting you and your company. Keep in mind, also, that when you work for and represent a company, you are that company to your customer. Types of Customers

3. My mom works at United Hospital in St. Paul, Minnesota. • She is a Wound/Ostomy nurse. • My mom is with a patient and their doctor when the patient is diagnosed. • The patient is the customer. Situation Begins

4. “We are sorry to inform you that you have severe kidney failure,” says the doctor. • He continues, “This means your kidneys are no longer able to filter waste properly.” • “ You will need to be put on dialysis while we put you on the kidney transplant waiting list.” • The Doctor leaves. Dialogue with Doctor

5. Patient and family are shocked • The doctor dumped a lot of information on them all at once. • The family is overwhelmed. • “ I realize you must be taken aback by this news,” my mom says. • “ Isn’t their more information we can get than just what that doctor says?” a family member asks. • “ I’d be happy to answer any questions that you have.” my mother replies. Dialogue after Doctor Left

6. “The doctor that was here yesterday said I had a kidney tumor, and this doctor didn’t talk about a tumor, are they talking to each other?” says the patient. • “It is possible that a kidney tumor can cause kidney failure, but we have to make sure,” says my mother. • The wife asks “We are so confused. Everyone just runs in and out, with information and we never have enough time to ask questions.” • “What is dialysis and kidney failure?” • “How soon can we get a kidney transplant?” • “ Will their be dialysis after the transplant?” • “What happens if my husband doesn’t do any of this?” • “Would you be ok with me setting up a care conference with both physicians, so that you can ask all of your questions while they are both present?” says my mom. Dialogue with Patient

7. “Is that a possibility?” asks the patient. • “Yes,” says my mom, “ I can ask the Social Worker to arrange that meeting. It would last about an hour. That way the physicians will have enough time to answer your questions.” • “That would be great. Thank you so much for your help in coordinating this,” says the patients wife, “We have had some bad experiences with other hospitals and we hope that now we can get the care we need.” Resolution

8. My mom was dealing with a mixture of a suspicious and slow/methodical customer. They felt like they were being overwhelmed by information and wanted someone to sit down and explain it to them. They were also worried if they were going to get the care they needed due to past experiences. My mother did not overwhelm them, but gave them simple options and showed good service by answering their questions. The Customer