Exceeding Expectations

Exceeding Expectations Tips to Excellent Customer Service

Exceeding Expectations Tips to Excellent Customer Service • Participant Introductions • Name • Position • Business

Exceeding Expectations Tips to Excellent Customer Service What is Customer Service? • Whatever the customer thinks it is! • Everything you and your employees do to satisfy customers. • Giving your customers what they want & making sure they are happy when they leave. • Going out of your way for customers. • Making decisions that benefit the customer – even sometimes at the expense of the business.

Exceeding Expectations Tips to Excellent Customer Service What Role Do You Play in Satisfying Customers? What Customer Service Issues Do you Face?

Exceeding Expectations Customer Service Scenarios: • 1. Giving Directions • A customer approaches you and asks for directions on how to get to one of the Lakes popular tourist attractions/destinations: • Bridal Cave • Ha Ha Tonka State Park • Osage Beach Premium Outlets • Big Surf Water Park • Stonecrest Mall • Lodge of the Four Seasons • Tan-Tar-A • Randy’s Frozen Custard • Scenario 1: How do you respond to this customer to ensure they get where they want to be? • Scenario 2: You yourself are new to the Lake Area, and are still trying to find your way around - how do you respond?

Exceeding Expectations Customer Service Scenarios: • Unhappy Customer • A customer approaches you – they are observably a little upset/irritated. They state that: • A product your company sold to them is defective, OR • A service you provided did not meet their expectations • The customer is demanding their money be returned to them. He/she is starting to raise their voice, and is drawing the attention of other customers. • How do you respond to this customer and address the situation at hand? • What should you avoid doing?

Exceeding Expectations Customer Service Scenarios • 3. Unusual Customer Request • A customer approaches you with a product or service request to do something that you’ve never been asked before and quite frankly you’re not sure how to handle. • Your group should identify a specific scenario that might be applicable • Scenario 1: How do you respond to this customer’s request? • Scenario 2: What if your manager is not available?

Exceeding Expectations Customer Service Scenarios 4. Busy, Busy, Busy Wow, it’s been an incredibly busy day, and you’re still swamped with customers. You’re working a fast as you can to serve each customer as they reach the front of the line. However, patience isn’t a virtue for all, and some customers are starting to get a little restless and agitated. How do you handle this situation, so as to minimize the inconvenience to customers, and prevent them from abandoning their wait and leaving your business upset?

Exceeding Expectations Customer Service Scenarios • 5. Making Referrals/Recommendations • A customer approaches you – they indicate that they are a visitor to the area, and would appreciate a recommendation on: • What’s there to do around here? • What’s a good place to eat? • Where they can access the Lake (either to swim or launch a boat)? • How do you respond to such a request?

Exceeding Expectations Customer Service Scenarios 6. Managing Customer Feedback You are about to finish up with a customer, and as you routinely do you ask them – “How was everything?” Surprising the customer responds with a less than enthusiastic – “Oh, okay I guess – not great.” What do you do? How do you respond to this negative feedback?

Exceeding Expectations Customer Service Scenarios 7. It’s Been A Long Day! Hooray! It’s 10 minutes to closing time and your shift is finally about to end. Your feet are screaming, and a cool beverage/the couch/or the Lake are calling your name. But no, what’s that a customer has just entered the business and would you believe it they’re expecting service. Don’t they know its closing time – how rude! How do you handle this customer’s request? What should you avoid doing?

Exceeding Expectations Customer Service Scenarios 8. Customer “Interruption” It’s the end of the week/month/quarter, and your boss has assigned you with a task that has to be completed TODAY! If only those silly customers would quit bothering you. You feel like you are caught between a rock and a hard place. Another customer approaches you – they’re not exactly sure what they want, you suspect they may just be looking for someone to talk to. Who/what gets priority – the customer OR the task you’ve been assigned?

Exceeding Expectations Customer Service Scenarios 9. Repeat Question One of the pluses of working in customer service is that you get to interact with a variety of different customers, who often have a variety of different interests and questions. Unfortunately however, there’s a small group of questions that always come up, and responding to those is really getting old. Today’s been a dozy - if one more customer asks that same silly question again, you think you may well lose it! How do you handle those “same-old, same-old” questions? What should you avoid doing?

Exceeding Expectations Customer Service Scenarios 10. Phone vs. In-Person Customer You’re the only one covering the department/office/front desk at the moment. You have a customer in front of you who you are in the middle of serving, when the phone rings. How do you handle this situation? Who takes priority – the in-person customer or the phone call? Can this conflict be managed so that neither customer feels slighted?

Exceeding Expectations Customer Service Scenarios 11. First Impressions It’s been a slow day at work, and to occupy yourself you’ve been checking in with friends on your cell phone. You’re engrossed in a conversation with one of those friends – making plans for the weekend ahead – when a customer enters the business/your work area. What do you do? What should you avoid doing? Who takes priority – the customer or your phone call?

Exceeding Expectations Customer Service Scenarios 12. Missed Deadline/Broken Promise A customer contacts you by phone with a specific product/service request. You indicate that you will have to gather some additional information for them to answer their question. You indicate that you will “get right back to them” with an answer. You get distracted with other “business activities” and before you know it, several days have passed, and you have failed to call the customer back with the information that you promised. How do you respond to this customer and address the situation at hand? Does your failure to respond to this customer automatically = a lost customer?

Exceeding Expectations Customer Service Scenarios 13. Covering Someone Else’s Watch It’s not your usual job, but because Sally sick today, you’ve been asked to cover the front desk/reception area for a while. The phone rings….. How do you greet the caller? How do you respond to a question to which you don’t know the answer? How do you transfer the call to someone else within the business? How do you take a message?

Exceeding Expectations Customer Service Scenarios 14. That’s Not My Job You’re minding your own business, industriously working away at the task your boss has assigned to you. A customer approaches you and asks for assistance. Their request (i.e. for directions, to address a problem, or questions about a company product or service) has nothing to do with you and the job you’ve been hired to do. How do you respond to this customer and address the situation at hand? What should you avoid doing?

Exceeding Expectations Customer Service Scenarios • 15. Oh No – Not That Customer – AGAIN! • We all know one or two people just like this – “chronic complainers” – no matter how hard you try to satisfy them – something is always wrong. Despite their frequent complaints, this customer keeps coming back to your business. Each time the results are the same – he/she complains about the product/service, and then demands for the product/service to be provided free of charge. These repeated “scenes” are upsetting to the business’s employees, and frequently other customers also. • As a group, create a specific scenario that you have experienced or can all relate to. • How do you respond to this customer and address the situation at hand?

Exceeding Expectations Customer Service Scenarios • 16. Should I/Shouldn’t I? • You observe a co-worker interacting with a customer, and note they really aren’t handling the situation well (i.e. they’re not being attentive to the customer; providing information that may not be accurate; using a tone of voice or body language that is less-than-welcoming). You note that this isn’t the first time you’ve observed this happening. • As a group, create a specific scenario that you have experienced or can all relate to. • What should you do? • What should you avoid doing?

Exceeding Expectations What Irritates Customers? • Rudeness • Missing deadlines • Being put on hold • Busy lines • Promises not kept • Faulty products • Difficulty with exchanges • Untrained staff • Clichés • Pushy sales people

Exceeding Expectations Handling Irritated Customers • Let the customer vent • Listen attentively • Be genuine in your concern • Ask questions to clarify • Propose alternatives • Make sure the solution satisfies the customer • Apologize for the inconvenience • Act quickly

Exceeding Expectations Telephone Skills • Greet the caller pleasantly and promptly • Identify yourself and department • Always ask before placing someone on hold • Use caller name • Every call is important • Be tactful • Take your time to be helpful • Say “please”, “thank you”, and “you’re welcome” • Return calls promptly • When leaving messages always leave name and telephone extension • Do not leave a caller on hold for more than 60 seconds without coming back on the line • Always ask, “Is there anything else I can do for you” before you say good bye

Exceeding Expectations Excellent Customer Service • Acknowledge people as soon as possible • Introduce yourself • Offer your help--and smile • Use the customer’s name • Listen to customer, look in eye • Take action • Make sure you understand problem • Follow up • Thank the customer • WOW the customer

Exceeding Expectations Contact Information: Jackie Rasmussen Business Development Specialist MO Small Business Technology & Development Centers/ University of Missouri Extension 44 Roofener Street Camdenton, MO 65020 Ph. 573-346-2644 E-Mail: rasmussenj@missouri.edu

Exceeding Expectations