Exceptional Customer Service For Managers

1. The Next Level Academy Exceptional Customer Service for Managers  Building Lasting Customer Relationships 

2. What’s Your Part?  What will be covered in this session • Feedback from Raving Fans week  • Understanding Customer Service at Simbisa Brands • Your role as a manager  • Getting your people to be customer focused  • Creating Raving Fans presentation 

3. Why Are We Here?  • The Customer service agenda has not been focused on as much as it should have been. We have been mostly reactionary in our approach. Going forward customer service will be our primary focus, we are going to take customer service to the next level. 

4. A Look At Why Customer Service Is Important .

5. Any business whether for profit or not for profit, has 2 main objectives, to satisfy its stakeholders and be profitable. Funny how a nonprofit also wants to be profitable.  • Although these businesses start out wanting to satisfy their customers, events often overtake this objective or they get too busy and start taking their customers for granted.   • A debate has been raging in my head as to whether customer service should have dos or don’ts, or it should show guidelines on the best way to service customers.  • Should there be rules to customer service or customer service should be a culture? 

6. How Do We Create A Culture Of Exceptional Service?

7. When associates are empowered on the best way to provide exceptional service, they do not become like robots. For this to work, there should be some proper training provided to avoid some misunderstanding. 

8. Setting Expectations  • When customers visit any of our establishments, they expect great tasting food as well as friendly people. If done with excellence, we create customers for life.   • Every individual in our organization should focus on Service. Be of service to someone.  

9. How Is Service Defined?   • Websters Dictionary says that Service is –“contribution to the welfare of others”  • Ron Kaufman a customer service guru, defines service as a valuable action, deed, or effort performed to satisfy a need or to fulfill a demand. 

10. What Is Your Definition Of Customer Service?

11. Defining Customer Service  • It Is not complex – customer service simply means – meeting customer expectations.  • Exceptional Service means - exceeding customer expectations.  • There are many definitions of customer service. Others define it as the support you offer your customers before, during, and after they purchase your products. While some say it is a set of actions taken to help customers.  

12. Defining Customer Service  •  In trying to better articulate our message we have defined customer service as “creating a relationship with a customer”. Simply put all efforts we make goes into building a lasting relationship with our customers.  • Research shows that when customers love our products, they will frequent the establishment more often. 

13. Where Are The Gaps?  • Managers are the custodians of the organization’s customer service agenda.  • They are expected to lead by example  • To hold customer facing associates accountable for service infractions  • Ensure great product quality 

14. Cashiers Cashiers – these are the primary contacts with our customers. What are our expectations?  • Well groomed  • Articulate  • Friendly  • Diligent   • Product knowledgeable  • Fast and efficient 

15. All Hands On Deck!  • If everyone works as a team and is focused on providing customers with the best service, our sales will grow and job satisfaction goes off the charts. The best customer experience is created by teams that constantly communicate and walk the talk of exceptional service experience. 

16. Did You Know Many Customers Never Complain Because:  • They think complaining will not change anything  • They feel that their issue is not critical enough to report  • The complaining process is too cumbersome  • Complaining procedures are not known   • 96% of unsatisfied customers will not complain to you but will tell their friends and family or go on social media 

17. The best way to ensure customers will not complain is by providing exceptional service. If you want to avoid bad reviews, and backlash from your superiors, ensure that your teams are providing exceptional service. • Insist that they follow laid done customer service procedures.  

18. The Recipe For Exceptional Customer Service  • Now that we understand everyone’s role, let’s look at how we can execute this in our stores. Bear in mind that we are not reinventing the wheel here. Our goal is to bring to light processes and procedures that we should follow to be effective. 

19. Get The Right People  • First and foremost, our goal is to get the right people in place. You may not be the hiring manager, but you have influence on who gets to stay in your store. Earlier on we looked at what we expect from a cashier.   • If a cashier is not friendly – there is no way, they can do this job. Cashiers must be friendly. They must enjoy talking to people and must not be rude 

20. Get The Right People  • They must be extremely patient since they will deal with all kinds of characters, some that are even rude and vulgar.  • A cashier should be confident so that they are not intimidated   • They must not have anger issue.  • They must be good with children as well 

21. Train The People Right  • Getting the right people is the first step, however if these people are not imparted with the right knowledge, you are setting yourself up for failure.  • When a new associate arrives in your store you should never assign them to your associates without properly debriefing them. You want them to understand your store culture and cancel out anything that may have been wrongly deposited into them. 

22. Train The People Right  • You will need to come up with a training plan which will cover all areas that will address customer satisfaction. Never assume that an individual has a proper understanding of customer service based on their past experience.  Once training is completed, observe if their behavior matches expectations especially as they get placed into the real work environment. • Follow with additional coaching or find a subject matter expert (SME) to get them to the next level. Demand the best and communicate your expectations. Failure to conform or align with the expectations will result in dismissal. 

23. Repetition Is A Good Thing  • Once your associates have settled into their positions, it’s important that as a manager you build great associates. How you do this is by making sure that what associates have been taught is sustained. This requires a conscious system that is diligently pursued.  • Team briefings are a great way to have ongoing reinforcement of your expectations on customer service and company culture. When people hear these things again and again and again, they will sink in deeply and become second nature to them. 

24. A Team Briefing Is A Weapon That You Use To;  •  Make sure everyone understands and is committed to and lives the values of the company  • Reinforce brand consistency  • Continually train your associates on what customer service is and the expectations.  If you keep repeating and reinforcing what is important to you and the business it will sink in people’s minds and you will surely become successful. Associates will feel empowered and energized and in turn use their creativity to make the company better and stronger 

25. Holding Associates Accountable  • At times associates take advantage of the system or they get lazy. It is your responsibility as manager to get them in line. A simple infraction can become over blown if it’s not addressed in a timely fashion.   • It is imperative that associate’s performance gaps are addressed. Performance feedback is one reliable way of communicating performance related issues. Feedback should be provided frequently. Failure to provide feedback causes associates to become disillusioned and unsure of the manager’s expectations. 

26. Customer Service Expectations  • Food quality is incredibly important for our customers. However, one of the things that makes the customer happy is the experience they get when they walk into our restaurants and are greeted with a warm smile. This makes the customers feel special and helps build rapport. 

27. Welcoming Our Customers, The Right Way !

28. We prefer using the greeting “Welcome to Chicken Inn’’ how may I assist you.  • (If a customer switches to another language anyone managing the customer must immediately switch to the customers preferred language.) 

29. Being Courteous  • Greet your customers the moment they walk into the door   • Pay attention to the customer and occasionally looking up at the customer when working the register  • Use appropriate titles like sir, ma’am etc.  • Don't interrupt the customer when they're talking  • Listen carefully and pay attention to what the customer is saying  • Know your products 

30. Commit To Quality Service  • Always give your customers complete attention  • Keep doing whatever it takes to serve the customer  • Be positive and enthusiastic about serving customers  • Be ready and willing to assist, step out of your primary duties to serve customers 

31. To make customer service a reality not just a label we have to hire the right kind of people and Orient them thoroughly at the start and then we have to repeat over our values again and again every employee contributes to creating loyalty among customers if we settle for lesser goals meeting the budget for example or safeguarding our jobs in a tough economy we will miss the most important work. 

32. When an organization builds a reputation for quality service it creates a unique reputation. If the person out front consistently greets customers with genuine warmth, shows respect, makes everything is right, makes the person feel good, and thanks them for the privilege of serving them, the customer will feel good about the organization. 

33. You! Thank