Chapter 13 Customer Satisfaction Skills

Two Kinds of Customers  External Customers  Clients, guests, patients…  Internal Customers  Co-workers, everyone you depend upon, and people who use the output from your work

Three Components of Customer Experience  Functional— The technical performance of the service (The server brought your food.)  Mechanical The sensory perceptions (sights, smells, sounds, tastes etc.)  Human Interaction The behavior and appearance of service providers (verbal and nonverbal)

How Much Service is Enough? Basic Needs SatisfiedExpectations Satisfied Extra Satisfaction Customer DelightGoal Minimum

Satisfied Employees Provide Better Customer Service  Take an interest in the work you are doing  Work on your self-esteem  Express optimism and show flexibility  Project a positive self-image  Have positive expectations about the job  Handle customer abuse effectively

Get Emotional Support From Co-Workers  Co-worker support is even more important than supervisory support Workers with good peer support will more likely have a strong customer service orientation

Understand Customer Needs  Then satisfy those needs! Not your needs Not the needs of the company

Focus on Solving Problems  Don’t Just Take Orders Become a partner with the customer

Respond Positively to Moments of Truth  MOT=when a customer comes in contact with a company and forms an impression of its service  A cycle of service chart helps you see all the moments of truth encountered by a customer.  See page 277.

Be Ready to Accept Empowerment  Managers transfer or share power with lower-ranking employees  Customer contact people resolve the complaints and make the decisions Employees at the Hampton Inn hotels have the authority to offer a free night of lodging to compensate for a customer problem.

Enhance Customer Service Through Information Technology  Software can track customer buying history Offer products based on customer’s buying history and preferences  Example: amazon.com  voice mail: smile, be specific and honest, state your name and phone number clearly  use the customer’s name, be professional, sign your name, avoid “cool” electronic addresses

Avoid Rudeness and Hostility  Rude treatment causes more lost business than poor product quality or high prices.

Create a Bond with the Customer  Create a welcoming attitude, smile  Provide exceptional service  Show care and concern  Make the buyer feel good  Build a personal relationship  Invite the customer back

Let The Customer Complain!  One study found 63% of dissatisfied customers who fail to complain will not buy from that company again. BUT Given the chance to complain and get their problem resolved, 90% would remain loyal customers.

Dealing with Customer Dissatisfaction Deal Constructively with Customer Complaints and Anger oAcknowledge the customer’s point of view oAvoid placing blame oUse six magic words to diffuse anger  I understand  I agree  I’m sorry

Dealing with Customer Dissatisfaction 2 o Apologize for problems created by you or your company o Take responsibility, act fast, and be thorough o Tell the difficult customers how much you value them o Follow up on problem resolution

Involve the Customer in Working Out the Problem o By being involved, the customer is more likely to accept a change from the service or product that was promised.

Anticipate How to Handle an Unreasonable Request o Stand your ground with dignity and courtesy. o Appeal to the customer’s sense of fair play and integrity.

Maintain a Realistic Customer Retention Attitude o Not all customers can be pleased. o Try to retain as many profitable customers as possible.

How to Deal with Unhappy Customers

EAR Method  Empathize & share your frustration without blaming anyone  Apologize  Accept Responsibility (do something!!)

What should you say?  A customer has phoned several times this week, leaving messages each time for your co-worker to call back. The co-worker has not returned any of the calls. The customer is now talking with you and is very angry.

What should you say?  A customer has phoned many times for your co-worker who has not returned the calls. The customer will not talk to the supervisor; he wants you to make your co-worker call him.

What should you say?  Your co-worker makes a commitment to a customer to resolve a problem but does not follow-through. The customer comes in expecting the problem to be resolved. Your co-worker has the day off. You must work with the customer.

What should you say?  You and several employees do the same job. A customer complains to you about a co-worker who constantly mishandles the work.

What should you say?  You must tell your customer the bad news that shipping has delayed her order for the third time even though you had given her a firm delivery commitment only yesterday.

What should you say?  Your customer places an order. You agree to a delivery date. Your customer arrives to pick up the merchandise, but your vendor has failed to deliver.

What do you do?  Your customer called with a specific request, but you did not have the information immediately available. You assured the customer you would get the information and call him with a specified amount of time. However, you were unable to get the information by the time you promised.

What should you do?  The previous person in your job left a backlog of orders and very upset customer because he did not complete the work. As a result, you must redo some of it, which further inconveniences the customer.

What do you say?  The customer placed an order and asked that you ship it though his vendor. It has not arrived. Your records show it has been shipped and you believe the lack of follow- through is the error of your customer’s vendor.

What do you say?  Your customer complains of repeated equipment failures. He worries about equipment reliability and the possibility of defects.

What do you say?  Your customer is very upset because a company error has resulted in an additional charge to her account.

What do you say?  Five of the last 200 units shipped to your customer has failed. She wants to know what you are going to do.

What do you say?  Your customer is waiting for a resolution to her problem, but a labor strike stands in the way.

What do you say?  Because of a miscommunication at the point of sale, your customer finds out that her computer system does not work as expected.

What do you say?  Your customer brings in a job that she believes is relatively simple and could be completed in 30 minutes. The job will take several hours to complete.

What do you say?  The customer wants an order filled and shipped the week to meet a commitment for one of her customers. You cannot fill the request.

What do you say?  Your customer requests your company resolve a problem at a cost too great for your company to manage.

What do you say?  Complaining to you about a co- worker, a customer demands that he be fired. He wants to know the outcome.

What do you say?  Your customer has been trying to resolve a problem with your equipment on his own for several weeks and has been unable to correct it. He has reached the end of his patience and has called, demanding an immediate answer to the problem.

What do you say?  Your customer has bought many lottery tickets over the years since the state’s games started. He accuses you, as the lottery representative, of rigging it so that no one wins.

What do you say?  Your customer has entered the wrong data, but believes it’s the fault of your software program.

What do you say?  A vendor complains that he has not received payment for services he completed for your company. He did not send an invoice.

What do you say?  Your customer has had experience with equipment similar to yours and is quick to promote the differences. “The other one I looked at has a lot more features than yours does.”