At Your Service

At your Service We all can spot great customer service when we see it, but do you follow the proper steps to provide excellent customer service when the shoe is on the other foot? Student Ambassadors, Tour Guides and other student leaders are your front line in terms of customer service. Take time to share your institution’s unique customer service values and techniques to insure they represent you well.

Creating CEOs™ Last fall, SCAD contracted with Customer FOCUS Inc. to train staff to be Customer Experience Owners® More than 100 staff participated in day-long training sessions to learn and practice customer service skills This spring, student leaders had an opportunity to participate in workshops adapted from this training. The following workshop is from the student workshop

At your Service Who are our Customers? Internal customer groups Other student leaders in your organization Student leaders in other organizations Professional Staff External customer groups Prospective Students Residents New students Friends Community

At your Service Task Need Respect Need Uniqueness Need Customer Needs Pyramid

At your Service Customer Loyalty Continuum Negative Experience Task or Respect need not met Expectations not met Looking to Leave Satisfactory Experience Task & Respect needs met Expectations Met Willing to Leave Delightful Experience Task & Respect Needs Met and Treated as Unique Expectations Exceeded Loyal: Unwilling to Leave

At your Service Five steps to meeting customer needs Step 1 Show you care and understand Step 2 State what you will do or have done Step 3 Uncover needs and facts, check for understanding and acceptance Step 4 Go the extra mile and show your delight Step 5 Clearly state the what and the why of information and options

At your Service Step 1: Show you care and understand Aligning with your customer is the first step. Greet them warmly and professionally, and give your total attention. Think of lining up with them. For a routine request, align with a positive response: “I’d be happy to show you where the restrooms are.” For a concern, align with an apology and empathy: “I’m sorry you had trouble finding parking, I know how frustrating that can be. I can get you checked in right away so that you can join your orientation group.” Never Say I can’t or No- Always say I can!

At your Service Activity: Greeting Line Line up in two lines. One line will be customers, the other student leaders. With the person across from you, role play a situation where you align with your customer. We will rotate down the line, so that everyone has an opportunity to practice this a few times. Do not ask another question or try to address the request, each interaction will only take about 10 seconds. Step 1: Greet warmly and professionally Step 2: Ask an open ended question and offer to help Step 3: Positively respond with delight

At your Service Step 2: Transition Customers are less likely to feel interrogated if you transition to your questions. Examples of Bridges: “I’d be glad to help you with that. Let me ask a few questions to better understand your needs.” “You’ve come to the right place. Let me ask a few questions so I can find the best solutions for you.” “I’d be glad to show you where you’ll be taking classes. Let’s talk about your interests, so that I can determine which buildings you’ll be in the most.”

At your Service Step 3: Ask open ended questions to clarify customer needs. Open ended questions encourage answers longer than one word. Questions that begin with What are often open ended. “What happened with your roommate that upset you?” “What are you interested in studying?” Also ask Who, Where, When, Why and How questions. Ask Follow up questions. “Tell me more” (the best follow-up)

At your Service Step 4: Ask closed questions to check your understanding Closed questions can be answered with one word such as Yes or No. “So your roommate isn’t doing his part to keep the room clean?” “Sequential Art is the study or art in sequence that tells a story, like comic books. Do you think that’s what you’d like to major in?”

At your Service Activity: Hidden Needs practice With a partner, decide who will be the customer and who will be the customer service provider. I will hand out different worksheets to each member of the pair. Read your sheet thoroughly. Do not read your partner’s sheet. When ready, begin the activity. I will check in with you after about 5 minutes.

At your Service Use Customer Service Skills to better communicate with other student leaders. In meetings, don’t DIS your teammates. Disagreeing with the idea Ignoring the idea Slamming the idea Instead: Align: State what you like about the idea Concern: State concerns about the idea (after aligning) Build: Bridge to another idea by adding. “Let me build on Jen’s idea. What if we…” Tip: Before stating a concern, ask the person to clarify the idea.

At your Service Step 4: Offer a solution. “I can arrange to have a student ambassador in your major call or you to answer any questions you have about the program.” “I can sit down with you and you and your roommate to help you resolve the conflict you are having about cleaning responsibilities.” “I can share some tips with you that help me manage my time.” “I can show you where to find the contact information for the ombudsman. He is very helpful when you have policy concerns.” “I can call transportation and see when they can send another bus to pick you up.”

At your Service Step 5: Let the customer know what you are going to do, and also what they will need to do. “I can show you how to get to York Hall. You’ll need to login to MySCAD to sign up for an appointment with your academic adviser.” “I can put in a work order for someone to come and fix your internet wiring. Before they come, please have the area where they need to work clear of furniture and personal items.”

At your Service Close Clarify other needs. “Is there anything else I can help you with?” Explain any commitments. “You’ll sign up for the event on the sign-up sheet on my door.” State your delight and availability. “I’m glad I could help you. If you need anything else, message me on facebook.”

At your Service Training is essential to success. The obvious is not always obvious.