Service Untitled

Monday morning and an angry customer is walking into the office, and for your own self-preservation, you never want to trade insults, yell back, engage in sarcasm, or be intimidated. You must first understand an angry customer at the simplest level.

They’re not angry at you; it’s only because you are an employee and representative of the company, but since you’re there in front of them, you naturally become the target. That angry woman who reminds you so much of your mother wants her problem solved, and your job is not to get her to that particularly hostile  point we’ve all heard, ” Well it’s the principle,” because at this point even if you could work something out, she would still be dissatisfied.

So what do you do? Let’s start at the beginning as the angry customer walks in:

- Observe body language. You never want to be blindsided by someone’s temper. Are their arms crossed, shoulders hunched, restless, staring or acting rude? You need to always remember the person isn’t mad at you, so try to be as unpolitical as you can be. Introduce yourself, and be polite. Ask the person her name and address her by name. Try not to make her wait; look up from your paper work immediately  and never say “NEXT”.

- Listen to the customer. You must always let the customer tell her story. Do not interrupt her, and listen intently until she is finished speaking.  Show her that you have been paying attention by paraphrasing her problem and assuring her you understand and intend to help.

- Phrases to avoid. An angry customer doesn’t do well with such stock phrases as: ” I only work  here,” “It’s against our store policy,” or probably the most annoying of them all, ” I’m only following the rules.” Never come back with one of those answers, but again assure the person you will do your best to solve their problem. If the problem can not be solved at the time, make sure you confirm with the customer when you will have an answer, and make sure you follow through with a response at the agreed upon time. Check out the Big List of Things Not to Say for more tips.

- If I cannot help. If for any reason you feel that you can not mitigate the complaint, it is acceptable to refer the customer to your supervisor, but make sure you give the customer their name and their contact information. What you never want to do is just push the complaint on to the next person, and not have the customer’s complaint resolved.

Angry customers are always going to be around as are Monday mornings, but why not start the week off by helping your company keep its professional image and customers as well as you competently helping to resolve conflicts.

photo credit: subew

When I started Service Untitled back in April 2006, I was the only writer. I’d have occasional guest writers contribute to the blog, but for the most part, Service Untitled was me and me only. Nearly four years later (!), I’m happy to formally announce and introduce Service Untitled’s team of regular writers. The writers page features a listing of the regular contributors to Service Untitled, along with the photos and biographies of the people who bring you customer service advice and insight five days a week.

These people have been writing for Service Untitled for some time, but before today, there was not much information available about who they are or what they specialize in. The writers section is designed to provide that information. The writers section is released along with an entirely re-written and re-designed about section and revised contact and consulting pages.

In the new about section, you’ll also notice a new Service Untitled logo as well. This will be implemented into the main site’s design in the near future, but in the mean time, I want to show it off on the about page. A big thank you is owed to Bruce and his team at Logo Design Consultant for their hard work (and great customer service) in getting the logo designed.

If you pick the top three companies known for their extraordinary customer relationships; Nordstrom, Amazon and Starbucks, it’s pretty easy to dissect their redeeming qualities. Nordstrom is known for their incomparable attention, Starbucks is renowned for its generosity to its employees and the personal touch, and Amazon uses small teams who are empowered to solve problems without having to ask permission of a superior.

Consumers still want to buy from real people and want to buy and associate with people and businesses who carry similar values and good will. Nordstrom, Amazon, and Starbucks didn’t develop their customer relationships over night and have successfully been able to target their main consumers.

If someone asks you who your main customers are, the most logical place to start would be with existing customers. Consider who has bought from you in the past, and look for trends whether it be socio-economic, common interest groups, age, or gender. If you are just starting out and have no customers, check the competition, or launch an online or newspaper advertisement. Consider other tactics and perhaps speak to a sample target audience or do a survey, either online or regular mail.

Building relationships over long periods of time require consistency. Compare it to resolutions people make each January to exercise regularly. It all goes great for the first few weeks in January; the treadmills and step machines are “waiting line only” but as February rolls around, the silence in the gym is deafening again. The same goes for the mailers, e-newletters, blog updates, direct mailers, and personal follow-up phone calls. As the year progresses, and you don’t get any responses, you stop, but the most popular reason to buy a product is need at a particular time. If you are there, the need is there, you will get the customer, but you have to be consistent.

Customers really don’t want to work for what they want. We are a highly mobile society now with a lot of options available to us; not like the old days when businesses shut down at a certain hour. The Internet 24/7 has a compound influence on your target audience, so meeting all the criteria is imperative. Make it easy for the consumer, provide exactly what they need when they need it, go beyond what is expected, make it convenient and at a reasonable price, and your customers will follow.

photo credit: USACE Europe District

It’s hard to tell if you’re losing business because of the economy or doing something wrong. Competition is so keen now, what once may have just been mildly annoying is now the reason your competition has claimed some of your customers. Perhaps it is time to take a closer look at the management support, training and motivation of your workforce. I’ve compiled a short list of the most annoying habits of customer service personnel which is  almost guaranteed to have your customers running to your competition. Any of these sound familiar?

• Chewing gum. Can you think of anything more annoying than listening to someone chewing gum over the phone when they are talking to you? In person, I can’t seem to concentrate on what the representative is telling me because the movement of her jaw and the snapping sounds distract me too much.
• Phone texting. Does a customer service representative think that I don’t notice how he is texting someone while dealing with my problem? As I am signing my name and filling out a store form for my refund, the person behind the desk is sending his girlfriend flowers from his Iphone.
• Multiple phone transfers. I had a problem with a generator and called the toll-free number. Not only was I met by too many numbers to push for more extensions than I could count, but each time I had to repeat the story of my generator and why I wanted a refund due to a manufacturing error. Last I counted, I told the same story six times.
• Lying customer service representatives. Do they lie because they just don’t care or don’t know the answer? The last representative told me the refund would be in the mail the same day. Six weeks later I still did not receive the refund or an explanation.
• Key personnel missing. I look up the manager or key person who can help me with my customer problem, and leave numerous messages asking for a return call. He is always in meetings, traveling or having a family emergency.

• New person on the job. New customer service representatives should have a trainer if the new person is a rank amateur, and that would save me tapping my foot on the floor waiting for the representative to go back and forth trying to solve my problem. Now if there was a trainer next to the newbie, I could have been on my way, happier and the problem likely would have been rectified before I tapped a hole into the floor.

Basically, even if the customer doesn’t realize customer service means more than refunds, exchanges, or a polite greeting, doesn’t it come down to the little things that make the biggest differences?

photo credit: Dan Zen

The economic recovery is on its way according to the animals around my house. And, they seem to be trying to let me know. I recall how my childhood dog got under the back porch steps if there was a storm coming. And, if she paced around a lot and whimpered, you could count on rain. She was never wrong. Nature seems to know the future.

Two years ago I caught a quick glimpse of a red fox in the woods near my place. Last year it crossed the road in front of my car. But, this week? The fox sat right near the road and watched me drive by. I was impressed by its courage and wondered it was giving me a sign.

Last week someone ran over a snake crossing the highway. When I passed by there were four crows standing near the snake sensing his inevitable demise. But, the snake was coiling and striking at the crows as if to say, “I’m not giving up.” I was impressed with its tenacity. A sign?

A barn swallow built its nest on top of a column at the corner of my house. It was well-protected from everything except the down spout of the gutter. One big rain and the little ones would be floating away. But, the swallow seem unconcerned. The baby birds hatched and completed flight school before the next big rain. What optimism!

Three signs do not a prophesy make. But, my dog was never wrong. Nature not only is a fortune-teller but a mentor as well, outlining the recipe for customer service in worrisome times.

Give your customers your best confidence. Spend extra time learning more than you need to know to serve your customers at the level of excellence. Famous speakers will tell you that the secret to concrete confidence on the stage is solid preparation. It is the same with great customer service. Plan for hiccups so when they occur (as they inevitably will), you will immediately know what to do and how to do it. When customers witness your confidence, it becomes infectious — they gain solace and calm even in a context of anxiety.

Show customers your most impressive tenacity. You grew up hearing the line, “when the going gets tough, the tough get going.” The message is not about some macho brute strength, it is about a stick-to-it-tive-ness. The tortoise won the race not because he was the quickest, but because it never gave up. The Road Runner always leaves Wile E. Coyote in the dust, not because the Road Runner has greater speed, but because he is more agile, more nimble, and not threatened by the myopic, obsessed coyote. Customers will hang in there during adversary times if they know you are there to adaptively go the distance with them.

Deliver to customers your warmest optimism. Optimists are not naive Pollyanna’s who blindly ignore reality in exchange for some fantasyland view of the world. Optimists instead use their positive hopefulness to call up a bright spirit of courage. They assume the best and are rarely disappointed. Their sense of cheerfulness releases endorphins which arm them with an edge important in staving off those spirit leeches bent on robbing all around them of confidence and faith. Customers are attracted to the light of optimism and will hook their hopes on service providers with a vision of possibility and a plan for distinction.

I live on a large lake. And, I just saw a great big bass jump straight up out of the water. A sign? Not likely. Not all of nature’s actions are prophesies. I think this one might be a cue for me to get my fishing pole and get back to nature! Make service your nature and give your customers hopeful signs of a brighter future.

Chip R. Bell is a customer loyalty consultant and the author (with John R. Patterson) of the best-selling book Take Their Breath Away: How Imaginative Service Creates Devoted Customers. He can be reached at www.taketheirbreathaway.com.

photo credit: michaelnpatterson

If you have ever been overwhelmed in the wine section of a store and not have the slightest idea of what to buy, you certainly are not alone. I wanted to purchase a good bottle of wine for a business contact who had helped me on a project, and I was fortunate enough to find a store with exceptional service. – so much that I would be remiss not to recount my experience because this store just blew away every other liquor and wine store in the area. The name of the store is Total Wine  Spirits, Beer & More. There are over 60 stores nationwide.

Their wine team is trained and compassionate about wine, and  even before someone is hired, the employee already has a working knowledge of different wines. The team members undergo an initial training program consisting of 150 hours of instruction and while working continue their education with seminars, weekly wine tastings, and company sponsored incentive trips to wine growing regions. The staff is easy to spot; they all wear white shirts. The most experienced sales people are promoted to the prestigious Total Wine Professional and are capable of answering the most challenging questions about the store’s comprehensive wine inventory.

I knew my business contact enjoyed Cabernet Sauvignon, and with a choice of over 1100 selections where should a person begin? Problem solved when a sales representative took his time to explain to me about some of  Napa’s most consistent producers of great Cabernets. He explained wines to me ranging from $5.97 Fetzer Valley Oaks-Cabernet to a bottle of Opus One 2006 priced at $189.99. Somewhere in the middle I finally made my selection of Heitz-Cabernet Napa for $43.99.

My experience didn’t end there, either. The store offers wine education classes where consumers can learn about wine, wine producers and wine making techniques. Every week there is a wine tasting bar to sample wines from all over the world. I picked up store publications entitled “Guide to Wine,” “Wine Advisor” and a practical wine buying guide so the next time I need to purchase a bottle of wine, I will have a working knowledge of what I may want to buy, but no worries, since every person on the staff seemed just as cordial and knowledgeable as the representative helping me.

The store guarantees lowest and competitive prices. Besides wine, the store sells spirits and beer. I can’t even imagine shopping at any other store for wine again. Now that’s customer service that left all the competition behind.

photo credit: quinn.anya

In 2004, Missy and Keith paid $450,000 for their home, but by 2009, their home was only worth $275,000. Their mortgage was $400,000. Missy lost her job at a local nonprofit, and Keith’s sales job as a luxury boat salesman pretty much hit bottom. They were no longer able to keep making their high mortgage payments and applied to Bank of America for a loan modification. It took over five months with Bank of America for the modification, and when Missy and Keith finally received it, their payments went down to half of what the original amount was, but only temporarily. Just a few months later, the bank changed their mind. Keith and Missy tried, to no avail to speak with the bank about the reversal, but the bank refused to make any changes, and as every month passes by, Missy and Keith’s credit gets worse and worse.

The government is pushing lenders to lower mortgages so borrowers don’t have to lose their homes, but the biggest complaint from Missy and Keith and countless others is the unprecedented amount of paperwork, unexplained rejections, rude personnel, and unreturned phone  calls. Lenders aren’t approving applications as originally anticipated. Less than 4% of the nation’s applicants under the government foreclosure prevention program have received help. Bank of America is one of the leading institutions lagging behind.

Under HAMP, which is Making Homes Affordable with loan modifications, there is a three month trial before the lesser loan becomes permanent, and stories like what happened to Missy and Keith are becoming more common. Under the new rules beginning June 1, 2010, the government is taking another step to make banks more accountable to the never ending complaints of the troubled homeowners by making it mandatory for mortgage companies to collect borrower’s official documents as part of the initial process. That will at least eliminate the excuse about losing paperwork. Now what can the government do about rude bank representatives?

The banks don’t really want to foreclose on all of these homes, and there are millions of home owners who would rather qualify for the modification than walk away. Perhaps it is time for the banks to hire more personnel, train representatives to be more efficient as well as  teaching employees some basic principles of customer service.

photo credit: woodleywonderworks

Gone are the days when construction companies had so much work lined up that any of us who needed a contractor would  say a little prayer at night hoping someone would show up the next day, but times have changed, and we are now in the age of “full service” providers; that is the construction companies have become more direct and aim toward personalized service to bring value to each job.

My friend Tom lives in the South Florida area and provides the personal touch; his company is small and local which gives him intimate knowledge of the immediate marketplace. He had been contracted to install an Old Chicago brick semi-circular driveway on the exclusive island of Palm Beach. For those of you reading this and not familiar with Old Chicago brick, think of part age and part style from the turn of the 20th Century of salvaged building bricks which mimicked the Old Chicago look. The home was located on the western side of the street and the job called for approximately 1500 square feet of brick.

Basically, a contractor starts at the corner and lays one run of brick along the two adjacent borders. Bricks are set on sand and fit snugly; levels and alignments are the key, and once all the bricks have been installed, the contractor uses a 14 inch diamond blade hand held quick cut saw to cut the final edge bricks.

It had been a  windy day, and the clay dust of the bricks created a “sand clay storm” which blew directly eastward across the street covering an all white house, white roofed, and white driveway property with the  reddish dust of the brick. Tom went across the street, apologized to the home owner and went to work correcting the damage done by power washing her house, the roof, and the driveway. He also arranged to have her windows cleaned, cars washed and any damaged plants and flowers replaced. The homeowner was thankful and appreciative.

Two years later, that same homeowner where Tom apologized and rectified his mistakes called for Tom’s company to do a job for her. She based her decision on his excellent customer service.

It’s easy to give mediocre service in construction; the bar has been set fairly low with the record number of complaints and over all shoddy craftsmanship many of us have experienced, but four basic principles of customer service has set Tom apart from his competition.

He has employed the use of good communication skills to his strategy, and not just the use of emails, but going out and meeting face to face with clients at regular intervals. He demonstrates by example and current references his technical expertise and how that experience makes him better than competing companies. He pays personal attention to details and never lets his  less experienced workers  make the decisions, and when, as in this case there was a problem, Tom went over to admit and apologize  explaining that projects can go wrong, but he would take full responsibility and rectify the problem.

Where much of Tom’s competition has been reading Craigslist looking for part-time construction jobs, Tom goes to work every day with more  projects lined up for the future.

photo credit: stefg74