|
|
Increase Profits from Your Existing Customers
Increase Profits from Your Existing Customers An area many businesses fail to recognise as a way to increase profits is by utilising their existing customers. Don't view each sale as a "one-off". Look to build a long term relationship with your...
Learning more about your customers to achieve maximum online profits!
Knowing about the people who buy your products or use your services on the internet is extremely important. If you know what your customers like, dislike, want and think, then you know exactly how to update your site and adapt it. Nothing pleases a...
Retain Customers Year after Year
To most people Christmas is a time for worship, for family, for celebration and for giving and receiving. However, to the shrewd business owner it is also the perfect time at which to cement the corporate relationship between them and their...
Sweat the Small Stuff for Great Customer Service
Undoubtedly you’ve heard about the popular book series that started with Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff, followed by Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff at Work, …in Love, …with Your Family, etc. While these books relay a message containing a great deal of...
Work at Home Business Ideas
Here are some excellent businesses that you can start, operate and grow from your home. All these work at home businesses have the following desirable features:
Low Startup Costs
Ease of Entry
High Income Potential
Home...
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Customer Service: Stop Sabotaging Your Customer Relationships
If you've called for customer service recently you're familiar with this recorded message "This call may be recorded or monitored for quality purposes." I immediately think to myself, "Oh great, here comes the game of 20 questions."
Now don't get me wrong. I spent many, many years training Customer Service Reps. (CSR's). I'm all for making sure customers receive the best possible service. What I'm not for is the pre-scripted list of questions CSR's are required to ask, regardless of whether they are applicable to the situation at hand. I've seen some checklists with as many as 25 pre-scripted "call quality" standards that CSR's are required to use. If they don't, and someone happens to monitor the call, they get marked down. Ludicrous I say!
Let me give you a few highlights from a recent call I made to my well-known auto club:
CSR: What is the year, make and model of your vehicle? Me: 2000, GMC, Yukon, Denali CSR: There is no 2000, GMC, Yukon, Denali (obviously it couldn't be found in her list of computer options so she needed to tell me I was wrong) Me: Yes there is, I drive it every day CSR: What's wrong with your vehicle? Me: I don't know. It won't start. CSR: Does it need to be towed or jumped? Me: I don't know. I don't know what's wrong with it. CSR: Well do you think it needs to be towed or jumped? Me: I have no clue. CSR: Where is your vehicle? Me: In my garage. CSR: Can you push it out of the garage into the driveway or the street? Me: No. It's a full size SUV. I can't push it anywhere. CSR: Is there another way you can get it out of the garage? Me: No. It won't start.
Eventually, after I'd jumped through enough hoops, the call finally ended.
Chances are it wasn't the CSR's idea to get her laughs for the day by asking me stupid questions. Instead, her own company sabotaged her ability to quickly and efficiently take care of her customer, by requiring she use a scripted questioning process.
What Could Have Gone Better? For starters, rather than telling me that the make and model of my vehicle didn't exist, she could have said that she was having trouble finding it in her database, and then asked
for verification. Next, instead of asking me twice about whether the truck needed to be "jumped or towed", she might have asked if I had any ideas about what could be wrong with it.
And finally, considering that she already knew the vehicle wouldn't start, asking a woman to push a truck out of a garage seems a little unreasonable.
What Needs To Change? First, re-think your call quality standards. You may have too many standards; they may be too focused on internally created "shoulds", with very little focus on what matters most to your customers. Involve your CSR's and customers in the process.
Secondly, empower and train your CSR's to think, act and personalize service to best accommodate the given situation. One size does not fit all, or even most! Teach your CSR's how to recognize different communication styles, and then how to adapt their personal style so they can best relate to the customer as an individual. In other words, teach CSR's how to treat customers how THEY want to be treated.
And thirdly, continually ask for feedback from CSR's as well as customers. Make time to find out what's working and what's not working. Pay attention to what they have to say. Make ongoing improvements that benefit everyone. Repeat the cycle.
Companies spend thousands, if not millions of dollars each year to acquire new customers, yet sometimes they forget about how to best take care of the customers they already have.
Everyday your customers and your CSR's make decisions about whether to stay with your company or go to your competitor. Loyalty is built on good, solid relationships. Your company relies on the loyalty of your CSR's to service your customers. And great customer service can set you apart from your competition. Take action now! Stop sabotaging those relationships with unnecessary standards that don't really matter to your customers. Your customers and your CSR's will love you for it.
About the Author
Lora Adrianse is passionate about helping people build dynamic business relationships in the workplace and with their customers. She can be reached through her website www.connectionscoach.com .
|
|
|
|
|
Customer Service Group: Resources for improved customer service ... |
Newsletters, books, and free online resources for improved customer service, call center and help desk operations including tools for enhancing rep training ... |
www.customerservicegroup.com |
  |
Customer Service Training Customer Service Skills Training Service |
Service Quality Institute is the leader in Customer Service Training with customer service training skills products and consulting with over 34 years ... |
www.customer-service.com |
  |
ICS: Institute of Customer Service |
The Institute of Customer Service is the professional body for customer service whose primary purpose is to lead customer service performance and ... |
www.instituteofcustomerservice.com |
  |
International Customer Service Association |
Promotes the development and awareness of the customer service profession through networking, education and research. Activities, publications ... |
www.icsa.com |
  |
Customer Service Jobs on CareerBuilder.com |
Looking for customer service jobs? Start your job search at CareerBuilder, the leader in job search sites, and access hundreds of thousands of jobs today. |
customer-service.careerbuilder.com |
  |
The New York Times Home Delivery - Subscribe |
Sign up now to save 50% on your first 12 weeks of Home Delivery. Learn more. As part of Home Delivery, you'll also get free access to TimesSelect premium ... |
homedelivery.nytimes.com |
  |
Customer service - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia |
The modern concept of customer service has its roots in the craftsman economy ... Delivering customer service begins with understanding what customers want. ... |
en.wikipedia.org |
  |
Customer service representatives |
When working in call centers, customer service representatives are likely to be under ... Customer service representatives working outside of a call center ... |
www.bls.gov |
  |
Customer Service Training |
Customer Service Training, Seminars, Coaching, and free articles to improve repeat business, happiness, and professional image. |
www.proedgeskills.com |
  |
Customer Service |
(It may help the reader to notice the role of customer service in the overall ... Additional Resources in the Category of Customer Service and Satisfaction ... |
www.managementhelp.org |
  |
azcentral.com faq - azcentral.com Help - Arizona Republic Customer ... |
azcentral.com faq - Welcome to the azcentral.com help center where you can find answers to azcentral.com and Arizona Republic customer service questions. |
www.azcentral.com |
  |
CafePress.com : Help Desk : Customer Service |
Email Us Send us an email and we will respond to you within 24 hours. Call Us Toll Free 1-877-809-1659 Customer Service Hours ... |
www.cafepress.com |
  |
Customer Service Week - The Celebration Source |
Provides how-to information, gifts and decorations for successful Customer Service Week celebrations. |
www.csweek.com |
  |
Nashville - Tennessean.com - Middle Tennessee Customer Services |
Customer service, advertising or news-related questions or problems (615) 259-8000. ... (615) 242-7253. Email Customer Service customer @tennessean.com. ... |
www.tennessean.com |
  |
Customer Service Institute of Australia - dedicated to Australian ... |
CSIA is a professional, membership-based body dedicated to improving the standards of customer service both at an individual level and at a corporate level ... |
www.csia.com.au |
  |
The Globe and Mail: Home Delivery Customer Care: Home |
The most authoritiative news in Canada featuring articles from The Globe and Mail, breaking news coverage, national news, international news, sports, ... |
https: |
  |
Customer Service from FLORIDA TODAY |
We're here to bring the finest customer service to your doorstep. ... Customer Service Hours Monday - Friday: 6:30 a.m. - 5 p.m. ET Saturday: ... |
www.floridatoday.com |
  |
magazine customer service |
https://secure.customersvc.com/ servlet/Show?WESPAGE=mo/home.html&MSRSMAG=MO - Similar pages |
|
  |
Customer Service – 8 Rules For Good Customer Service |
Good customer service is the lifeblood of any business. You can bring in as many new customers as you want, but unless you can get some of those customers ... |
sbinfocanada.about.com |
  |
Help | IndyStar.com |
Customer Service • Terms of Service • Send feedback about IndyStar.com • Subscribe Now • Jobs with us. Use of this site signifies your agreement to the ... |
www.indystar.com |
  |
|