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The 5W's of World Class Customer Service Training
The preamble to the United States Constitution begins, 'we, the
people.' I feel strongly that we, the people, are what make the
difference in life, both personally and professionally.
The interaction anyone has at any level with your company, your
employees, including you, gives a customer-- whether current,
potential, or internal or external--an opportunity to make a
judgment about you, your company, all companies like yours in
the industry.
With continued focus on customer satisfaction, customer
retention, and lifetime value of the customer, it is no surprise
that contact center operations continue to increase in
importance as the primary hub of a customer's experience. For
the customer, the person on the other end of the phone is the
company. The contact center is still the most common way that
customers get in touch with businesses. In fact, Gartner reports
92% of all contact is still through the center. And it's been
reported that 70% to 90% of what happens with customers is
driven by human nature, having nothing to do with technology.
State of the art technology is certainly a necessity today, but
it is meant to enable human endeavors, not to disable them.
I often talk about taking customer service and 'kicking it up a
notch.' In the food industry, the word 'lagniappe' is often
used. Its definition is "a small present given to a customer
with a purchase." For example, when you go to the bakery and buy
a dozen donuts or bagels, you oftentimes get a 'free' one or a
baker's dozen. That's what customer service should be
about--giving the customer more than they expect! Let's bring
lagniappe into the contact center.
If we're going to speak about world class customer service,
Here's my working definition so we're all on the same page.
Customer service is those activities provided by a company's
employees that enhance the ability of a customer to realize the
full potential value of a product or service before and after
the sale is made, thereby leading to satisfaction and repurchase.
Let's look at the first W which is Why?
The state of customer service today is not good, be it over the
phone or self service. Because 92% of people feel their call
experience is important in shaping the image of a company, this
reinforces the importance of branding the image of your
companies.
In a Mobius Management Systems Survey, here's what happened
because of poor customer service:
60% cancelled accounts with banks 36% changed insurance
providers 40% changed telephone companies 35% changed credit
card providers 375 changed Internet service providers
Are you one of these statistics? I certainly am.
In a study done by Purdue University/BenchmarkPortal.com, in
answer to (1) how did agents satisfy your needs and handle the
call, and (2) based on any negative experience, would you stop
using this company in the future? the findings reveal a strong
correlation between the participant's age and the tendency to
stop using the company after a bad experience.
What does this mean? Younger participants were less tolerant
and more likely to move to the competition. People over 65 were
found to be more demanding than those in middle age.
What can you do? Give younger callers a 'wow'
experience--maintain their loyalty. People over 36 probably have
more of an 'emotional bank account' with the company they are
dealing with-maybe they had some good experiences and therefore
are more willing to 'forgive.'
In a recent study (CRM Magazine/PeopleSoft Web Seminar on How
Usability Helps to Drive a Profitable Contact Center), the
number of applications required for agents to access customer
inquiries were:
3.7% just 1 81.5% 2 - 5 7.4% 5 - 10 7.4% more than 10
As you can see, the majority of applications are 2 - 5. The
goal? Link every
point of contact to one central location for a
customer-centric, synchronized approach satisfying customer
experiences with every interaction.
It's important to point out that today's pressures on employees
are different than in the past. They are asked to handle more
customers, more volume, more complex and/or complicated calls.
After all if we could handle our issues with self service, we
probably would not call. But if we tried self service and it
didn't work, then we're upset and it's an escalated call from
the get go.
They're also asked to provide more information, do it faster and
be available and accessible. But they also are tasked with
lowering costs, generating revenue, incorporating new
technologies, ensuring closure and commitment, delivering
'great' service and when? Yesterday, of course.
The #2 W is Who should receive customer service skills training?
We encourage front line agents/representatives, supervisors,
team leads, senior reps, managers, assistant managers, internal
customers and other departments--anyone who is a touch point so
that they can learn to speak the same language, and more
importantly, not be in an adversarial position, but rather,
together serve the external customer or end user.
The #3 W is Where should the training take place? Offsite vs
onsite has advantages and disadvantages for each. Certainly it
is most cost effective to have training on site. However,
distractions are rampant as is the participant's availability to
a manager or project
Offsite is more costly. However, there are no distractions and
the participants are not available to other departments,
managers, or any issues. I further believe there is psychic
value in taking people away from their work stations and off
site to acknowledge the tough jobs they have.
The #4 W is What should be included in any training? The
following modules provide a robust, powerful, and succinct
training curriculum:
Quality Customer Service Rapport Building
Customer Expectations Perception Shifting
Conflict Resolution Language Skills
Anger Management E-Mail Protocol Stress
Reduction Empathetic Responsiveness Change
Management Communication/Listening Skills
Interaction/Role Play Service with a Smile
Further suggested is university certification to up the ante.
Ultimately, the more professionally you treat your employees,
the more professionally they will treat your customers.
The #5 W is When. We urge training not only for new hires but
monthly, ongoingly, consistently, whenever change occurs, when
stressors increase, and as needed.
We further recommend that each employee receive a minimum of 24
hours per year of ongoing training, spread over time for the
most optimal absorption/retention. We deliver our trainings in
two four hour sessions per day and deliver 6 days per employee.
If there has been no ongoing training, we do four sessions once
a month for four months and then one three months later, and
then another three months later. Or, every other month providing
sessions for the entire 12 month period. All training is
customized, in real time, and can address whatever challenges
are presented when they occur.
Together we can raise the bar in the area of world class
customer service. Take great care of your employees and they
will take great care of your customers. Everyone wins.
About the author:
ROSANNE D'AUSILIO, Ph.D., industrial psychologist, President of
Human Technologies Global, known as 'champion for the human'
authors 3 best sellers, "Wake Up Your Call Center: Humanize Your
Interaction Hub," Customer Service and the Human Experience, and
Lay Your Cards on the Table: 52 Ways to Stack Your Personal Deck
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