Unit 2

Unit 2

Face to face with customers

an d
Non- Verbal Communicatio
 ltt

Faceto face with

customers

What makesthe most impactin face-to-faceencountersin customercare?Choosethe three most

irnportantaspectsfor you and compareyour answerwith a partner.

r goodvocabulary. senseofhumour . expensive

clearspeakingvoice clothesr
pleasant
bodylanguage . good .
eyecontact accurategrammar o goodgrooming

t Firstreadthis tip from an Amerieancustomercarewebsite.Doyou agree?llllhy,or why not?

What customersreally notice

Yourbodylanguage - the wayyou standor sit,whatyou do with yourarmsand hands,
whetheryou aresmitingor frowning, and so on - teltsthe realtruthto yourcustomers!
Yourwordsmaybe abteto hidethat you?eboredor uninterested, but yourbodycan't.
Whenmeetinga customer, makeeyecontactwithinro seconds. Thiscreatesa bond
betweenyou andthe customer and it showsyourinterestin reatcommunication. lf you
don'tmakeeyecontact,the customer couldthinkthatyou aren'tinterested - or even
worse,that you'reignoringthem!

Now decide whether the following body language would give a positive fl or negative ffi
to yourcustomers.
impression

O,' n
r -,
III- - r -
t,-,
t6 L]

LL r
-
-r-
{l
Ir
'Ir!I
-'

tr

@e-
Doyou think this impressionis the samefor peoplefrom atl cultures?
12 | UNIT2 Faceto facewith customers

AUDIO
sl.r
q3 2 Listento five greetingsin typical customercaresituations and decidewherethey take place.
2-6

I atr adefa ir I abank I as h o p [] a company [j a hotel

l{ow listen againand completethe sentences.Whichsentencescan be usedwhenyou

a) meetsomeonenew b) meetsomeoneyou alreadyknow c) offer help and d) ask someone
to do something?Writea, b, c or d.

r Goodmorning,
Ms Richards. ?

z Welt,if you needhelp,just

3 justfilt in thisform,please.
Mr Rodriguez?
4 Hetto. hetpyou?
Niceto MrAlten.

A UOIO

%, 3
7
listen to this start andfinish of a companyvisit andcompletethe sentences.
Howwell doesPeter
knowhis two hosts,FrankandAnnie?Hashe met them before?

Frank Goodmorning, you ' PeterMasters.I'm FrankWeoler.

Welcome to lGS.
Peter Thankyou.lt'sniceto finallymeetyoufaceto face.
Frank Yes,we'vetalkedso muchon the phone,I feelI knowyouatready. Peter,
I'dliketo
2 youto AnnieThomas, ourcustomer services
manager.Annie,thisis Peter
MastersfromTopForm,
in Bristo[.
Peter Niceto meetyou,MsThomas.
Annie 3 to meetyou,too.
Frank So,if you'd,justcomethis way...
Annie I yourftightfromBristot?
Peter It wasfine.lt evenarriveda bit early.
Annie Andis thisyourfirsttimein Brussels?
Peter No,it'smy third.I'vebeenherea coupleof
timesas a tourist.I realtvlikethe citv.
Fronk So.herewe are. 5 your
coat?
Peter Oh,that'sverykindof you.

Frank 6 to takea seat...

Peter Thankyou.
Frank z carefor coffeeor tea?
Peter be nice,withtwo susars.
]"::"r,0
Peter So,here'smytaxi.Wet[, d for a goodmeeting.
lt wasgreatto meetbothof you.
Frank Thesamefor us.Thanksfor e. lt wasa veryproductive
meeting.
So,we'l[be
in contactby emailas usua[.
Peter Yes,of course.Bye.
10 I
Annie Havea nice Rvo

Fronk So [ongfor now.

 UNIT2 Faceto hce with customers | 13

llow addphrasesfromthe dlalogueto flt the tatetorlci below.

&oodmorninq.Youmustbo.... I m ...

6o longfor now.

t' s.
t n'.r
4 the sentences
Complete wlth wordsfronlthe bol

7 May I youto MrsBurton?

Shel ourregiopal
manager.
2 Itl niceto meetyoufuceto face.
3 I takeyourjacket?
-':'
4 Oh,thatt very ofyqu.
5 I'd to introducl myself.My name'sRalphLee.l'm the floor managerhere.
you
6 Would for coffeeor tea?

7 CanI yousomemineralwater?
8 We'llbein byemailasusual.
9 It was a to meetyou.Havea nice
1() So for now.

Smalltalkmayseemto dealwithunimportant topics,butit is necessaryfor'breaking

theice'withcustomers.
People canrelaxandgetcomfortable withlighttopicssuchas:
r their tfip (Howwasyaurflight?Didyou haveanytroublefindingus?)
. wheretheyarestbying(So,how'syourhotel?Everything OK?)
. (first)impressions of the city(Haveyoueverbeento ... ? So,whatdo you thinkof .,,so far)
. theweather(Greotweather,isn'tit?How'stheweatherin ... ?)
-
Becareful withmakingsmalltalkontopicslikeFamily, religionor politics,
or withmakingcomplimentsabout
somebody! appearance. Depending onyourcustomers'cultural background, theymightfindthetopicstoo
aggressive or too personalin a businesscontext.
r+ | urutfZ Face
to facewithcustomers

5 tatch ltemsfromthethreecolumnsto makeminl'smalltalk'conversations.

1 So,haveyou ever Yes,no problem.lt's a very Thatbgood.We'vebeenhaving

beento Vienna nicelocationhere,isn'tit? a bit of troublewith the trains.
before? Theyalways, s9:m t9 tale:
,be .
z Howwasyourtrip? Actually,they'reboth on You'reIucky.lt's beenraining
holidaynow.In Portugal. herefor threedaysnow.Very
depressing.
Didyou find us OK? c Yes,I have.I washerefour Metoo. In fact,I'mplayingin
yearsago. a tournament thisweekend.
Howwasthe weather d Yes,I playin a localclub. Howlovely.I wasin Portugal :
in London? two yearsago.Do you knowit?
So,how are Patand It wasfine.Thetrainwasa 0h, really?
Wasthat for
lohn doing?Arethey bit tatebut we arrivedon business or pleasure?
sti[[working
hard? time.

Oh,areyou Nice,actually.lt wassunny F Yes,we like it. We'vebeenhere

interested
in tennis? andwarmwhenI left. for four yearsnow.

6 Workwlth a partnerto practisemeetinga customerfor the flrst time.Usethe flow chartbetow

or makea dialoguethat flts yourownsituation.
A B
yourself.
Introduce
Respond.
Offerhospitality.
(coaVumbrella/somethin$to
drink)
li Respond.
Aska 'smalltalk'question.
Aska follow-upquestion.
Respond.
Respond.
Askanother'small
talK question.
(Repeat
Respond. as longas possible.)

and saygoodbye.
Stopthe conversation
ThankAandsaygoodbye.

Goodbasicsocializing skiltshelpbuitdyourcustomer base.Fromthe

beginning, yourcustomers will seehowyou showinterestand payattention.
Thisis an importantstepin establishing
a rapportwith yourcustomers.
 UNIT2 Faceto facewith customers| 15

7 Lookat the text from a customercaremanualand fitl in the missingdob and don'ts.

': Meetings arean importanttool for buildingyourcustomer base.Theyprovidea great

opportunityto networkwith your customers for futurebusiness.
Lookat thesedo'sand don'ts
'..
customermeetings.
:': for successfuI
:: a Do preparefor yourmeeting.
:.::.
Do makesureyou knowaboutall yourproducts
or services.
aa '

::o Don't takecontrolof the discussion. let the customers

decidewhatthev
:, talkaboutandwhentheytalkaboutit.
a givecustomerson[ytheinformationtheyWant.-overwhe[mthemwith
extrainformation
thattheydon'treallyneed.
a usejargonor wordsonly
peoptein yourcompany
or industryknow. What we
exactly what
need is...
a talk morethanyourcustomers. you want.

listencarefulty
to whattheysay
and interruot
them.
askfor feedback
and
so you'lIknowexactlywhat
clarification,
yourcustomers
wantandneed.
be open,honest,flexible,
and
positive!
.:r ' I ..- r . - .,t r , r .: i r :r . j :: r r :r :.,:.i ;:
: ::- r ,... Iit !

Canyou addany otherhelpfuttips basedon your meetingswith customers?

I Lookat thesepairsof sentences. Whichonewouldbe moreeffectivein a meeting?

Referto the do's and don'ts in exercise7.

t a OK,let'sgetstarted.Unfortunately,
l'vegot anotherappointment
in an hour.
b Thanksfor comingtoday.I'mgladto helpyou reviewyourbusinessneeds.

it, you'dliketo discuss

2 a As I understand ...
b Thisis whatwe'regoingto talkabout...

3 a So,thatwasmy suggestion. ls thatsuitablefor you?I'dliketo getyourfeedback.

for you.I don'tthinkwe needto discuss
b So,that'sthe rightservice thisanymore.

4 a OK,we'dbetterstop now.I reallymustgo to my nextmeeting.

b Let'sgo overouractionpointsoncemore.I wantto be surewe agree.

intoyourcompany.
5 a I'vedonesomeresearch lt seemsyou.... ls that right?
b So,canyoute[[mesomethingaboutyourcompany?

6 a I don'tthinkwe cando that.Weneverofferthatkindof discount.

b I'llseewhatI cando.
16 | UNIT2 Faceto facewith customers

9 Workwith a partner.Usethe informationin the PartnerFites(or makeup your own)to role-play

a meetingfrom first greetingsto goodbyes. Par tnerA F i te1, p.58
Par tnerB F i ter , p.6o

AUDIO
AFr 1O Listento a conyersationat a trade fair betweena sales rep and a potential customer.
w
8
liark the statementstrue [] or false [], or don't know fl.

r Lewishasmadean appointment
to
meetVetteda
at the stand. I
fifthtime at the tradefair. I
z Thisis Velleda's
product. ]
in a particutar
3 Lewisis interested
4 VetledagivesLewisa catalogue
to take
backto hiscompany. ._-

5 Lewisagrees to put his nameon the

maitingtist. I
6 Velleda willtelephone Lewisin two weeks
to set up a appointment.
follow-up I

WriteVetleda'snotesaboutthe meetingwith Lewis.What doesshe needto do when he is back

in the office?
N otes
AccutechUK
25 BridgeSt
Wisbech,Combridgeshire
PEI 35J P

Lewis Gillon lel +44 1945 579235

AccountMonoger tox +44 1945579266
emoilgillon@occutech'uk'com

AUDIO
IF\ tt Completetheseextractsfrom the dialoguewith wordsfrom the box.Thentisten againto check
vt
8
your answers.

anything. ask . brochure. email . enioyingo free o gtad r

introduceopipjrput

r Mayl mvself?
I'mVelleda
Brunetli. in Milan.MavI
I workfor MecroInternazionate
yourname?
2 So,Mr Gillan,howareyou the tradefair?
Wet[,then,areyou lookingfor in particular?
4 OK,but pleasefeel to askme anyquestions. I'dbe ro go
overour products
andtry to findsomethingsuitablefor yourcompany.
 UNIT2 1,,
Faceto facewithcustomers

Ah, canI interestyou In a ? lt hasinformation

aboutourcompany
andour fu[[
rangeof products.
6 Wouldyou liketo yournameon our mailinglist?
Doyou if I takeyourbusinesscard?l'[ makesureyou'reon our tist.And here'smy
card.I'lIsendyoua quick nextweekto seeif I canhelpyou with anyof our
products.

t2 Rewritethe foltowing sentencesto makethem more polite and effective. Look backat
the dialoguefor ideas.

r Whoareyou? 5 I'ttputyournameon the mailinglist,OK?

z Whatareyou lookingfor? 6 Givemeyourbusiness card.
3 Askmea questionif youwant. 7 I'l[contactyousometimesoon.
4 Doyou wanta brochure?

CUSTO'IERFOCUSEXTRA 1s.

Follow-up is yourmostimportanttool for success

for anyface-to-face Besureto be
encounter.
specificaboutwhatyou will do for yourcustomer,
andwhenyou wittdo it.

Use/'11 + infinitiveto tetlthe customerof yournextaction:

l'Ilwrite you a quick email next week.
I'llsend you the lotest brochuretomorrlw.
NO T :@

Usewouldyoumindif +thepostsimple,doyoumind+thepresentsimple
or may+ infinitive
(withoutfo) to askif something is acceptable
or not.
Wouldyou mind if I phoned you on Monday?
Doyoumindif Ioskyou somequestionsaboutyour companyT
May I stopby your office next week?

Remember,goodcustomer caremeanstakingactionto supportyourwords.Thisbuitdstrustinto

yourcustomerrelationships.

73 ilatch thequestionswlth theresponses.

r Wouldyou mindif I putyournameon our Tuesday?Yes,that soundsfine.I'l[ emailyou

mailing[ist? whenI'm backin the office.
directions
z I'ltjustnotethatin my diary. No,not at all.Youcanfind all my contact
3 Doyou mindif I giveyou my card? informationon my card.

4 l'm afraidI don'thavethe information here. c Sure.l'[[lookforyourphoneca[[on Monday.

But l'[ callmy officeand get backto you d Yes,thatsoundsgood.I'll stopby the stand
thisafternoon. ls thatOK? at aroundthree.
Wouldyou
5 l'tl be in Brixtonon Tuesday. e Thanks.That'sverykind of you.
mindif I stoppedby youroffice? f l'I writeit downtoo. So,we saidMondayat
6 MayI get in touchwith you nextweek? ro.3o,right?
7 I'll faxyou the newpricelisttomorrow. No,let me giveyou mine,too.
18 | UNIT2 Faceto facewith customers

t4 Workwith a partner.Firstlook at the UsefulPhrasesbelow.Thenusethe informationin the

PartnerFiles(or makeup your own)to role-playa conversation
at a tradefair.
Par tnerA F i te2, p.58
Par tnerB F i te2, p.60

U S E F U LPHRASES

ReP Customer
Coutd/May I helpyou? No,thanks.I'mjust tooking/browsing.
Howc a nI h e tpy o u ? i n ...
l ' m l ooki ngfor/i nterested
MayI introducemyselP My name's...
Cout dI a s ky o u rn a m e ? Nice/Pteased to meetyou.
Ptease feelfreeto askme anyquestions. Thankyou.
Could offeryou/interest
I you in ...? N o,not at al t.Letme gi veyou my
W ould y o u m i n di f I p h o n e d /e ma i te
y odu ? card/address/n umber.
I t wasn i c eto m e e y
t o u . N i ceto meetyou,too. | l ookforw ardto
I hopey o ue n j o yth e fa i r. heari ng fromyou.
Thanks, i t w asa pl easure. your
I appreci ate
neLp.

AUDIO
!t
?e 75 Paulaf ohnstonis givinga presentationat a tradefair. Puta-e in the correctorder.Thenlisten
9
to checkyour answers.

! a 'Before| finish,l'ttjustgo overthe hightights

of this
presentation again.Ourproductandservice [ine
includes .... Westandout fromour competitors with our
excellent fo[[ow-uo.'

I U 'Withour impressivelineof products we

andservices,
thatyou can'tfindwith our
offerspecialbenefits
competitors.Foltow-up is ourtop priority...'

I I lookforwardto havingyou
c 'Thanksfor yourattention.
as a newcustomer.'

I O 'Hello,I'mPauta ,|ohnston fromDettaSystems. I'mhere

todayto let you knowaboutsome great offersin
customer caresupportservices. l't[be speaking about
ourextensive rangeof products
for trackingnewand
existing customers ...'

I e 'l hopeyou'[[pickup oneof our leaflets.Also,if you

leavemeyourcontactdetaits, l'tl be gladto sendyou
our latest
catalogue by the end of theweek.Andif you
woutdliketo ordertoday,I'l[makesureyou receive our
price.'
introductory

usEFUr: IIRASES
. B ena tu railn y o u rtra d efa i rta l k .D o n ot usememori zed speech.
. F ollo wu p q u i c k l yD. o n o t d e l a yi n re p lyi ng
to yourcustomers.
. Yourcustomers will remember you morcthanyourproductor service!
 UNIT2 Faceto facewithcustomers| 19

76 Lookat the stepsfor giving an effectivepresentation.tlatch them to phrases(a-i) below.

Steps for Winning Gustomers

with Your Presentations
1 Welcomethe audience
2 Introducethe subjectand givea briefoverview
3 Talkabout the main product/service
features
w
&
4 Explainthe uniquesellingpoints(USPs)
5 lnviteinterestin the company
(products/services)

I
6 Givepromotionalinformation
7 Offer incentivesto try a product
I Finishthe talk
9 Showfollow-up

El I
I'dliketo giveyoua shortpreviewof my Pteasefeelfreeto pickup a brochure/
presentation... leaflet/free
sample.
We'dliketo introduce/showyouour We'vegot our promotional information
and
latest... samples availablehere.

I'ltbe gtad/pleased to sendyou...by next I'dliketo offera speciaI introductory

Monday. price/discountif you ordertoday.
withyouin two
I'll be in contact/touch
weeks.
Ourproductrangeincludes...
I lookforwardto doingbusiness withyou.
Thespeciat
hightights
are...
. F-l
Westandout fromourcompetitors
We'dbe pleased/glad
to haveyouas a new
0ecause...
customer.
OurUSPsare...
We'dwelcome the chanceto do business
withyourcompany.
I'dtiketo wetcome youto ...
Thankyoufor comingtoday.
I'djust liketo sumup the mainpointsof
My name's...
today'spresentation...
I workfor ...andI'min charge of ...
Thankyouforyourkindattention.

l{ow follow the stepsto preparea short presentationon one ofyour company'sproductsor
services.Try to usethe phrasesabovein your tatk.
20 | UNIT2 Face
to facewith customers

Readthis article from a customercareresearchsite and discussthe questionswhich follow.

{lren ilre customcr le¤ls tinvlsibler..,

A recentstudyshowedthe numberof Businessessimplycannotaffordto treat
secondspeoplehadto waitto be greeted as if theyare'invisible'.
theircustomers
in typicalcustomercaresituations.
Customersin variousshopsor businesses Thesolutionto thisproblemis clear.
wereaskedhow longthey had been A promptgreeting, especially
witha
waiting.In eachcase,the customer smile,makesallthe differenceto your
thoughtthathe/shehadbeenwaiting customers.Theycanstartthe
longerthanthe actualtimethathad conversationor meetingwiththefeeling
passed- 30 or 40 secondsfelt likethree thattheyarean importantcustomerfor
or fourminutes! yourbusiness.Withoutthe greeting,the
customerswillalreadybe feeling
Timegoesby slowlywhenyou arewaiting uncomfortable and insecure- evenbefore
to be noticed.Withthe Internetnowadays, the encounteractuallybegins.
peopleexpectquick,almostinstant
responses. In face-to-faceencounters,
if A quick,friendlygreetingrelaxes
the
youcan'tgivecustomers immediate customerandsetsthe rightatmosphere
attention,they'llleavestraightaway. for goodcustomercare!

r Haveyoueverbeenignored - or treatedas if youwere'invisible'-in a customer caresituation?

Howdid you feel?
r Whatis the impacton the customer if thishappensat a presentation, tradefair,or conference?
. lf you arebusywith anothercustomer, how canyou still noticea customerand makethemfeel
secureand comfortable?
 e) We can offer a quicker and more ____________________ level of service with our
new call centre.

f) If you are happy with our service please ___________________ us to a friend.

10. Watch the video and make a list of the 15 steps for great customer service.
Discuss what each mean with the class.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0jPk6CtK360

Unit 2 First Impressions

‘You only get one chance to make a first impression’

1. If you are meeting people face to face, what do you think are the most important
factors in creating a good first impression?

Body language is important in customer service because it affects how customers

will react to what you're saying to them. So much communication is delivered
through body language, as well as one's tone of voice. In face-to-face customer
service, reps need to control both of these skills if they want to consistently provide
a delightful support experience.

8
2. Are these actions positive or negative body language?
shaking hands firmly crossing your arms and legs staring

relaxed posture giving personal space avoiding someone’s gaze

making eye contact nodding sitting up straight fidgeting

paying attention sitting with both feet on the floor

slouching in your seat hiding your hands yawning smiling

keeping hands out of pockets looking at your watch

rubbing your nose standing very close to someone

Positive Body language Negative body language

9
 Often, people make the mistake of not smiling while on the phone. While
customers can’t, of course, see you, they can actually hear the smile in your voice.
Smiling while you talk instantly gives your tone a lift and makes you sound friendly
and more welcoming.

3. Shake hands with your partner. Does their handshake tell you anything about
them?
A good handshake is important in customer service! Look at the chart below,
then practice your handshake with your partner.

10
 Greetings

4. Polite / formal English is normally used in customer service.

Can you make these greetings more polite?

a) Hi / Hello
b) What’s your name?
c) What do you want?
d) What do you want me to do?
e) What’s the problem?

5. Can you think of some Scottish greetings that your customers might use?

Indirect questions are polite longer forms of direct questions. We use them
when talking to a person we don't know very well or in formal situations.

Examples:

Direct question: Where is the department store?

Indirect question: Could you tell me where the department store is?

Direct question: What is his name?

Indirect question: Do you know what his name is?

Rule 1: Indirect questions are formed of two parts: a polite expression and a question that
places the verb after the subject unlike a direct question.

Examples:

Direct question: Where is the post office?

Indirect question: Could you tell me where the post office is?

Direct question: What is the time?

Indirect question: Do you know what the time is?

11