Effective Customer Care

Key Objective…

To assist you to be aware of

the significance of customer
care and to identify how your
performance can impact on
the customer experience.
Session 1: What is Customer
Care?

Definition of Customer Care

Customer Expectations
Benefits of good Customer Care
Customer Awareness
Bold Goals
Moments of Truth
Definition of Customer Care…

Feeling concern and interest in someone

who has entered a business to buy a product
or obtain a service.

This brings out the fact that a person can be

a customer without having to spend money.
Basic rule of customer care…

 Put yourself in the customers shoes; see

the situation as they do.
“Moments of Truth”

"Essentially, Moments of Truth are those

contacts between companies and customers
where a firm's reputation are at stake.“
Moments of Truth
 Each time you meet with a customer, or
potential customer, is a chance to make a
positive impression on that person. These
encounters can be described as "Moments
of Truth".
Moments of Truth
 It is important to identify when these
Moments of Truth occur and to manage
them to ensure you make the best possible
impression on the customer
Benefits of excellent Customer
Care
Feel good factor Improved Return/ Fewer
is high/enjoy reputation repeat business complaints
going to work

Less stress for Greater job Happy boss Improved team

mgt and staff security spirit, staff
morale and
motivation

More enjoyable Greater staff Improved Greater chance

work loyalty and communication of word of
atmosphere retention within the mouth
business advertising
Why does poor Customer Care
happen?
 Lack of incentive
 Complacency  Poor knowledge
 Lack of support  No team spirit or
 No real training motivation
 Staff under pressure  Lack of awareness
What skills do we need to use?

Attitude
Appearance
Communication-listening, talking, reading,
writing
Observation of standards and body language
Assertiveness
Customer Care Skills

There are 8 main customer care skills that

need to be displayed when serving the
customer…
1. Appearance
2. Observation
3. Listening
4. Body Language and Facial Expression
5. Talking
6. Assertiveness
7. Attitude
8. Behaviour
Appearance…
 The appearance of yourself and the other
members of staff in your team will say a
lot about the standards within your
operation.

 Remember: You are only as strong as the

weakest link in your staff chain.
Observation
 It’s easy to miss shortfalls in standards
because of familiarity.

 Keep your eyes open.

 Try to stand back and look at your

workplace in an objective way.
Listening

 If we fail to listen to the customer they

will feel that we do not really care about
them and therefore not return.

 The 2 main ways of listen attentively are:

1. Physical attending
2. Psychological attending
Physical Attending:
 Face the speaker
 Maintain eye contact
 Maintain an open posture
 Lean towards the speaker
 Stay relatively relaxed
Psychological attending:
Listen to what is being said:
 Listen for the central theme rather than the facts
 Keep an open mind
 Think ahead
 Analyse and evaluate
 Do not interrupt
 Interpret a tone of voice
 Evaluate the non-verbal signs
Body Language & Facial
Expression
 Reading and understanding body language
is an essential part of listening. If our
body language does not reflect the words
that we are using then the customer will
not believe us.

ie. Non-verbal behaviour

Identify expressions…
 Eyes up avoiding contact
 Looking down
 Arms folded
 Arms outstretched
 Upright/good posture
 Face set
Talking
 Golden Rule!

 Acknowledge the customer as soon as

possible!
Talking
 When talking to the customer we must
not…

 Discuss politics, religion, gossip

 Complain about the company
 Moan, moan and moan again!
 Talk over the customers head!
Assertiveness
When dealing with customers there are 3
types of behaviour we can employ:

1.Aggressiveness,
2.Assertiveness
3.Submissiveness.
 We should try to apply an assertive
manner at all times.
 By being assertive you remain in control,
have greater self confidence and earn the
respect of others.
Attitude & Behaviour
 The way we behave with customers is all
important.
 We must display a positive approach and
be courteous at all times.
Remember…

 Each customer is an individual.

 Be enthusiastic-it’s infectious!
 Courtesy costs nothing
 Treat people as individuals. Use their
name.
Session 3: Making it Happen
Reviewing our current position
Making improvements
Setting standards
Key tests of good Customer Care
What if it all goes wrong? Handling
complaints
Key Test of Good Customer Care:
Keep your The 5 second Documentation Five minute
service telephone response within maximum
promise response 2 days waiting time

Positive Proactive Honesty and Systems

employee Communicatio openness reliability
attitudes n

Being in the Little Extras Attention to Immaculate

know detail Appearance
Set Standards
 By putting procedures in place all
customers will be dealt with in a
professional and efficient manner
 Thus ensuring you have a satisfied
customer network
Examples

 You should have answers to common queries

at hand
 Promises to customers must be realistic and
acted upon within the agreed time frame
 Customer must be notified of delays
When dealing with a complaint…
Do...
 Show empathy/concern
 Use their name if you can
 Listen
 Take notes
 Let them make their case
 Ask questions to clarify detail
 Confirm with them that you have got it right
Do…
 Gather your version of events before
replying
 Tell them what you propose to do
 Ensure they are happy
 See it as an opportunity to cement the
relationship and encourage more business
When dealing with a complaint…
Do Not…
Say “it’s not my fault”
Say “you’re the fifth today to complain about
that”
Interrupt
Jump to conclusions
Do not…

 Accept responsibility until you are sure it’s your

fault
 Be patronising
 Argue
 Lose your temper
 Blame others
The Listen Technique
 Lend an ear to the customer’s problem-do not
interrupt
 Identify the important points
 Sympathise- “I’m sorry” acknowledges
something went wrong-not taking the blame
 Thank the customer for taking the time to tell
you what happened
 Explain what can be done
 Now act quickly-don’t give further cause for
complaint!
Language

 Sometimes the words that are used in

communication cause the message to be
misinterpreted. This can happen if imprecise
words are used e.g. “sort of” or “things” also
technical jargon can be confusing if it is
unfamiliar to the other person.
Customer Service Language
 AVOID NEGATIVE LANGUAGE
– - Possibly-maybe-perhaps
– - We might be able to do this
– - I hope that will be ok
 USE POSITIVE LANGUAGE
– - I am sure that will be sufficient
– - I know we can get that for you
– - I am certain you will be pleased with this
Avoid certain words

 TRY – This implies that you are unsure of

whether you can do something – use the
word ensure instead it is positive and
commits you to action which your customer
will believe

LNSS Effective Customer Care

 Use the word ‘Please’ at the start of a
sentence rather than at the end of it as it
becomes an order at the end of a sentence
 ‘OK’ sounds bland, automatic and
disengaged
 Use ‘Certainly’, this conveys warmth and
interest in delighting your customer
 Avoid the word ‘busy’, your customer
should never feel that you are too busy to
look after his/her needs.

 Try saying ‘I will look into this and come

back to you’