Quality customer service
PROJECT 1
Reasons for customer service problems include the following:
1. Not listening to or collecting information from customers.
It is surely self-evident that listening to the customers is fundamental to providing a high level of customer care. Self-evident it may be, but surprisingly few organisations and individuals possess and use good listening skills. People are all so very different. We come from such a wide variety of backgrounds and cultures. We all have different ways of thinking and differing priorities - so much opportunity for misunderstanding. Often, nobody even tries to listen to customers. Even when it seems that someone is listening, it usually means that they are busy thinking of what to say next.
All manner of problems emerge if we don’t listen to customers:
a) Customers don’t get what they thought they had ordered
b) Assumptions are made, often leading to enormous problems
c) We fail to pick up a particular customer’s unique needs
The key skills of listening to customers are the following:
Concentration
Unless we concentrate on what the customer is saying, we are not listening effectively. We will miss important clues about what the customer is really trying to say to us. What do we concentrate on? Just the words or perhaps the facts? Do we find ourselves paying attention to mannerisms or accent? Concentrate on what the person is trying to communicate and don’t simply pay undue attention to the words they choose, and how they use them. Some customers may not have the vocabulary or confidence to eloquently state their needs. But if you concentrate, you will be able to hear what they are really trying to say.
Questioning and encouraging customers to talk
Asking questions is good for all sorts of reasons. Firstly, it gets the customer talking, which is useful in itself. Secondly, the last person to ask a question is always in control - useful to keep conversations on track.
Empathy
Empathy, in this context, means being
Reasons for customer service problems include the following:
1. Not listening to or collecting information from customers.
It is surely self-evident that listening to the customers is fundamental to providing a high level of customer care. Self-evident it may be, but surprisingly few organisations and individuals possess and use good listening skills. People are all so very different. We come from such a wide variety of backgrounds and cultures. We all have different ways of thinking and differing priorities - so much opportunity for misunderstanding. Often, nobody even tries to listen to customers. Even when it seems that someone is listening, it usually means that they are busy thinking of what to say next.
All manner of problems emerge if we don’t listen to customers:
a) Customers don’t get what they thought they had ordered
b) Assumptions are made, often leading to enormous problems
c) We fail to pick up a particular customer’s unique needs
The key skills of listening to customers are the following:
Concentration
Unless we concentrate on what the customer is saying, we are not listening effectively. We will miss important clues about what the customer is really trying to say to us. What do we concentrate on? Just the words or perhaps the facts? Do we find ourselves paying attention to mannerisms or accent? Concentrate on what the person is trying to communicate and don’t simply pay undue attention to the words they choose, and how they use them. Some customers may not have the vocabulary or confidence to eloquently state their needs. But if you concentrate, you will be able to hear what they are really trying to say.
Questioning and encouraging customers to talk
Asking questions is good for all sorts of reasons. Firstly, it gets the customer talking, which is useful in itself. Secondly, the last person to ask a question is always in control - useful to keep conversations on track.
Empathy
Empathy, in this context, means being