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    Customer Service In An Instant: 60 Ways to Win Customers and Keep Them Coming Back
    Customer Service In An Instant: 60 Ways to Win Customers and Keep Them Coming Back
    Customer Service In An Instant: 60 Ways to Win Customers and Keep Them Coming Back
    Ebook272 pages2 hours

    Customer Service In An Instant: 60 Ways to Win Customers and Keep Them Coming Back

    By Keith Bailey and Karen Leland

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    About this ebook

    The In An Instant series is a brand of user-friendly, engaging, and practical reference guides on core business topics, which capitalizes on the authors' extensive experience and knowledge, as well as interviews they have conducted with leading business experts. Written in an upbeat and engaging style, the series presents 60 tips and techniques with anecdotes, examples, and exercises that the reader can immediately apply to make their work life more efficient, effective, and satisfying.

    Customer Service in an Instant offers techniques and tips for maintaining customer loyalty, finding new customers, understanding customer concerns, using technology to develop relationships, and developing essential skills for customer service success.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherCareer Press
    Release dateJun 1, 2008
    ISBN9781601638755
    Customer Service In An Instant: 60 Ways to Win Customers and Keep Them Coming Back

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      Book preview

      Customer Service In An Instant - Keith Bailey

      Table of Contents

      Title Page

      Copyright Page

      Dedication

      Acknowledgments

      Introduction

      Chapter 1. Assess Your Working Style

      Exercise: How do you see yourself?

      The Four Core Working Styles

      Chapter 2. Avoid Negative Filters

      Exercise:

      Chapter 3. Backtrack Key Words

      Exercise:

      Chapter 4. Be Web Wise

      Make Your Site Easy to Navigate

      Offer Alternative Contact Options

      Provide Speedy Downloads

      Keep It Simple

      Provide FAQs

      Chapter 5. Beware of Burnout

      1. Exhaustion

      2. Uncertainty

      3. Abrasiveness

      4. Failure

      Chapter 6. Bridge the Language Barrier

      Rephrase, Don’t Shout

      Say I Don’t Understand

      Take It Slow

      Brush Up Your Language Skills

      Practice Polite

      Chapter 7. Build a Bridge

      Chapter 8. Choose Your Level of Conversation

      Level One: The Basic Issue

      Level Two: New Strategies

      Level Three: An Issue of Trust

      Chapter 9. Conquer Complaining Customers

      The Go-for-the-Throaters

      The Quiet-as-a-Mousers

      The High Rollers

      The Whiners

      The Tricksters

      Chapter 10. Counter Coworker Conflict

      Escalating Out of Control

      Smoothing Things Over

      Serving Up Put-Downs

      Chapter 11. Create Customer-Friendly Systems

      Chapter 12. Define Customer Needs

      Chapter 13. Deliver Constructive Criticism

      Chapter 14. Ditch Your Default Response

      Chapter 15. Evaluate Your Service Skills

      0 – 25 Points: Struggling

      26 – 40 Points: Solid

      41 – 60 Points: Stellar

      Chapter 16. Find and Fix E-mail Mistakes

      Chapter 17. Focus on Essence

      Thread 1: Communicating With Others

      Thread 2: Establishing Relationships

      Chapter 18. Gather Feedback

      Chapter 19. Get to Know the People Pleaser

      Exercise:

      Chapter 20. Go the Extra Mile

      Chapter 21. Handle Complaints With Care

      YOU! Doesn’t Mean You

      Thank You and Sorry

      Customer Service In An Instant Every Complaint Is Unique

      Fix It, Don’t Fight It

      Repair the System

      Chapter 22. Hire Some Help

      Chapter 23. Improve Your Listening Habits

      Listen for the Message Underneath

      Filter for Feelings and Facts

      Take Note

      Interrupting

      Chapter 24. Inspire a Learning Environment

      Observing Role Models

      Passive Instruction

      Reflection and Discussion (Coaching)

      Formal Training

      Chapter 25. Integrate Voicemail Excellence

      Answer Your Phone — At Least Some of the Time

      Keep Your Greeting Updated

      Respond to Messages Within 24 Hours

      Encourage People to E-mail You Details

      Provide Options

      Keep Your Greeting Relatively Short and to the Point

      Chapter 26. Keep the Service Message Alive

      Chapter 27. Know Your Stress Response

      Chapter 28. Learn the Art of Complaining

      Write Down the Details

      Be a Polite, Squeaky Wheel

      Move Up the Ladder

      Chapter 29. Locate Your Stress Level

      0 – 5 Points: Green Zone

      6 – 12 Points: Yellow Zone

      13 – 20 Points: Red Zone

      Chapter 30. Make Your Service Tangible

      1. Map Out Your Service Sequence

      2. Define Key Actions

      3. Add Experience-enhancers

      Chapter 31. Manage Abusive Customers

      Offer to Help

      Send Them to a Supervisor

      End the Interaction

      Bouncing Back After a Tough Conversation

      Chapter 32. Master Body Language Basics

      Chapter 33. Navigate a Heated Conversation

      Let ’Em Vent

      Switch Filters

      Show Empathy

      Start Solving

      Mutually Agree

      Follow Up

      Chapter 34. Open to Feedback

      Chapter 35. Pace Your Way to Better Rapport

      Example 1

      Example 2

      Chapter 36. Pay Attention, Really

      Chapter 37. Play With the Passionate Persuader

      Exercise:

      Chapter 38. Practice the Art of the Compliment

      Specifics Win the Day

      It’s All About Character and Qualities

      Handwritten Equals Special

      Sincerity Adds Meaning

      Turnaround Is Fair Play

      Chapter 39. Provide Empathy

      Use Empathetic Phrases

      Make Reflective Statements

      Paraphrase

      Chapter 40. Raise Questions

      Chapter 41. Recover From Service Blunders

      Apologize

      Fix the Problem

      Offer a Recovery Token

      Chapter 42. Redefine Your Service

      Quality of Product

      Ease of Procedures

      The Personal Touch

      Exercise

      Chapter 43. Reframe Your Outlook

      Step 1: Fix What You Can

      Step 2: Identify Your Negative Thinking Patterns

      Step 3: Create a New Perspective

      Chapter 44. Respect the Power Player

      Exercise:

      Chapter 45. Rev Up Your Recognition

      Who?

      What?

      Where?

      When?

      Chapter 46. Say I, Not You

      Take the Think Test

      Chapter 47. Say No With Style

      Exercise:

      Chapter 48. Set Expectations on the Spot

      Chapter 49. Strengthen Service Habits

      Keep Your Word

      Be on Time

      Go the Extra Mile

      Present Alternatives

      Treat Your Customer as the Most Important Part of Your Job

      Chapter 50. Style Step

      Chapter 51. Switch Filters

      Chapter 52. Temper Your Telephone Tone

      1. Modify Your Inflection

      Exercise: Find Your Perfect Pitch

      2. Adjust Your Speed

      3. Vary Your Volume

      Chapter 53. Think Through Outsourcing

      Chapter 54. Treat Your Colleagues as Customers

      Chapter 55. Tune Up Your Telephone Etiquette

      Answering the Phone

      Taking a Message

      Putting Callers On Hold

      Transferring Calls

      Chapter 56. Turn Service Into Sales

      Attention-Grabbers

      Benefit Statements

      Exercise:

      Chapter 57. Understand the Problem Solver

      Exercise:

      Chapter 58. Upgrade Your Influence

      Chapter 59. Walk Your Talk

      Chapter 60. Work Out a Working Styles Profile

      Conclusion

      About the Authors

      About Sterling Consulting Group

      Praise for Past Work

      Watercooler Wisdom

      This book provides a roadmap for unleashing your energy and focusing it on what really matters most to you at work and home.

      Tony Schwartz

      Author of The Power of Full Engagement and

      president of The Energy Project

      An excellent book for anyone who wants to bring more consciousness into the way they work and improve their effectiveness and the way others respond to them.

      Giles Bateman

      Former chairman of CompUSA

      and cofounder of Price Club

      Watercooler Wisdom is an inspiring book that is both well researched and thoughtful. It provides excellent principles and practices that will engage you and show you how to transform the experience of stress in the workplace into personal satisfaction and prosperity. It’s an essential companion for true success.

      Lynne Twist

      Author of The Soul of Money

      This book provides a clever mirror to examine our internal thoughts and habits at work. It gives an opportunity for self-examination and advice that will be long valued by anyone who reads it.

      Melba Pattillo Beals

      Author of Warriors Don’t Cry and

      winner of the Congressional Gold Metal

      Watercooler Wisdom shows us in a clear and simple way that we all have the ability to have a work life that runs like a fine Swiss watch.

      Terry Jones

      Founder of Travelocity

      Watercooler Wisdom is an important read for anyone trying to get ahead in business or life. An insightful look at the best of human emotion at work.

      Tom Latour

      President of the Kimpton Hotel Group

      This book gives important insight on how to thrive in today’s rapidly changing business world and is a must read for aspiring young professionals or anyone wanting to have a successful career.

      Stephen Seligman

      Chief executive officer of The Learning Annex

      This book provides the kind of guidance that ,when taken to heart, helps both seasoned workers and young people entering the work force develop excellent work habits for a lifetime of success and satisfaction.

      Maddy Dychtwald

      Cofounder of Age Wave and author of Cycles: How We Will Live, Work, and Buy

      Smart people will love this book. Like a series of brilliant coaching sessions, each tailored exactly to your personal needs, Water-cooler Wisdom will put you on the positive side of things.

      Raz Ingrasci

      President and CEO of The Hoffman Foundation

      60 Ways to Win Customers and

      Keep Them Coming Back

      Customer

      Service

      In An Instant

      • Master the four core customer styles

      • Learn to say no with service

      • Bounce back from service breakdowns

      Keith Bailey & Karen Leland

      Copyright © 2008 by Keith Bailey and Karen Leland

      All rights reserved under the Pan-American and International Copyright Conventions. This book may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, in any form or by any means electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system now known or hereafter invented, without written permission from the publisher, The Career Press.

      Customer Service in an Instant

      Edited by Kate Henches

      Typeset by Michael Fitzgibbon

      Cover design by Howard Grossman/12e Design

      Printed in the U.S.A. by Book-mart Press

      To order this title, please call toll-free 1-800-CAREER-1 (NJ and Canada: 201-848-0310) to order using VISA or Master Card, or for further information on books from Career Press.

      The Career Press, Inc., 3 Tice Road, PO Box 687,

      Franklin Lakes, NJ 07417

      www.careerpress.com

      Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

      Bailey, Keith, 1945-

           Customer service in an instant : 60 ways to win customers and keep them coming back / by Keith Bailey and Karen Leland.

      p. cm.

            Includes index.

            ISBN 978-1-60163-013-1

            eISBN : 9781601638755

              1. Customer services. I. Leland, Karen. II. Title.

      HF545.5.B3428 2008

      658.8'12—dc22

      2008013033

      To Neomi: Thank you for your quiet wisdom, irreverent humor, and innocent sweetness.

      —Keith Bailey

      To Randy Martin, the smartest person I know when it comes to communication and a master of good old-fashioned common sense: Thanks for all the support.

      —Karen Leland

      Acknowledgments

      Deepest appreciation to our agent Matthew Carnicelli for believing in our idea for a series of business books, and finding them a most welcome home with Career Press. To Kristen Parkes and Michael Pye for guiding us through this process with flexibility. Lastly, to our spouses Jon Leland and Deborah Coffey—without their ongoing support no books would ever be possible and our lives would be considerably less.

      Introduction

      As most corporate giants and small businesses alike have realized, service—both online and off—is a critical concern for surviving and thriving in today’s global, fast-paced, quick-changing, and high-tech business world. We are confident that Customer Service In An Instant will help you learn how to create and project a winning service attitude in the often stress-filled environment of work; discover powerful actions you can take to increase customer loyalty and retention, and apply time-tested techniques for dealing with difficult customers and coworkers.

      Filled with real-world, practical advice gathered from Fortune 500 companies, small businesses, and entrepreneurs around the world, this book is for any manager or employee whose job involves frequent contact with external or internal customers by telephone, e-mail, or face-to-face. It will provide you with the essential skills you need to create the kind of service partnerships that lead to both satisfied customers and staff.

      Chapter 1

      Assess Your

      Working

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