Savoir-Agir@Work

Whether it's via emails or chats, you must pay attention to your tone and how you respond.

A good rule of thumb is to craft a written message and reread it at least twice because you can only hit SEND once!

Here’s an old customer service trick that will help you with your tone. And this goes for phone calls, emails, chats or any customer interaction.

Before you speak (or write) in a snippy way, ask yourself, “Would I talk to my grandma like this?”

Obviously, you can prove your point, and even have the last word. Maybe you’re even in the right.

However, right or wrong, your efforts will be in vain: It is impossible to win an argument with a client.

Your goal is to acquire, retain and grow a loyal customer base, not be right.

If you win the argument, you risk damaging the relationship with the client.

Whether your organization is private or public, this is always a LOSING outcome for YOU.

The customer is not always right …

But they’re still the customer.

We must find a fair solution to respond to their requests while respecting the needs of the organization!

Throughout your customer service career, it is probable that you will be confronted with situations you would have preferred to have avoided. “Big” problems, such as an angry, threatening, aggressive customer are great challenges, but are also rare. However, our days are often seeded with “small” problems or delicate situations that are difficult to manage, based on their trivial-looking nature and the absence of processes and guidelines. When it comes to either saying “no” to a client, share bad news, or give an apology, most people are not comfortable with confronting these delicate situations.

However, these situations are inevitable – one must tackle them. If they’re ignored, they risk becoming difficult situations that are even harder to manage and If ignored, they may become difficult situations to manage and your professionalism and your credibility could be questioned.

When a customer thanks you for your services, avoid responding with “no problem” or “no worries”. Although your intention is good, some customers may get offended. They may wonder why there would be a problem if the task is simply part of your job? Are you implying the customers need could potentially be a hassle or an inconvenience?

Here are a few alternatives for a successful exchange of appreciation:

• • “You’re very welcome.”
• • “It’s my pleasure.”
• • “I’m happy to help.”

Words matter. Choose them carefully, especially when acknowledging a “thank you.”

When working with customers of different cultures we should be aware that the way we communicate and what we communicate can be interpreted differently.

One example is when you are explaining something and the customer is saying yes and nodding his head throughout the interaction. Within our culture we have a tendency to assume that those verbal and non-verbal clues mean they agree to what we are saying and understand what needs to be done. It may be quite frustrating when you realize at the end of it all that he didn’t agree or didn’t understand.

This is a common predicament when working with cultures that favour politeness over frankness.Particularly in Asian countries, it is common for people to agree to do a task even when they don’t know what they're supposed to do rather than ask for further instructions.

To avoid not really knowing whether a customer understands what you are explaining or requesting, ask them to repeat back the information.This way you can work out whether you need to change what you are saying to get your message across.

Remember that politeness over frankness generally means you will find it difficult to have discussions and feedback, you will have to seek it proactively and not expect it naturally.

In any organization of more than two people, there's the opportunity to escalate a problem.

When the software doesn't work, or the customer is in a jam or something's going sideways, you can hand the problem up the chain. Escalation not only brings more energy to the problem, but it spreads the word within the organization. And, even better, it keeps you from losing the customer.

Here's the thing: at some point, organizations start training their people not to escalate. They fear staff will cry wolf, or they get tired of pitching in.

The moment this happens is the moment you begin to give up on your customers.

Either give your front line the power to fix things, on the spot, or encourage them to call for help when it's needed.

Organizations keep making big promises, and service providers struggle to keep those promises.

Sooner or later, it leads to a situation where a broken promise arrives on the customer's lap.

In that moment, what the customer wants most is someone to care.

Professionals do emotional labor all the time. They present the best version of their professional self.

If you care, that's great. If you don't, at least right now, well, it's your job.

Doing it with effort and consistency, is what your customers need from you.

As part of a search term analysis from our users, we found this question: How do we prove a Customer wrong?

It’s always surprising to see that we’re still looking to tell the Customer he is wrong.

Let’s clarify. The Customer is not always right. But he is still the Customer.

You can absolutely make your case, and even have the last word. You might be right. However, right or wrong, your efforts will lead nowhere: the Customer won’t change his mind. Your objective is to offer quality service, not to be proven right. Whether or not your organization is private or public, this is a LOSING result for YOU.

Check out our article “When the Customer is wrong” from October 6h, 2016.

Try this five steps approach:

1. Examine your attitude - Start with the assumption that your coworker actually does care about doing a good job but that he’s as busy as you are.  It is possible that he actually doesn’t care, but that assumption serves no purpose other than to frustrate you.

2. Make sure that your coworker understands why it is important - “We have a sensitive situation to deal with on Friday with customer ABC, and one of the critical pieces is XYZ.  Could you please send me the information on it?”

3. Acknowledging how busy he is - “I know how busy you are…”  Empathy is a relationship builder.

4. Help him help you - “This information is critical to the resolution of the situation.  If there’s anything I can do to help you get me the information by Wednesday, please let me know.”

5. Express appreciation and make it personal - “Thanks in advance Michael, I really appreciate your help on this!”

Work can be messy, unruly and chaotic. Negative emotions can transform simple problems into threats; challenges into ordeals. But most situations do not require panic, crisis or unneeded resistance. 

What may appear to be a difficult situation at work may be an invitation to people’s creativity to reshape challenges, redefine goals, rethink roadblocks, and generally place problems in constructive frames.

Learn to be graciously curious about workplace conflict rather than offended by it and set the tone for future collaborations.

It’s easy to blame the customer, the colleague or the boss for your behavior. Not only it is easy, but often it is also justifiable. They or the way they treat you are the reason for your mood or your actions.

But justifying your actions is simply handing over your control and reacting to the outside world.

The goal isn’t to justify your behavior; the goal is to be effective, to get the result expected, to meet your objectives.

Is your behavior helping or hindering results?

You get to choose how you act, and choosing what works is far more useful than any justification.

Next time you are faced with a difficult person and have not succeeded in dealing with it effectively – step back and do a post-mortem.

Imagine you are the experienced, successful and wise future version of yourself. From that perspective, examine the situation and write down some words of advice for yourself today:

Next time I am dealing with a similar customer…

* The first steps I you need to take are ….

* The words and the attitudes I need to express are …

* The benefits of doing it differently are …

This may sound simple, but problems with customers recurrently begin with simple misunderstandings on either or both sides.

Make sure you fully understand what the customer's complaint is, and really listen to the complaint entirely.

Don't interrupt, think defensively, or break in impatiently – the answer may be a lot simpler than it seems at first.

Sometimes we lose sight of how much of a difference one person can make when it comes to customer service – in good ways and in bad.

You can be that strong link – that person that resolves the issue, regains the trust, and saves the relationship.

Or, you can be that weak link – The one that promised and didn’t deliver, the one that thought no one was listening or watching, the one that finds excuses.

Customer service is a chain, and a chain is as strong as its weakest link… it only takes one for the chain to break.

The initial moments of an interaction can set the tone for the rest of the encounter.

Make sure that you create a positive, professional and trusting impression the moment you greet your customer.

Patience is not only a virtue; it is a necessary skill in order to deliver excellent service.

If you deal with customers on a daily basis, be sure to stay patient when they come to you confused or frustrated. Be sure to take the time to truly figure out what they want, to understand their problems and needs.

But patience shouldn't be used as an excuse for apathetic service either.

Why are service standards important?

Service standards represent an important element for customer service excellence, as well as good yield management. They clarify customer and employee expectations, facilitate results-driven management, and promote customer satisfaction. A standard is an “evaluation base” and a “defined excellence degree” wanted by the organization and by customers. A service standard is a reasonable and measurable expectation from the customer, and an honest commitment taken by the service provider, to attain or surpass expectations.

Service standards have two main goals:

• Establish yield objectives for employees (ex. answer the phone before the third ring)
• Inform customer about what they have the right to expect (ex. wait time under 10 minutes).

When clearly stated, service standards equip the personnel with the right tools to bring customer satisfaction and facilitate engagement.

Service standards for external and internal customers

The principles used to establish service standards directed towards external customers could apply for internal customers as well. Internal customers are those served directly by what we do – employees, departments, teams who receive services directly from colleagues from other divisions in order to, in turn, serve their own customers.

Simply put, an internal customer is any individual who depends on you or count on you to complete a task or function, or to provide information in order for them to do their job.

We are interdependent – excellence in customer service begins in the exchanges between colleagues. The primary objective of standards tied to service is to reach the highest possible level of customer satisfaction. With time, this type of standard improves and increases service quality not only for internal customers, but also to external ones by ricochet, since their needs are satisfied they can offer impeccable service to their own customers in return.

Internal service standards are a commitment to provide products or services of a certain quality level to other teams of our organization. The standards’ elaboration process rests on a clear understanding of what the internal customers expect in terms of level and quality of service.

What is a service standard?

A service standard is a commitment to reach a measurable performance level which customers (internal or external) can expect within their everyday operations. In order to deliver quality service, we must develop service standards that represent the behaviour which the organization / department / team wishes to adopt in front of its clients. A service standard is:

The following criteria must be considered before and while the standards are being established:

How many standards should we have?

You should have standards that are adapted to your organization / department / team’s size, diversity and complexity.

First, we suggest you establish a small number of standards with emphasis on the most critical aspects of your organization / department / team.

You will need an appropriation period for the notion of service standards. Once they’ll have become an integrated lifestyle within your culture, consider widening the range based on customer feedback. Feedback forms or calls / surveys can be used to check on customer comments.

Once the organization / department / team has defined its service standards, they must be announced and become woven within the organizational culture.

Examples of customer service standards

________________________(Name of organization / department / team) aims to provide excellent customer service. Our service standards illustrate our commitment towards __________ (organizational value / principle), __________ (organizational value / principle), and __________ (organizational value / principle). In order to do so, we take the following commitment:

In order to simplify access and use of our service, ____________________ (Name of organization / department / team) vows to:

• Provide service during the normal business hours, being from 8: 30 am to 12 :00 pm and from 1 :00 pm to 4: 30 pm, from Monday to Friday.
• Provide information, upon request, on various supports, such as audio, electronic text and in large characters in order to respond to the needs of individuals with disabilities or impairments.
• Communicate with the customers in the official language of their choice.
• Change its voicemail message daily, stating name, day and availability. If out of office or on vacation, stating the time or day of return, and the name and phone number of the person to contact for immediate help.
• Activate automatic out-of-office messages on email when absent – stating the time or day of return, and the name and email address of the person to contact for immediate help.

Making information available and demonstrating our willingness to help are important aspects to our activities. This is why ____________________ (Name of organization / department / team) vows to:

Customers are guaranteed:

It’s easy and natural to want to tell a customer they are wrong in what they are saying. However, this won’t help you in your efforts to diffuse a customer from getting more upset while sharing a complaint.

Put your ego aside and instead of challenging their complaint, listen to what they are saying, then just as calmly reply by telling them what you have to say.

If customers get angry or start yelling, employ calming techniques to defuse the situation. Keeping your tone of voice even can compel someone who's screaming to lower their voice.

When customers go off on tangents or are indecisive, bring them back to the issue at hand by asking pertinent questions.

Knowing how to identify and handle difficult consumers can help you turn a negative situation into an opportunity to build a stronger relationship.

It's just about impossible to convince a customer that he's wrong. To argue until the customer says, "I was wrong and I will change my mind." It is more effective to help the customer make a new decision, based on new options and a new perspective.

John never includes the proper documentation when submitting his requests to accounting. Sam at shipping never answers the phone from customer service reps who are dealing with unhappy clients about not getting their delivery. Diana never pitches in to help when her coworkers are overloaded.

Undoubtedly the most neglected aspect of customer service is internal customer service. It's unfortunate, because it plays a crucial role in an organization's ability to deliver outstanding service to its external customers.

Customers who complain are actually giving you another opportunity to prove them that you really offer quality service despite a shortfall.

Be prepared to deal with complaints as seamlessly, professionally and graciously as possible. When you do, they share their new experience with others about the strong customer care they received from you... and this old-fashioned way of getting a good reputation never goes out of style.

We believe that by providing a "WOW" customer experience, we ensure customer’s satisfaction. As a result, we tend to focus on big, new initiatives.

Research shows that focusing on the ‘Big’ things and overlooking the ‘Little’ things may be a really big mistake when it comes to customer service and how our brains work.

Most customers will be happy if things just work, first time, easily and all of the time.

Minimize their disappointments, fix the little things that often go wrong and avoid negative surprises; and it's pretty likely that you'll create happy customers.

One way to deal with criticism and complaints is to not insist on proving your clients that you are right and they are wrong.

It's tempting to challenge criticism, to explain your procedures, to justify the choices. When you do that, it makes it more difficult for the client to share his truth, to feel heard, and the back and forth it generates inevitably escalates the tension.

Instead... Accept the feedback. Don't judge. Sit on the same side of the table and search the best path forward.

It’s essential that you satisfy your customers, but not every customer knows the value to your service or understands what it is that you do.

If 1% of your clientele doesn't appreciate your service, doesn't approve of what you are saying … You know what?  it's quite okay.

If you insist on getting every single customer to be satisfied by overcompensating, making exceptions, and overwhelming people with fine print, you've just signed up to disregard and alienate 99% of your customers.

Stop focusing on the 1%  at the expense of everyone else.

Deal with an overly-talkative person by asking a question that signals that the conversation is coming to a close. Such as "Can I answer any other questions before I get back to work?"Or saying something that psychologically prepares your caller to the end of the conversation:

• "Before hanging up, I wanted to tell you that ..."

• "One last thing before hanging up ..."

I believe that the customer has the right to quality service.

I am proactive. I am confident. I am empathetic.

I’m convinced I am part of the solution, not the problem.

I am reliable. I am available. I am obliging.

I am surprised by everything I’m able to do.

I give my best to every customer and I create a positive atmosphere.

I promise less… and I give more!

I am patient. I am calm. I am courteous.

I am a service professional. 

The old saying “kill them with kindness” could not be truer in a situation with a customer complaining. But rather than smile and pretend to care, genuinely let them know you are thankful they are sharing with you their complaint. Tell them that you appreciate that they are taking the time to talk to you about their concern and you want to make sure you understand exactly what they are saying. Then … actually listen to what they have to say. This opens up the opportunity for dialogue and problem solving.

One of the most common reasons for customers to be ungrateful is that they start to perceive that you and the people they deal with just don't care. Data points to the fact that customers will stop appreciating us when they feel we have stopped appreciating them. That's where a focus on customer service and customer service training pays off.