Communicating with Customers - A Process

When we communicate with customers, there are four key stages that we should progress through. These are…

Open & Initiate

Be prepared – Anticipate the needs of the customer, with information already to hand.

Welcome – Greet customers professionally and convey a positive attitude through your tone of voice, body language and general demeanour.

Position – Where you are contacting the customer, explain the purpose and benefit to them and check that they understand and agree to the conversation. Where you are being contacted by the customer, provide a clear response to acknowledge their needs and ensure you are best placed to help them.

Gather Information

Listen – Remember the facts conveyed by the customer and the feelings behind their message. Ensure you note their concerns and are able to understand and appreciate their requirements.

Ask – Question customer effectively to understand their situation and what is important to them.

Restate – Ensure customer realises you understand what is being said and agree to what is being asked where relevant

Solutions & Options

Offer Information and options – Give customer information that helps them. Provide options and choices. Use explanations that are clear and free from jargon.

Set expectations – Be clear with the customer about what you can and cannot do. Be specific.

Explore further needs and gain agreement – Ask good questions. Try to assess level of agreement. Promote the available solutions.

Confirm & Close

Ask for a decision – Ensure you clearly, precisely and confidently ask for a commitment from the customer.

Summarise and check – Review the key points with the customer and check that they are happy.

Thank them – Make your customers feel important by leaving a positive message.

Follow up – Do what you said you would do. If someone else deals with the customer further on, ensure the transition is smooth and all information is passed on.

By following this clear structure, you will ensure all of your customers receive a positive experience each and every time they communicate with you. The process is simple and the tasks within it can be learnt and applied quite easily.

This short excerpt is taken from our training course materials on, 'Communicating with Customers', which you can purchase from our website at Trainer Bubble.

A Customer Care Disaster, or ill-advised PR stunt?

Whilst perusing the internet today, I came across what seems a very bizarre response to a customer complaint that has apparently gone viral on the internet. The company in question is Australian based clothing retailer, 'GASP'. The original story comes from an article that appears in, 'The Herald Sun' and you can take a full look at the complete story including the original complaint on their website.

I was left scratching my head with this one, as I can't be sure if it is a really poor response to a customer complaint or an even worse attempt at publicity. Now, if it is publicity they want, then I am stoking the flames here (as well as many other sites), but surely this is not good publicity? Take a look at the response to the complaint below. To set the scene, the complaint was regarding a customer that went into one of their stores to purchase a dress only to be harassed by the member of staff who was rude about the ladies dress size, amongst other things, when she showed reluctance to purchase. Here is their 'customer service' response...

Dear Keara O'Neil,

Having now had the privilege of having both version of events, I am now in a position to respond to your complaint.

From the very outset, one thing that you should be mindful of is; Our product offerings are very, very carefully selected, so to ensure that we do not appeal to a broad customer base. This is something which is always at the forefront of our minds when undertaking buying duties.

The reason for this is to ensure that we only carry products which appeal to a very fashion forward consumer. This by default means that the customer whom is acclimatised to buying from "clothing for the masses" type retailers, is almost frightened by our range, sometimes we have found that this type of customer, almost finds our dresses funny, and on occasion noted comments such as 'it looks like a dead flamingo'. When we receive comments like this, we like to give ourselves and our buyers, a big pat on the back, because we know we are doing our job right, and modus operandi is being upheld.

Our range is worn by A list celebrities to the likes of Kim Kardashian, Selena Gomez and Katy Perry to name only a few. Now, as one might appreciate, the style counsel for these types of celebrities are not ones to pick "run of the mill" type clothing, and they do so on the basis to ensure that the styles are cutting edge, and only worn by a select few. Similarly these items are priced such that they remain inaccessible to the undesirable.

Insofar as our employee goes; Similar to our product offerings, our employees are selected with a similar approach. Chris whom served you is a qualified stylist whom has a sixth sense for fashion, and Chris's only problem is that he is too good at what he does, and as I am sure you are aware, people whom are talented, generally do not tolerate having their time wasted, which is the reason you were provoked to leave the store.

Whilst I concede that you work for chain retailer, unfortunately that does not make us like for like. It is probably fair to assume, a lot of what I have said in this email, either doesn't make sense to you, or you totally disagree with it all, which is what I would expect (unless of course I have you totally wrong – which I doubt).

Let me guess, you would never, ever hire Chris in the course of your duty, would you? This is the very reason, why your comment "from one retailer to another" is so disproportionate, it's almost as though we are in a totally different industries. Chris is a retail superstar, who possess unparalleled ability, and I am sorry you feel upset by him, but he knew you were not going to buy anything before you even left your house.

So if you would like to do us any favours, please do not waste our retail staff's time, because as you have already seen, they will not tolerate it. I am sure there are plenty of shops that appease your taste, so I respectfully ask that you side step our store during future window shopping expeditions.

Thank you for your enquiry.

But it doesn't end there. GASP replied to the criticism of their response with this:

We respect that not all consumers strive for a glamorous appearance; some prefer to simply blend in. [...] We respect and welcome all customers whom wish to visit our store, even though the intention to buy may not exist. But we ask that their opinions be expressed through blogs, social media or around a warm latte, but certainly not inside our stores.

So, having taken a look at this really badly worded response, what do you think? Publicity stunt, or poor customer service? Whatever it is, if I was the boss, I'd be having a rethink about the people working for me and an even harder consideration about what customer service training or even complaint handling training my staff need.

Worst Customer Compaints - Top Ten

All business owners have to deal with difficult customers at some point but how do your experiences compare with the 10 worst complaints one small company faced in 2009?

Clients are hard to win and even harder to keep, but there are a select few who can make life particularly difficult. Spare a thought then for online retailers Prezzybox.com, who last year had to deal with a client who wanted to return a used toilet brush – this being just one of the many zany gripes they received from clients last year.

Read on for the company's top 10 weird complaints of 2009:

• A gentleman from Leeds was keen to return the green Slanket (or blanket with sleeves) that he had purchased for his wife because her hair was ginger and it would have made her look like a Leprechaun.
  
• A toilet brush was sent back after being used to clean an especially dirty toilet.
  
• A Glaswegian male called Trading Standards after the bars of his football table went rusty. He had left it standing outside for two years without covering it.
  
• A Candy Bra was returned after already having been opened and nibbled.
  
• One unhappy customer sent back a '20 Questions’ gadget, which guesses the object you are thinking about. After answering correctly 37 times, it had failed to guess a disposable nappy during game 38.
  
• A 'Pets Eye View Camera' was returned after a female shopper indicated that the filming was not as 'exciting' as she had hoped.
  
• A 'Puppy Bumperstop Doorstop' was sent back by one client because, although it kept the door open, their pet hamster kept bumping into it when running around in his exercise ball.
  
• A lady returned her 'Henry Hoover Desk Tidy' because its smile was neither big nor happy enough to cheer her up in the office.
  
• A female customer sent back her 'Tipsy Feet' fold-up shoes because she was concerned about the fact that she continued to fall over when walking home after a night out with friends.
  
• A customer complained that the moods suggested by their 'Oggz Colour Changing Mood lights' did not reflect the atmosphere correctly.

Dealing with customer complaints can be one of the most challenging parts of customer service. Visit www.trainerbubble.com to view our training materials on customer service and dealing with customer complaints. By training your team in the art of dealing with customers, you will ensure a positive relationship with your customers and continued sales.

Honesty video - Great for Customer Care training

This video is great to use in training sessions where you want to demonstrate what is really going on during customer conversations...

Low cost, or, customer service?

So, Ryanair seem to have upset a lot of people again with their plans to charge people £1 to use the toilet on one of their flights. It begs the question, what is more important, low cost or customer service?

Ryanair would no doubt argue that the fact they charge people for heavier luggage, eating and now possibly going to the toilet, means that they can keep their low cost flights at the smallest costs possible and if people really want more than to be flown to their destination, they will have to pay for it. In a lot of ways, this is reasonable, after all you know what you are getting when you sign up and if you expect first class service, then you'll have to pay for it (with another airline).

I heard a story of a Ryanair staff member who was rude to a customer and upon complaint was told that if you wanted great service, which I guess included being treated politely, you should pay for it. The trouble as I see it is that people want both. They want to pay a cheap price for things, but when they don't get exceptional service as well (this includes the 'extras' mentioned above), they are not happy. Is this reasonable? Well, to a certain degree it has to be. After all, without customers, no company will succeed and they can always vote with their feet.

What you cannot deny though, is that Ryanair is a very successful airline. So, are they right or wrong in their approach? Well, to be honest I'm undecided. I could argue that people who book Ryanair know what they are going to get, but then in the same breath, I put my customer care hat on and say that all companies should work towards providing exceptional customer service.

Whatever my thoughts are, the ultimate truth is that the success of the company will provide the answer. Because, I suspect, people will still book flights with Ryanair and continue to complain about them...after all, we all enjoy a moan don't we?

I think the following image provides a perfect example of this...

Complaints Are Good For Business

We may not like handling complaints, particularly if we have a customer screaming at us like a demented banshee. However, there is a certain satisfaction in being able to remain calm and professional and being able to turn around a bad situation.

Successful organisations encourage unhappy customers to complain and make sure that their people are trained to handle complaints well. This is because they know that complaints are good for their business.

There has been a lot of research into this subject and it all points to the fact that most unhappy customers do not bother to complain. This may seem to be a good thing as it leads to a quiet life. However, the problem is that these people simply take their business elsewhere. In fact, as many as 95% of complaining customers take this approach. This means that only about 1 in 20 bother to complain. Can we really afford to lose the other 19?

This would be a pity because most of the problems that make people unhappy can be resolved easily. Yet you are never given the chance to put the situation right. It is also a shame because good complaint handling leads to customer loyalty. Research suggests that most customers whose complaints are dealt with quickly and well become loyal customers returning again and again.

Complaints are also important because they may be the only way you can ever find out that there is a problem with your products and services and the general health of the business. Only by becoming aware of these problems it is then possible to put them right for the future and consequently to improve the business.

This all suggests that rather than discouraging people from complaining we should be publicising our complaints procedures. We also need to have a system for recording all complaints so that we can quickly spot any trends that need attention. It is also vital that we don’t neglect staff training. After all, we do need to make sure that the complaints we receive are handled well. We don’t want to make a bad situation even worse.

This article was written by Karl Halliwell who is one of the course designers for Trainer Bubble training resources. Visit Trainer Bubble today to find out more about our complaint handling course materials.

When Anger turns to Rage - The Difference

Phone Rage is on the increase in the world of business. So what's the difference between anger and rage?

“Anger is only a natural reaction; one of the mind's ways of reacting to things that it perceives to be wrong. While anger can sometimes lead people to do shocking things, it can also be an instinct to show people that something isn't right.”

Anger is a feeling that we all encounter from time to time, and frequently we experience it as a response to frustration, hurt, disappointment, and threats (real or imagined). It is often related to a perceived loss of control over factors affecting our integrity—our beliefs and how we feel about ourselves. In some cases, the anger has to do with the inability of others to meet our own unrealistic expectations.

The rational expression of anger in response to these concerns can offer several benefits. Most important is the mobilising of inner resources needed to overcome fear. When we feel angry, we have some confidence in responding to the danger or threat.

Fear leads to flight; anger sustains fight. While rational anger can be constructive in feeling competent to confront a threatening situation, we may react to the threat with more anger than is warranted. However, anger in itself is not necessarily a problem and can often be managed to resolution.

Rage is the accumulation of unexpressed anger and perceived disrespectful transactions that finally flow to the surface. When we become enraged, usually there is the belief that someone is deliberately attempting to incite us to become angry. Within this ego-bruised state, we are convinced that trying to be reasonable will prove to be ineffective, and therefore we will need to “even the score” or methodically disarm the offending party. It is when this rage surfaces that we become difficult to deal with.

“Sometimes when I'm angry I have the right to be angry, but that doesn't give me the right to be cruel.” ~ Author Unknown

It is important to make the differentiation between ‘rage’ and ‘anger’ as we might often encounter anger from a caller when they are dissatisfied, but when this anger becomes vehement, aggressive or even personally abusive we can consider it rage. Often, badly handled anger will turn to rage as the customer becomes more out of control.

This article is an excerpt from the Trainer Bubble training materials on 'Dealing with Phone Rage', which can be purchased from our website at www.trainerbubble.com

Customer Care - Some Facts

Effective customer care is critical to the success of any business. Without positive relationships with our customers no business can survive in today’s competitive marketplace. Just consider the amount of customers you have had up until now, imagine what things would be like if they all disappeared overnight!

Customer care has changed immensely over the years. Our customers have become less tolerant and more demanding. It is a huge challenge for us to meet these demands. However, the answers are within us all.

We all know that customers who are happy with the service we provide are more likely to purchase again and recommend us to others. You may even know that customers that are very impressed with our service rather than just satisfied are willing to pay higher prices for our products. What you may not know is…

• If we can retain 5 percent more of our customers we increase profit by 100%
• It costs 5 times more money to get new customers as it does to keep them
• The average customer that has a bad experience tells 9 other people
• The average customer that has a good experience tells 3 other people
  If a complaint is resolved 70% of customers will do more business.
• Resolve it quickly and this increases to 90%

Visit Trainer Bubble today and download our training resources on customer care to develop effective teams who focus on customers and their needs.

Effective Customer - A Few Simple Facts

Effective customer care is critical to the success of any business. Without positive relationships with our customers no business can survive in today’s competitive marketplace. Just consider the amount of customers you have had up until now, imagine what things would be like if they all disappeared overnight!

Customer care has changed immensely over the years. Our customers have become less tolerant and more demanding. It is a huge challenge for us to meet these demands. However, the answers are within us all.

We all know that customers who are happy with the service we provide are more likely to purchase again and recommend us to others. You may even know that customers that are very impressed with our service rather than just satisfied are willing to pay higher prices for our products. What you may not know is…

• If we can retain 5 percent more of our customers we increase profit by 100%

• It costs 5 times more money to get new customers as it does to keep them

• The average customer that has a bad experience tells 9 other people

• The average customer that has a good experience tells 3 other people

• If a complaint is resolved 70% of customers will do more business. Resolve it quickly and this increases to 90%

This short excerpt is taken from the Trainer Bubble training course material on Effective Customer Care. You can download this training resource at our website - Trainer Bubble

Effective Customer Care - Mind the GAP's

Providing effective customer care is crucial to the success of any business. We all realise this, and yet at times it feels that no matter how much we meet and exceed customer’s needs, they still want more. So, are customers becoming more demanding? Is customer care slipping? How can we keep up the momentum? I believe I have the answers, but first, let me take you on a journey...

I had decided to take a holiday in a 5 star resort in Thailand. My partner and I were greeted at the baking hot airport by a hotel driver in an air conditioned Mercedes and taken directly to the foyer of the luxury hotel. While we signed in our luggage was ferried off to our room and we were asked to relax in the comfortable chairs with a chilled, refreshing drink. The air conditioning above gently pumped out cool air as the smiling receptionist quietly enquired about our trip, whilst efficiently taking our information. After several minutes a golf buggy pulled up next to the reception and we were driven the 100 yards to our villa on the complex.

As we entered our room we were hit by the smell of fresh flowers and the sight of crisp, fresh, white sheets on the bed. We opened our luggage, which had been placed carefully by the wardrobe, grabbed our bathing costumes and immediately headed for the pool.

At the pool we were greeted by a member of staff that had not only reserved a seat in the shade for us, but also provided clean white towels for us to lay on. While we relaxed, our every whim was met by a smiling member of staff who seemed to instinctively know when you were getting too hot and needed a complimentary drink or one of the hotels famous 'alcoholic ice pops'.

Now I'm not just saying this to make you jealous, there is a message to this story because this service was way above anything I had ever experienced in my life. I simply had not been treated so well at any point up until that time. It truly was the 'exceptional customer experience' that you hear what seem to be urban myths about. By the third day I was starting to get really used to it, I stopped with please and thank you and began to really just relax and enjoy the experience. That's about the same time things took a turn for the worse...

On the fourth day we turned up at the pool and the staff member was not there. The towels had been carefully laid out at a table for us to collect and my partner and I managed to get our usual sun lounger with the parasol above it (although I had to put it up). When the staff member turned up about 1 hour later I called him over as by then I really needed a drink (there was a bar by the pool, but I didn't feel inclined to walk over to it). I asked him why he had not been there first thing and he explained to me that he had to help out at the front desk as a large party of guests had arrived and there was not enough cover. I was pretty irritated by this and it was only when my partner suggested that if I didn't stop complaining to her she was going to throw me in the pool that I relaxed again. I have to say it spoiled things somewhat though and from that point on I started to look for things that weren't quite right.

Now, I consider myself an easy-going type of person, one who is level-headed and fair. I am not the type to get easily agitated and if I'm honest I would say that whilst writing about my 'bad' experience I am a little embarrassed by my thoughts at the time. However, this for me is the true issue as far as customer care is concerned.

When a business, quite rightly, attempts to exceed customer expectations then they have to be prepared to accept that very soon this becomes the norm. If the hotel that I visited had not made my experience so fantastic in the first place I would have been none the wiser. However, once they had made that expectation any slip in standards would be deemed 'bad service'. This is the challenge that all businesses face, which I call, 'Minding the GAP's'.

GAP stands for Good, Accepted and Poor, which are the three levels of standard that customers grade a business by. Unfortunately, customer care is not as easy as always staying in the ‘good’ area. As you will have seen from my example, after a while the good merely becomes the accepted, which if not met, becomes poor.

It truly is a conundrum, which can only be resolved by hard work, determination and a little bit of inventiveness.

Firstly we need to ensure that the people providing customer care appreciate that the GAP process happens. Once they understand the concept, they can be more prepared to realise why customers become seemingly ‘ungrateful’ for the wonderful service they provide and therefore maintain a positive mindset.

In any business we need to have an element of ‘thick skin’ and if the person providing service does not see the benefits and reasoning behind effective customer care and the value that working in the ‘good’ area provides, then the battle is lost. The concept of exceeding expectations must be valued by the individual and they need to appreciate how working in the ‘good’ area will improve their personal working experience.

Once the team understand the concept of GAP, they can start to identify what the specific ‘good’ and ‘accepted’ are for the business; this will help them to relate to the customer experience in a way that they probably hadn’t considered before. It is no good telling members of staff what must be done. If they have no reason to buy into this concept, then it will not happen it’s as simple as that. To buy into something you have to feel part of it. This can be achieved by allowing the team to develop their own thoughts on the matter.

The team should also be encouraged to develop the next ‘good’ elements. What are the extras they can do to further exceed the customer expectations? What will provide that wow factor? If the culture of inventiveness can be developed within the values of a team, you will create a wonderful working environment and truly become masters of customer care and perhaps then you can holiday in Thailand off the proceeds!

Visit Trainer Bubble where you can download our fantastic training resource on Effective Customer Care, which gives you all the course materials you need to run an exceptional training event.