Customer Service Tip of the Day

"Sticks & stones may break my bones but words can never hurt me."  When dealing with angry customers just remember, they cannot reach through the phone and physically hurt you!

Customer Service Tip of the Day

"We can­not always oblige but we can always speak oblig­ingly." – Voltaire

Customer Service Tip of the Day

Arrive to work a few minutes early to get settled before helping your first customer.

Customer Service Tip of the Day

Put yourself in the customer's shoes.  How would you like to be treated?  Keep this in mind in everything you do.

Customer Service Tip of the Day

Quality in a service or product is not what you put into it.
It is what the client or customer gets out of it.PETER DRUCKER

Customer Service Tip of the Day

At the end of each call, say "thank you for calling."  This acknowledges that the customer took time out of their day to call!

Customer Service Tip of the Day

Take advice from Walt Disney: Do what you do so well that they will want to see it again and bring their friends.
 WALT DISNEY

Customer Service Tip of the Day

Turn off your cell phone at work so you are not distracted! (Your customers can tell when you're not 100% there!)

Customer Service Tip of the Day

Use "Sir" and "Ma'am" to address military customers.  This is very respectful!

Customer Service Tip of the Day

Keep background noises to a minimum so the customer can hear you better.

Customer Service Tip of the Day

Keep positive letters and emails you receive from customers as a reminder when you're feeling down.  What's the kindest feedback you've ever received?

Customer Service Tip of the Day

Ask the customer to spell their name.  This will ensure that all correspondence has their name spelled correctly on it.

Customer Service Tip of the Day

Take a walk on your lunch break.  You'll return revitalized and ready to take on the afternoon!

Customer Service Tip of the Day

Listening is the most important aspect of customer service.

Customer Service Tip of the Day

End each call with "thank you for calling."  This leaves customers on a positive note!

Customer Service Tip of the Day

Avoid using slang as it often leads to miscommunication!

Customer Service Tip of the Day

Attitude is a self-fulfilling prophecy.  A positive attitude breads positive responses.

Customer Service Tip of the Day

Feeling sleepy?  Grab a glass of ice water to perk you up!

Customer Service Tip of the Day

Be polite.  You don't have to agree with everything the customer is saying, but you do need to be respectful!

Customer Service Tip of the Day

Before ending the call ask the customer "Have I answered all of your questions today?"

Customer Service Tip of the Day

Say I'm sorry in various ways: I'm so sorry to hear that, I'm sorry that happened, I apologize, I'm sorry that we missed the mark."

Customer Service Tip of the Day

Create an empowering name for your job: Customer Experience Specialist, Customer Service Guru, Customer Happiness Expert.

Customer Service Tip of the Day

Breath deep, it helps keep you calm in tense situations!

Customer Service Tip of the Day

Mirror the customer's intensity.  If they are loud, speak up--they might be hard of hearing.

52 Tips for Amazing Customer Service is Now Available on Amazon.com!

We are happy to announce that our newest book is now available on Amazon.com!

For some people providing amazing customer service comes naturally. For others it takes some practice and hard work. Whether you are a natural or not, everyone can take their customer service to the next level. Learning how to give amazing customer service doesn’t need to be difficult!

This book examines top-notch customer service and shows you 52 small things that can make a huge difference. Tackle one concept per week and improve your customer service without ever feeling overwhelmed! Start with one concept and make that your focus for a week. The following week focus on another concept, all the while incorporating what you learned in the previous weeks. Week after week you will learn valuable skills to set your customer service apart from the rest. Customers will respond to your professionalism and enthusiasm and you may even find your job gets easier as you get better at it!

You can find this book on Amazon.com through this link. This would make a great holiday gift for your customer service team so be sure to check it out! 

Tip of the Day

When presenting options to the customer, ask "Which option would you prefer?"  This puts the customer in the driver's seat.

Tip of the Day

Pay attention to your customers.  They will be able to tell if you are distracted or doing something else besides listening to them!

Have you ever called customer service and could tell the rep was distracted? 

Tip of the Day

Write down the name of each customer that you help.  This will help you remember who you are talking to and you can use their name more often in conversation--making the experience feel more personalized!

Important Email Etiquette Tips

There is no doubt that email is a convenient tool that has made our lives easier.  When used correctly, email helps us be more efficient, creates a written path of what was said to whom, and allows us to correspond with more people in a shorter amount of time.  When used incorrectly, email can make problems worse, upset people, and provide written documentation of things we wish we never said.  Here are some helpful ways to ensure email is used in a positive and productive manner:

1)    Never deliver bad news via email. 

We all know it can be tempting to email a customer when there is bad news.  Rather than calling them and subjecting yourself to the customer’s anger, you type out an email instead.  It is less confrontational and you do not have to deal with the customer directly.  You also do not have the opportunity to turn the problem into a positive interaction.  The customer cannot tell your tone, hear the sincerity in your voice when you apologize, or have a chance to air their concerns. 

Do not be tempted to hide behind an electronic front.  Call the customer and use your excellent customer service skills to smooth over the situation.  It probably is not as bad as you imagine it to be. 

2)    Use email for simple correspondence.

While email is not appropriate in all circumstances, it certainly has its place in today’s world.  Use email to ask simple questions, particularly when dealing with suppliers, carriers, or other internal contacts.  When dealing with customers, use email once a line of communication has already been established.  If it is your first contact, make it by phone.  Ask them follow up questions, touch base with them with updates to their issues, and email them when the issue is resolved to make sure they are completely satisfied.

3)    Keep emails short.

If it takes more than a couple paragraphs to fully explain something, chances are, it is too complex for an email.  It is hard to keep someone’s attention in a long email.  They may be missing out on something important if they skip some of the email.  A long email will likely cause the customer to reply back with an equally long email, and before you know it, it becomes a vicious cycle. 

4)    Use email to recap or confirm conversations.

You did the right thing by calling the customer instead of emailing, but now you are worried about not having a written trail.  After the conversation, send an email confirming what you and the customer just spoke about.  The customer will feel good because you took the time to email them and you will have a written trail just in case.  This is also a good opportunity to make sure you and the customer are on the same page.  There may have been something in your previous conversation with them that was misunderstood, and email follow up is a good means to uncover that.

 

5)    Be professional.

Email does not convey tone, and what you may think is funny, the recipient may interpret as rude.  Stay away from jokes, sarcasm, puns, and abbreviations.  Do not be overly casual in emails either.  This is not a time for you to say “Hey Mel, it was like pulling teeth but I finally got an answer for ya” when “Dear Melissa, I apologize for the delay in getting back to you, I was waiting for an answer” is much more appropriate. 

6)    DO NOT USE CAP LOCKS

In the online world, typing in caps lock indicates yelling.  Many times it is done harmlessly enough, so if someone does it to you, take the high road and do not do it back.

7)    Use email to keep lines of communication open

If you work in an environment where you can openly share your direct email address with customers, do so freely.  This can really work to your advantage!  At the end of a call, if ongoing follow up is needed, ask the customer if they would like your email address to keep in touch.  If they say yes, send them an email with your contact information.  This way they will have a link to you if they need to ask further questions or follow up for some reason.  The worst thing for a customer is to hang up and have another question a minute later, and be forced to call back and go over the whole story again with someone else.  You might be surprised how many customers will email you back with positive feedback!

8)    Be smart.

Never say anything via email that you would not say openly to others.  Email is like a loaded gun, it has the ability to quickly hurt someone with just one flick of the finger.  Yes, that customer is being a pain, and they have called you four times, and you just want them to go away.  And yes, your coworker messed up an order and you had to do the work to fix it.  And yes, this supplier is horrible and you have no clue why you still use them.  But would you want to say any of those things straight to those people?  Probably not.  So do NOT type that in an email.  Anything you write in an email can be quickly disseminated around tens, hundreds, or even thousands of people.  Be smart; if you are not sure you should say it, just don’t.

9)    Be careful of carbon copies (cc) and blind carbon copies (bcc) on emails.

This tip ties in quite nicely with number 8 above.  You received an email from a technician confirming a repair appointment with the customer.  Not realizing they had copied the customer on the email, you replied all “Thank you for doing this so quickly, this customer was crazy and we needed to get this done immediately.”  You were not acting smart with your reply and then you replied all.  You likely have some damage control to do with this customer. 

The same holds true for who you carbon copy on emails.  Read the whole chain of emails to make sure there is no confidential information at the bottom.  Many people have uncovered information they did not want or need to know by being carbon copied on emails that they should not have been copied on.

10) Do not hit send!

While email can make it easier to articulate your feelings, email also makes it easy to be aggressive and say things you would not normally say.  Emails are flying back and forth, tensions are rising, and in the heat of the moment you say something you regret.  The email is sent and there is no getting it back. 

In most emotionally charged situations, it is better to deal with the issue face-to-face, or at least over the phone.  But if it must be dealt with through email, save the email as a draft and re-read it before you send it.  Allowing your emotions to cool down might provide a new prospective.  You may decide to change a few things, or even not to send the email at all. 

Customer Service Tip of the Day

Take a deep breath between each call. This allows you to abandon any bad feelings from the previous call and answer each call with a clean slate.

Customer Service Tip of the Day

Put a smile on your face before you answer each call. Your callers will hear the smile in your voice and react more positively to you.