Customer loyalty is built on customer relations. The front desk clerk, the counter clerk or even the security guards can make or break your business based on the impression they leave with customers. Whether you are in a service-oriented business, manufacturing, education or the health care field, your goal is to make that first impression lasting and gain loyalty from customers.
No matter what type of business you are in, the following are standard guidelines in handling customer relations:
1.Make the customer feel like royalty when attending to them. Pamper your customers. You must have well-oriented and well-trained customer relations personnel to assist them. Everyone in the selling area or in the place where customers are expected to move around must know their job. Keep your customer relations personnel updated on how to handle customers. This has proven to be an effective way of keep customers and get them to return. Make customers feel like they are part of the company, or a member of your corporate family. Value them.
2.Handle complaints properly. Each one of us has been customers of various establishments. We know that a customer is always right , and as companies we should stand by that principle. The basic steps in handling customer complaints are to listen, validate the complaint and act on it promptly. The key to handling customer complaint is to act quickly. It is said that one dissatisfied customer equates to hundreds of thousands of lost sales, since word of mouth travels. Protect the company from losing more because of one complaint.
The performance of the customer relations department plays an integral part in helping the company sell whatever product or service they are offering. Needless to say, customer relations should be a paramount concern, especially for your front line workers.
Source:
http://blog.allegiance.com
This tid bit comes with permission from
Chris Cottle
VP Marketing
Allegiance
Showing posts with label For all support people. Show all posts
Showing posts with label For all support people. Show all posts
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Hats and Haberdashers
There are many ways to cook up something take Customer service for instance ( I won’t beat around the bush here) we are cooks of a sort. We have the books we read about our craft, we have manuals that tell us what to look for and the Internet to explain what we do not know.
We collaborate with colleagues we ask questions. We get and give an answer that is what we do.
Is what we do what we are? We have a system that contains the following ingredients:
A easy to use (for most) product,
A sales staff to sell it
A development team that makes it better that it was (Believe me it is much better now!) and fixes quickly the things that go wrong.
A talented second level team that can look at something we missed or that is a flaw in the programming or make right the junk file we received.
Then there is us…. The front line. We let the customer know it will be all right and that if not we will make it so. We train, We take orders, and we are the complaint department and vent for the frustrated. We (front line folks) wear many hats. The others however do not.
My Hat is Trainer, Customer relations, and Client services liaison I sell to salesmen the needs of a client I watch our product with great diligence. In my quest to be better I now am reading 4 books at the same time.
I am learning new things all the time, as are you.
We are what we do we do the same thing every day, we bring these systems home with us, The house is not the same place it was before we started here. We become more tolerant of the frustrated child and their homework, The Brooding spouse, the house runs in a different order more efficient than before
We bring to this place the tools we used at other places of employment, refine them into the tools and systems we have today .
What we do for our customers affects what we do for our families and friends. We get to look at things in a different light and see things as they really are. We take all this stuff home with us and mix it with what we already know.
We build relationships with our customers to the point they are almost friends. The closest job to ours is that of Client services they do what we do but without the technical stuff. We service and support our company, product, customers and staff. But most importantly … by assisting all the above mentioned people.
We service ourselves.
Wear Hats.!Lots of Hats! Wear them at work take them home, give them away and you will get more hats in return. We are what we are and we are what we do!
We collaborate with colleagues we ask questions. We get and give an answer that is what we do.
Is what we do what we are? We have a system that contains the following ingredients:
A easy to use (for most) product,
A sales staff to sell it
A development team that makes it better that it was (Believe me it is much better now!) and fixes quickly the things that go wrong.
A talented second level team that can look at something we missed or that is a flaw in the programming or make right the junk file we received.
Then there is us…. The front line. We let the customer know it will be all right and that if not we will make it so. We train, We take orders, and we are the complaint department and vent for the frustrated. We (front line folks) wear many hats. The others however do not.
My Hat is Trainer, Customer relations, and Client services liaison I sell to salesmen the needs of a client I watch our product with great diligence. In my quest to be better I now am reading 4 books at the same time.
I am learning new things all the time, as are you.
We are what we do we do the same thing every day, we bring these systems home with us, The house is not the same place it was before we started here. We become more tolerant of the frustrated child and their homework, The Brooding spouse, the house runs in a different order more efficient than before
We bring to this place the tools we used at other places of employment, refine them into the tools and systems we have today .
What we do for our customers affects what we do for our families and friends. We get to look at things in a different light and see things as they really are. We take all this stuff home with us and mix it with what we already know.
We build relationships with our customers to the point they are almost friends. The closest job to ours is that of Client services they do what we do but without the technical stuff. We service and support our company, product, customers and staff. But most importantly … by assisting all the above mentioned people.
We service ourselves.
Wear Hats.!Lots of Hats! Wear them at work take them home, give them away and you will get more hats in return. We are what we are and we are what we do!
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Do you really know your customer?
Do you really know your customer? Their expectations? , Their needs? Most organizations think they do . . . but there are two sides to every story and you need to clearly define the people you deal with on a daily basis both internally and externally
Why are understanding and managing one s work expectations important? Expectations have a powerful impact on our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors and play a key role in driving our attitudes, whether spoken or unspoken. Research shows that people who have clearly defined, well-communicated expectations find more satisfaction and success in their work than people whose expectations remain unspoken or unrealized.
We as technicians have expectations too. When a customer calls we expect they know what they are doing or have the capacity to follow simple instructions. However in all likelihood they do not! So we refer to the 10 commandments of Technical support and speak to them as if they were our grand parents, taking it slow and easy depending on the feeling we get from them after they describe the issue they are facing. We ask the Socratic questions in hopes they find their own answer, we lead them in the path we wish them to go, and we praise them like children.
We have power too we can either make the experience a good one or a bad one with just a few words or that utterance under our breath that gets overheard. I am a poor practitioner of both and have had my fair share of bad experiences.
One of those experiences has shown her face in the light of a new project. I attempted (unsuccessfully) to assist this person with little experience with the product I was supporting.. She in turn got upset and I attempted to calm her down by being nice she got more and more upset. To the point if I answered the phone with my name she would ask for someone else, because I was a "Condescending little Bastard!" if I didn’t use my name we got along famously. I had a call from an associate, he was working with her to move to the new product. I answered his questions to the best of my knowledge and sent him reference materials as well. I Gave him the advise be careful with this one. She will not tolerate incompetence in any way, you should be factual and use tact while dealing with her as she has higher expectations from us as she does with the product.
Moral to my story?. Be kind, truthful, be confident in your knowledge but I don’t know still is a valid answer. Be humble enough to ask for help. Use your customer skills as a regular customer to deal with one.
Learn from your customers. They are the key to the others in their area of the country. What plays in Peoria won’t play in Miami. We have so much to know about people, we have to know people we have to know ourselves.
Why are understanding and managing one s work expectations important? Expectations have a powerful impact on our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors and play a key role in driving our attitudes, whether spoken or unspoken. Research shows that people who have clearly defined, well-communicated expectations find more satisfaction and success in their work than people whose expectations remain unspoken or unrealized.
We as technicians have expectations too. When a customer calls we expect they know what they are doing or have the capacity to follow simple instructions. However in all likelihood they do not! So we refer to the 10 commandments of Technical support and speak to them as if they were our grand parents, taking it slow and easy depending on the feeling we get from them after they describe the issue they are facing. We ask the Socratic questions in hopes they find their own answer, we lead them in the path we wish them to go, and we praise them like children.
We have power too we can either make the experience a good one or a bad one with just a few words or that utterance under our breath that gets overheard. I am a poor practitioner of both and have had my fair share of bad experiences.
One of those experiences has shown her face in the light of a new project. I attempted (unsuccessfully) to assist this person with little experience with the product I was supporting.. She in turn got upset and I attempted to calm her down by being nice she got more and more upset. To the point if I answered the phone with my name she would ask for someone else, because I was a "Condescending little Bastard!" if I didn’t use my name we got along famously. I had a call from an associate, he was working with her to move to the new product. I answered his questions to the best of my knowledge and sent him reference materials as well. I Gave him the advise be careful with this one. She will not tolerate incompetence in any way, you should be factual and use tact while dealing with her as she has higher expectations from us as she does with the product.
Moral to my story?. Be kind, truthful, be confident in your knowledge but I don’t know still is a valid answer. Be humble enough to ask for help. Use your customer skills as a regular customer to deal with one.
Learn from your customers. They are the key to the others in their area of the country. What plays in Peoria won’t play in Miami. We have so much to know about people, we have to know people we have to know ourselves.
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Ten Commandments of Technical Support: I am copying this from http://seerialmom.homestead.com/I find its humer exactly what we need in this industry. I will be addeing to the foot notes with my own insight as we technicians no matter the company we work for or what we support we are kindered by the fact we work with people.
Thou shalt start thine shift content in the knowledge that ye knowest bushels more than thine customers!
This should be obvious considering they called you and not the other way around, we are at their disposal.
Thou shalt speak humbly to thine customers and forgive them for they knoweth not what they do!
Talk to the customer like it's one of your grandparents, unless of course, you're rude and condescending to them, too! Remember they may know a subject better than you and someday you might be calling them!
Thou shalt not take the name of Bill Gates in vain; for without Him, thou wouldst be flipping burgers!
Let's face it; without Windows, most of us would never have even touched a PC and UNIX users don't need no stinkin' "tech support". But user of our product do.
Thou shalt learn to appreciate the wealth of humor present in all thine calls!
Not sure about you, but I can't help but laugh at people who call saying they're losing "thousands of dollars" because their $14.95 Internet connection was cancelled for non-payment. Humer is a good tool if you are bright and cheerful (sometimes playfull) and relaxed they too will be relaxed, you suddenly appear more confidant.
Thou shalt not forget what it was like to be on the other side of the phone line!
Unless they taught computing skills in kindergarten, you probably had to learn just like everyone else. I'll be the first to admit I was a newbie in the not so distant past!
Thou shalt always leave thine ego at home; arrogance tis NOT a sign of intelligence!
Actually, it's a proven scientific fact that the size of a tech's p*nis is the exact opposite of his arrogance. The more arrogant, the less...well you get the picture, right? If you come accross as a know it all the person on the other end of the line will loose any respect they had for you and loose respect for you company. This will let you loose your job.
Thou shalt listen to thine customer as though he were a toddler and chuckle silently at his mistakes!
I realize that sometimes it's hard not to laugh out loud at some of the irrational things our customers do when it comes to computers. But it's our jobs to give encouragement and praise to the small successes (like when they press "Start"), and to ignore the foibles (like when they ask "is that a small zero or a large zero?")even if it is the fourth time you have spoken to them this week.
Thou shalt make every effort to see the computer through thine customer's eyes and walk them through accordingly!
You and I know what a cursor and an icon are but most new PC owners see nothing more than a flashing line and cute symbols on their screens. Heck, I psych most of my callers out by making them think I can really see their PC as I tell them what to click next. Most of all the best thing you can do while "walking through" a process is be discriptive.
Thou shalt not deface thine employers PC's with thine own software or utilities, unless ye are the employer or ye bury it deeply within many folders!
One of the things I noticed about all techs; they love to personalize and tweak the system they're assigned to. However, more often than not you're sharing the system with others and not everyone loves having to work with the Star Trek theme installed or no hard drive space left from you getting yet another hot game demo or new utility.
Thou shalt not look upon the payscales of other employers; they art nothing more than wolves in sheep's clothing!
Sure, company "B" might be paying $2 more an hour, but they might actually expect you to work, or worse, promise permanency after your probationary period only to let you go instead. I actually saw this happen about a year ago; one guy heard about this "neat" job, decided to go for it, told others who also went and now they're all unemployed. And if they could come back to the original employer, they'd have to start from scratch as a temp.
Amen, So Say We All!!!!
Thou shalt start thine shift content in the knowledge that ye knowest bushels more than thine customers!
This should be obvious considering they called you and not the other way around, we are at their disposal.
Thou shalt speak humbly to thine customers and forgive them for they knoweth not what they do!
Talk to the customer like it's one of your grandparents, unless of course, you're rude and condescending to them, too! Remember they may know a subject better than you and someday you might be calling them!
Thou shalt not take the name of Bill Gates in vain; for without Him, thou wouldst be flipping burgers!
Let's face it; without Windows, most of us would never have even touched a PC and UNIX users don't need no stinkin' "tech support". But user of our product do.
Thou shalt learn to appreciate the wealth of humor present in all thine calls!
Not sure about you, but I can't help but laugh at people who call saying they're losing "thousands of dollars" because their $14.95 Internet connection was cancelled for non-payment. Humer is a good tool if you are bright and cheerful (sometimes playfull) and relaxed they too will be relaxed, you suddenly appear more confidant.
Thou shalt not forget what it was like to be on the other side of the phone line!
Unless they taught computing skills in kindergarten, you probably had to learn just like everyone else. I'll be the first to admit I was a newbie in the not so distant past!
Thou shalt always leave thine ego at home; arrogance tis NOT a sign of intelligence!
Actually, it's a proven scientific fact that the size of a tech's p*nis is the exact opposite of his arrogance. The more arrogant, the less...well you get the picture, right? If you come accross as a know it all the person on the other end of the line will loose any respect they had for you and loose respect for you company. This will let you loose your job.
Thou shalt listen to thine customer as though he were a toddler and chuckle silently at his mistakes!
I realize that sometimes it's hard not to laugh out loud at some of the irrational things our customers do when it comes to computers. But it's our jobs to give encouragement and praise to the small successes (like when they press "Start"), and to ignore the foibles (like when they ask "is that a small zero or a large zero?")even if it is the fourth time you have spoken to them this week.
Thou shalt make every effort to see the computer through thine customer's eyes and walk them through accordingly!
You and I know what a cursor and an icon are but most new PC owners see nothing more than a flashing line and cute symbols on their screens. Heck, I psych most of my callers out by making them think I can really see their PC as I tell them what to click next. Most of all the best thing you can do while "walking through" a process is be discriptive.
Thou shalt not deface thine employers PC's with thine own software or utilities, unless ye are the employer or ye bury it deeply within many folders!
One of the things I noticed about all techs; they love to personalize and tweak the system they're assigned to. However, more often than not you're sharing the system with others and not everyone loves having to work with the Star Trek theme installed or no hard drive space left from you getting yet another hot game demo or new utility.
Thou shalt not look upon the payscales of other employers; they art nothing more than wolves in sheep's clothing!
Sure, company "B" might be paying $2 more an hour, but they might actually expect you to work, or worse, promise permanency after your probationary period only to let you go instead. I actually saw this happen about a year ago; one guy heard about this "neat" job, decided to go for it, told others who also went and now they're all unemployed. And if they could come back to the original employer, they'd have to start from scratch as a temp.
Amen, So Say We All!!!!
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