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Keeping Service in the Spotlight

by Teresa Sinel - May 31, 2012


Keeping Service in the Spotlight, by Teresa Sinel, tsinel@vipdesk.com, 802.334.5321 

We can teach many things when we’re coaching our customer service representatives to deliver excellence, but one of the most difficult challenges we face is how to articulate what superior service should look like, sound like, and feel like to the customer. Exceptional service has a face, a sound, and resonates emotionally with the customer, and as managers, we all know how important it is for our team members to put a smile in their voices, provide a warm tone of service, and have each customer leave the call with that all-important warm fuzzy feeling.

Real life experiences can be a very valuable teaching tool and I have found it helpful to share personal anecdotes when coaching team members to better performance. In fact, it’s only Tuesday and I have already been on the customer side of the phone twice this week, first to my doctor and second to my furnace repair company. Like many of you, I am keenly aware of the service I receive when I am the customer on the phone, and I admit to still being floored when the service level doesn’t meet my expectations. Without exception, I find myself mentally evaluating the pros and cons of each interaction as if I was scoring quality (which I am), assessing both the performance of the representative as well as the overall feel of the call.

The two calls I had this week were polar opposites in how they felt to me as the customer. The first call, to my doctor, left me feeling great about the interaction, the representative, and the clinic, and I know that they value my business because they treated me that way. In the course of a 5 minute call, I experienced amazing tone of service, a willingness to listen to my concerns without interruption, and a thorough understanding of my problem. The solutions offered were highly appropriate to the situation and the office representative went one step further by offering to do the legwork required to dig into the matter further, saving me time and additional phone calls. I felt well taken care of and it was a great way to start my day. It got even better later that day when the promised return call was received and I had the answer I needed.

The other call, while not horrible, did not engender the same positive vibes I had hoped and created more feelings of ambiguity about the company than I had before. My furnace had been partially serviced last week and the only thing left to do was replace a seal that prevents toxic gasses from leaking into my house. Surprisingly, the part was not commonly stocked and had to be ordered, but I was assured that it would be expedited and installed within a couple of days. Three anxious days passed and I heard nothing, so I picked up the phone last Friday. No one seemed to know anything about the part and the sense of urgency I would have expected was not there. After a few minutes on hold, I was told that the part wasn’t in and I would be called later that day with an update. Fast forward to yesterday and still no call, so I picked up the phone again. The person who answered did not seem any better informed than the prior person I spoke with and had no idea about the part or the service needed. I pressed the matter, as only someone who manages customer service can, and received a call back a few minutes later with the news that the part was in and would be installed that afternoon.

Having been on the customer side countless times, all of us have a wealth of experiences to draw from, making it a powerful instructional tool. Consider building these kind of discussions into your daily or weekly activities, wrap a contest around it (best/worst/craziest personal customer service experience of the week), or bring it up in casual conversation around the water cooler. By sharing our own experiences and asking our teams to share theirs inside the classroom, in meetings, and during one-on-ones, it keeps service excellence in the spotlight and gives your team the opportunity to regularly reflect on their own customer interactions.

 
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