Delivering Exceptional Customer Service - Facilitator's Manual

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Facilitator Manual

Delivering

Exceptional Customer Service Every Day, in Every Way Ingrid Vaughan

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w o r k s h o p s your passion

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Delivering Exceptional Customer Service Every Day, in Every Way An Encore Workshop developed by Ingrid Vaughan

Š 2012 Delivering Exceptional Customer Service Every Day, in Every Way Facilitator Manual Author: Ingrid Vaughan

To order an Encore Workshop please visit our website www.encoreworkshops.com

Encore Workshops is an imprint of Small Business Success (a division of Blue Beetle Books Inc.)

Blue Beetle Books Inc. www.bluebeetlebooks.com www.smallbusinesssuccess.ca

Tel: 778.265.3070 Email: janie@bluebeetlebooks.com

Š 2012 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, or stored in a retrieval system without the prior written consent of Encore Workshops.

Encore Workshops If you would like to find out more about Encore Workshops please visit our website www.encoreworkshops.com.

table of contents Introduction 11

Customers

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Verbal and Non-Verbal Communication

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Communication Styles

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Caring Communication

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Problem Solving

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The Art of Listening

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Understanding the Anger Cycle

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Staying Positive

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Seeing the Big Picture

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Ways to Wow Your Customers

INTRODUCTION

Delivering exceptional customer service is not easy, so in a climate where it sometimes seems fewer and fewer people care about good customer service, organizations that provide it stand out from the rest.

Do your customer service personnel understand what it means to deliver exceptional service? Understanding the customer mindset, and having strong communication skills are two obvious keys, but what about the subtler things like keeping your cool when the customer is not; dealing with difficult, rude people; or knowing how to defuse someone who is angry? This workshop will give your staff the skills they need to stay calm and professional in any situation, and to provide exceptional customer service, which, in today’s world, is becoming a rare commodity.

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Delivering Exceptional Customer Service—Facilitator Manual

What are participant’s going to learn?  The 7/11 Rule – it takes only 7 seconds for someone to form 11 impressions of them. How they can make those impressions positive ones.  Verbal and Non-Verbal communication – strengthening their verbal skills and becoming aware of how they communicate non-verbally.  Six Steps to Solving Problems – how to solve their customers’ problems quickly and effectively.  Communication Styles – understanding that everyone is different, and how understanding other peoples’ personal styles will help them communicate better, and offer better service.  The Art of Listening – assessing how good a listener they are and how they can improve their listening skills.  Understanding the Anger Cycle – recognizing it’s not all about them, and showing them how to navigate the anger cycle with a customer toward a positive resolution.  Ten Tips for Staying Positive – showing them that it’s not always easy to stay positive when their customer is being difficult, but that it is the key to maintaining their own sanity and keeping their cool when things get stressful.  Ways to WOW their customer – demonstrating that average customer service isn’t noticed, but organizations who WOW their customers retain those customers and reap referrals.

© 2012 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, or stored in a retrieval system without the prior written consent of Encore Workshops.

Delivering Exceptional Customer Service窶認acilitator Manual

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Workshop Outcomes What 5 things do you want participants to learn? (specific to their role in your company)

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What benefits do you want to see from the workshop? (specific to your company)

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ﾂｩ 2012 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, or stored in a retrieval system without the prior written consent of Encore Workshops.

Š 2012 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, or stored in a retrieval system without the prior written consent of Encore Workshops.

Module One

Customers Module one is all about the customer—the good the bad and the ugly! It encourages participants to discuss their best and worst customer experiences.

Participants will realize the level of passion and emotion discussing these experiences bring about and start to realize the importance of customer service.

The module then discusses the 7/11 rule where it only takes seven seconds for someone to make eleven impressions about their organization.

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Introduction Discussion 1.

Ask participants to share stories of their best customer service experience.

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Next ask them how many people they told about that experience.

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Then, ask them to share their worst CS experiences. Ask how many people they told about those.

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After they are done, take notice of which stories were told with the most amount of passion and emotion and ask what that says about the importance of customer service.

Notes ____________________________________________ ____________________________________________ ____________________________________________ ____________________________________________ ____________________________________________ ____________________________________________ ____________________________________________ ____________________________________________

The Experience • What was your best customer service experience?

• Who are your customers on a day-to-day basis?

• The 7/11 rule

© 2012 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, or stored in a retrieval system without the prior written consent of Encore Workshops.

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Who is My Customer?

Discussion 1.

Since each person’s scenario may be different, ask participants to define who they believe their customers are on a day to day basis.

2.

Write their answers on the board.

The 7/11 Rule It only takes 7 seconds for someone to form 11 impressions about you and your organization.

Talk about the 7/11 rule and then read aloud the following scenario.

As you are reading, ask them to write down all the impressions they make about this person based on the scenario that follows.

You walk into an electronics store looking for a specific piece of hardware for your stereo system. You spend a few minutes looking through the appropriate section but aren’t sure exactly what you need.

No one has come to assist you so you approach the young man at the counter. He is on the phone, on what is obviously a personal call.

You stand at the counter for several minutes without being acknowledged. While you’re patiently waiting you notice a bag of opened chips on the counter, with crumbs spilling out of the bag.

You notice that the clerk has a large tear in the knee of his jeans, and that his shirt has a number of stains on it. You try politely to interrupt his conversation saying “excuse me”, and although he makes eye contact and nods his head, he does not finish his call.

You look around to see if anyone else is in the store that can help you, but it appears he’s the only one. You interrupt him again and this time, he says into the phone “OK, gotta go.

© 2012 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, or stored in a retrieval system without the prior written consent of Encore Workshops.

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Somebody’s here”. He hangs up the phone and looks at you. “What can I do for you?” he says. You explain that you need a particular part for your stereo, but you’re not sure which brand to get for your specific needs. He stares at you for a moment, and then says “I don’t know”.

Stunned, you try again by asking if there is anyone else in the store that could help you with this purchase. He says the manager is out for lunch and that he is the only other person on today. He doesn’t offer any further assistance, so you ask if the manager might be able to help you, and when he/she would be back from lunch. He yawns, looks at his watch and tells you in a half hour, but that it’s possible the manager might do errands after lunch so in fact, he’s not completely sure when he’ll be back.

You ask whether there’s anyone else at another store he could call to get the information. He rolls his eyes, sighs, picks up the phone, and dials the other store. “Hey Joe, yeah, this is Brian from Westport Mall. I got a guy in here looking for a cable for his stereo. He doesn’t know which one to get. Any ideas?”

He gets off the phone and tells you that Joe isn’t really sure either, but that you could try Brand X because it’s usually pretty good and they don’t get very many returns with it.

You select the item, and put it on the chip-laden counter to pay. You pay with your credit card, but when you look at the receipt you realize he has charged the wrong price. When you point it out to him, he seems exasperated with you and tells you he’s not really sure how to do a refund on the overcharge. He asks if you can wait for his manager to return in order to do the transaction.

Question to ask participants Based on your impressions of this person, what assumptions have you made about this company? How many people would you be likely to tell about your experience? How likely is it that you would shop there again?

© 2012 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, or stored in a retrieval system without the prior written consent of Encore Workshops.

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Group Exercise Participants will find the following diagram in their workbooks.

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Break into smaller groups and ask participants to fill in the eleven impressions customers might make about their organization.

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Group leaders can present their 11 impressions and similarities and differences can be discussed.

The 7/11 Rule It only takes 7 seconds for someone to form 11 impressions about you and your organization.

Answers to the question “Based on those 11 impressions, your customer will make 3 decisions—what are they?” which is in the participant’s manual.

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That they will never shop there again.

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That they will definitely shop there again.

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That they’ve had an unpleasant experience, but are willing to give it one more try. If you blow it a second time, they will never come back.

© 2012 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, or stored in a retrieval system without the prior written consent of Encore Workshops.

Š 2012 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, or stored in a retrieval system without the prior written consent of Encore Workshops.

Module Two

Verbal and Non-Verbal Communication Module two deals with the importance of communication both verbal and non-verbal. We look at the importance of what we say, the tone in which we say it and our body language.

Using assertive language when dealing with customers is important and in this module participants learn which statements are strong and which are weak.

The module concludes with a review of ways to ‘soften’ non-verbal communication.

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Verbal/Non-verbal Communication Provide answers and review 1.

Provide the percentages below to your group so that they can complete the table in their workbook.

7% the words you say 38% the tone of your voice 55% the non-verbal messages you send (body language)

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Review the customer service scenario from the module one. How many non-verbal signals did you get from this person, vs. the actual words that were exchanged?

Notes ____________________________________________ ____________________________________________ ____________________________________________ ____________________________________________ ____________________________________________ ____________________________________________ ____________________________________________ ____________________________________________ ____________________________________________

Verbal and non-verbal communication • • • •

% the words you say? % the tone of your voice? % the non-verbal messages you send?

The figures – 7% the words you say – 38% the tone of your voice – 55% the non-verbal messages you send

© 2012 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, or stored in a retrieval system without the prior written consent of Encore Workshops.

Delivering Exceptional Customer Service—Facilitator Manual

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Strengthening Your Verbals Review and discuss 1.

Using PowerPoint slide #4, review the statements in the WEAK category. Ask what it is that makes them weak.

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Review the statements in the STRONG category, and ask—what is the difference between the two? What makes those statements strong?

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Ask your participants to come up with a few more examples of strong and weak verbals.

Strengthening your verbal communication • Weak – – – – – – – –

I don’t know I’m new here I’m not sure I can help you I don’t think I can do that Mr. Smith will be right with you There’s nothing I can do about that – it’s company policy – I guess we have a problem

• Strong – Let me find out for you – I am new here, but I’ll find someone who can help you – If I can’t help you, I’ll find someone who will – Here's what I can do for you – Mr. Smith will be able to see you in about 15 minutes – Our policy is designed to be fair to all our customers, but here’s what I can do – To solve this problem, here’s what I can do…

Weak verbals create a poor perception - strong or assertive verbals, creative a positive perception.

Use assertive language whenever possible to create a strong, positive impression on others.

© 2012 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, or stored in a retrieval system without the prior written consent of Encore Workshops.

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Minimizing Negative Impressions from Non-verbal Communication Review Acronym (F.A.S.T.E.N.) Participants will find this acronym in their manual with space to make notes.

As we’ve already established, non-verbal communication can be pretty loud. Here are some ways to “soften” your non-verbal communication to make sure you are giving a positive, strong impression.

Review this acronym with your group Focus on the other person and what they need The fellow in our example was more concerned about his conversation with his buddy, than in serving the customer’s needs. If you are customer-focused at all times, you won’t need to worry about making wrong impressions.

Activate your perceptions If you are aware, you can see when people are responding to you in a negative way. Immediately ask yourself if there is a way for you to figure out what you are doing that is negatively impacting them, and how you can change it.

Stop negative behaviors You know the things you do that cause a negative reaction in others - rolling your eyes, a closed body stance, not making eye contact, ignoring, obnoxious gum-chewing, etc. Be aware that those things cause people to react negatively toward you, and causes them to make negative assumptions about you.

Treat others with respect Respect is the key to your customer’s heart. If you respect them you’ll listen to them; you’ll take care of their needs; you’ll want to make them happy; you’ll value what they have to say. Your customer will always feel you have their best interests at heart, and © 2012 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, or stored in a retrieval system without the prior written consent of Encore Workshops.

Delivering Exceptional Customer Service—Facilitator Manual

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that will make a positive impression every time!

Empathize with their situation, even if you don’t agree with it Even if your customer is being rude, angry, or unreasonable, if you can find a way to empathize with them you will disarm them. It will also help you not to respond with defensiveness which only exacerbates their negative response.

Never say never If you can find a way never to say no - but always work towards a solution of some kind, you will have happy customers. You may not be able to give them everything they want, but if they can see that you are working towards solving their problem, it will go a long way towards eliminating any negativity.

Notes ____________________________________________ ____________________________________________ ____________________________________________ ____________________________________________ ____________________________________________ ____________________________________________ ____________________________________________ ____________________________________________

F.A.S.T.E.N. • Focus on the other person and what they need • Activate your perceptions • Stop negative behaviors • Treat others with respect • Empathize with their situation, even if you don’t agree with it • Never say never

© 2012 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, or stored in a retrieval system without the prior written consent of Encore Workshops.

Š 2012 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, or stored in a retrieval system without the prior written consent of Encore Workshops.

Module Three

Communication Styles Module three takes a look at the four primary behavioural styles your participants will come across as they deal with public.

In this workshop we use the four styles Thinker, Director, Socializer and Relater and focus on improving communication by ‘flexing’ to other styles.

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Delivering Exceptional Customer Service—Facilitator Manual

Communication Styles Presentation 1.

Present the following information on each communication style. Ask the group to think about customers they have encountered in each of the 4 styles.

2.

Use PowerPoint slides #’s 6-9 to present this material.

Thinker  Process-oriented, methodical, organized to the extreme  Need order, procedure, standards and expectations to thrive  Analytical, logical, need accuracy  Need lots of information to make decisions  Don’t like surprises

Director  Natural leader, can come across and bossy and domineering  Like to be in charge  Need to see the bottom line  Quick decision maker - don’t need a lot of detail to make decisions  Quick thinker

Socializer  Born to chat - love talking - especially about themselves  Highly spontaneous and fun-loving  Tend to be scatterbrained and disorganized  Hate rules and structure and are easily distracted  Want people to like them - charm their way into people’s hearts

© 2012 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, or stored in a retrieval system without the prior written consent of Encore Workshops.

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Relater  Relationship focused and superb listeners  Need consensus and input from others  Fearful of change and find it extremely difficult to make decisions  Love peace and harmony - love to please others  Often struggle to see the big picture

Notes ____________________________________________ ____________________________________________ ____________________________________________ ____________________________________________ ____________________________________________ ____________________________________________ ____________________________________________ ____________________________________________ ____________________________________________ ____________________________________________ ____________________________________________ ____________________________________________ ____________________________________________ ____________________________________________ ____________________________________________ ____________________________________________ ____________________________________________ ____________________________________________ ____________________________________________ ____________________________________________ © 2012 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, or stored in a retrieval system without the prior written consent of Encore Workshops.

Encore Workshops - an imprint of Small Business Success (a wholly owned subsidiary of Blue Beetle Books Inc.)

If you would like to review the full manual, or discuss your current training needs please call our customer service manager Janie Dunning at 778.265.3070 or email janie@bluebeetlebooks.com.

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