Portfolio customer service by Cesi

Colegio Sagrado Corazón de Jesús Customer Service Miss Ana Lucía Pérez

Digital Portfolio

Madeleine Cesilia Car Camey 10th. Grade CCLL Section: “C” June, 1 2014

Index

Listen to your Customer……………………………………..……………………………………3 Listening Habits…………………………………………………………………...………………10 Key Changes in the Diverse Nature of Customers…………………..………………………….21 Use the telephone Well for Good Service…………………………………….………………..22 Use Friendly Web Sites and Electronic Communication…………………………..…………..30 Business Plan to Generate Inversions……………………………………..……………………36 Key Ideas………………………………………………………………………………………….38 Summary…………………………………………….......………………………………………..39 Pictionary………………………………………………...………………………………………40 Scanned and Proofread Documents……………………………………………………………………………………….42

Listen to Your Customer

Listening and Hearing

Many of us confuse hearing and listening, they are two very different things. The process we call HEARING is purely physical activity by which sound waves are sent to the brain for understanding. LISTENING refers to the psychological processes that allows us to attach menaing to the patterns of energy we “”hear”. Hearning is necessary for listening but is not the same thing.

Listening Preconditions • Listening involves the mental process of attaching meaings to words or sounds we hear. • 1. The words or other sounds used by the message source must be received by the hearer. • 2. The listener must possess a set of meanings or referents for these sounds—the words need to make sense.

What Contributes to Listening? • To improve our listening skills, we need to understand the demands placed upon our listening capacities. • These demands fall into three categories or elements of the listening process.

Internal Elements Affecting Listening Trying to hear in a noisy environment. Dealing with a static-filled phone line. Encountering people who speak too softly. We need to have the ability to listen and makes sense of the sounds we are listening to regardless of the distractions around us.

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Enviormental Elements Affecting Listening • Individual Listening Capacity: it can be overloaded with too much information, or it can be underutilized with too little. • Thousands of messages call for our attention every day. We chose which ones to listen to. • Since we can listen faster than people can speak, we sometimes drift off.

Noise—Another Environmental Element Affecting our Listening

• Noise refers to those sounds that are irrelevant to the conversation. • Noise can be: Enironmental (sound of machinery, other conversations, buzzers, bells, etc.) Internal (a headache, our dislike of the person to whom we are listening, preoccupation with another problem, etc.)

The Use or Misuse of Gatekeepers • The term gatekeeper refers to one who previews incoming information to determine if communication is appropriate. • If the message appears nonessential the gatekeeper keeps it from getting to the person. • Managers almost always have at least one gatekeeper to listen for them (secretary, administrative assistant, etc.)

Listening Habits MOST OF US DID NOT BECOME POOR LIST ERNES OVERN IGHT, WE LEARN ED HOW OVER A PERIOD OF TIME—WE DEVELOP P OOR LISTENIN G HABIT S.

Action Tip 1  Evaluate your talk ratio.  If you are like most people you talk

a lot more than you listen and that can be a problem.  You need to discipline yourself to be quiet until others have expressed their thought fully.

Action Tip 2 -- PREPARE TO LISTEN

 Preparation to listen means you decide

to set aside time and other activities so that you can focus on listening.  You need to menatlly disconnect from other matters playing in your mind.  Look for a location where you will not be interrupted.  WHERE we listen can have an impact on HOW we listen.

Action Tip 3 – Avoid Faking Attention Faking attention is an attempt to bepolite to someone during a conversation and results in what someone called the “wide-‐ asleep listener”.

Automatical nodding responses, saying yes and uh-‐huh.

When you have agreed to listen to soemone, commit yourself to expending the needed eﬀort to listen and give that conversation your active attention.

Action Tip 4 – Be Patient, Defer Disagreement  Customers cannot always

communicate to you to you efficiently. Sometimes they do not know the terminology or exactly how to descirbe their problem  Be patient  Be sure thay have had enough opportuity to express themselves fully before you offer additional information or respectful disagreement.

Action Tip 5 –Listen for More than the Facts Much of what people communicate are feelings, impressions, and emotions, the actual facts fo messages are often wrapped up in these.

Basically, messages often convey emotion that go beyond facts – this is why people might feel oﬀended if they are listened to.

Customers almost always make buying decisions based on feeling and emotion.

Action Tip 6 – Bite Your Tongue before Interrupting  We tend to interrupt people because

we get impatient.  Interrupting in the middle of the message can damage a conversation. You may need to gain clarification of some points, but wait for an appropriate time to ask for that clarification instead of abruptly interrupting.  Men tend to interrupt more frequently than women, but not always.

Action Tip 8 – Solicit Clarification When customers are being unclear, it is important that we tactfully let them know it.

By failing to ask for clariﬁcation, we rely too heavily on our own guesses in interpreting messages.

“Help me understand” is a good phrase to invite people to clarify their ideas without getting defensive.

Action Tip 9 – Minimize the Number Gatekeepers  Gatekeepers do not always have the

ability to communicate the customer`s request.  Remember that the gatekeeper`s version may not be exactly what the original messages source may have meant.

Action Tip 10 – Try Counter Attitudinal Advocacy Acounter-‐attitudinal advocacy (CAA) is a big term for a simple process. It means to take the other person`s position– to advocate or express a point of view that runs counter to your own attitude.

The objective of CAA is to reduce the degree to which a listener listens through his or her own biases.

CAA forces you to listen objectively until you truly understand rather than to listen only until you think of a response or disagreement.

Action Tip 11– Take Notes

 Note-taking conveys that you are sincerely

interested in understanding. Most customers will be flattered that you are taking their input so seriously.  Do not try to write down everything word for word.  Let the customer seeyou are taking the notes (tell the customer you are taking notes if you are on the phone.)

Key Changes in the Diverse Nature of Customers

 Age Issues The age demographics of customers and employees are changing (people are not doing what other did at their age). Purchasing power is found in all ages.

 Globalization By giving customers efficient services and added convenience, companies can take tue burdens off people and establish a basis for strong customer loyalty.

 Work-‐Life Balance Our world is shrinking and bounderies are disappering .

Use the Telephone Well for GOOD SERVICE Phone Responsiveness Can Enhance Customer Loyalty

Benefits and Drawbacks of Telephone Communication Always remember that people are operating blind when on the phone.  Ironically, people who answer calls from customers are often among the lowest paid in the organization, yet they are the voice and image of the entire company to customers. 

Two Significant Drawbacks

1. Many people have never learned the basics of telephone courtesy and effectiveness necessary to convey a good business image.  2. People cannot see the person they are dealing with. (Without visual cues to reinforce or clarify a message, the listener may be easily misled or confused.) 

Action Tips



Check Your Phone Use Attitude

Check your telephone-‐use attitudes usinga self-‐evualtion to help you imporove your telephone techniques.

Contact and Compare Your Company



› Callers create first impressions and

draw immediate conclusions about the person`s or company`s efficiency, communication skills friendliness etc.

Avoid Unnecessary Call Screening



› Screening means having

soemone answer for you, acting as your gatekeeper.



Answer with Professionalism › Identify yourself when

answering the phone, use names, and good business etiquette.

Action Tips on What to Do and Say Answer Promptly and Be Prepared to Handle Calls



› Answer soon to convey efficiency and

willingness to serve, write and record necessary information. 

Use Courtesy Titles

› There is no downside to addressing people

politely and formally.



Thank People for Calling › Never underestimate the power of kind

words. 

Smile

› People can feel the smile or lack of smile

in your tone.

Be Sure the Conversation Is Finished before You Hang Up



› Have a polished way to signal the end of a

conversation.

 Handle the Upset Caller with Tact and Skill  Modify your Tone, Loudness, and Pitch to maintain your listerner`s attention.  Telephone contact is often the first impression a customer gets of your company.  Many people are phone-shy—they see calls as interruptions.  Use call screening only when necessary, not as a way of projecting power.

Use Friendly Web Sites and Electronic Communication

If you´re not in the Web, you´re not in business

Custo mer Serv ice in an O nline E nviro nm en t 30

If you´re not in the Web, you´re not in business  The

Internet has become the place for searching and shopping.  Every day millions of people access it worldwide.  We have come to assume that ALL companies have a Web presence.  The cost of creating and maintaining a Web site continues to come down.

Self-serve Common Answers

 Low

interaction communication (also known as self-service) is when customers take care of themselves using knowledge bases.  Knowledge bases are databases of answers to frequently asked questions FAQs.

Knowledge Bases  Online

knowledge bases make it possible for customers to answer their own questions.  Self-learning knowledge bases constantly update themselves based on customer questions. 32

Types of Answers Available Hyperlinks are those words or phrases that you can click on to get to another place.

Multiword searches of the FAQs are the collective wisdom regarding the product or service.

Email usually increases when customers are having trouble ﬁnding answers on their own.

Self-‐serve personalized answers are the ideal technology-assisted service a company can offer.

Web Chat or Live Chat Live chat requires lie people available to the customer and this is expensive.

A variation of chat rooms is the use of BLOGS. A blog is a journal maintained by a company or individual.

Social Networking Skyrockets  Blogs

and chat rooms have changed into social networking sites (SNSs) such as Facebook, Myspace, LinedIn, etc. These link friends and associates of all ages in easy-to-use contact networks. Customer Service Expectation

Customization: Companies need to provide personalized products or services.

Scrutiny: Customers check out products online or with friends (often via their SNSs) before they go to the store.

Integrity: Customers are more conscious than ever of company reputation

Collaboration: Customers want to participate with companies to make the product or service better.

Entertainment: They expect companies to make it fun to do business with them.

Speed: The want the company to serve them NOW.

Innovation: The old model is UNACCEPTABLE.

Disadvantages of Web-based Service

 Poorly

managed e-service systems can result in a reputation for bad service.  Technology applications are moving targets—the rate of change is extremely fast.

Bussines Plan to Generate Investors 36 Â

Business Plan to Generate Investors Service or Product Description (Explain in simple terms what your service or product will be about. You may use other brands as examples and mention those characteristics that related to your idea.)

Market Opportunities (Mention why you believe that your business will be successful in our country, explain if other companies have similar products or services.)

Unique Traits or Characteristics (Mention those elements that will set your product or service apart from the rest.)

Market Leader (Mention the market leader if any, example: Coca-‐Cola -‐if you are planning on making a soft drink.)

Target Market (Mention the people who will be your main customers example: young adults, children, etc.)

Promotion and Advertising (Mention where and how you plan to advertise, will you be advertising before, during or after the opening of your store? Explain why.)

Physical Location (Mention where you would consider placing your business, example: Miraﬂores Mall because….) 37

Key Ideas Internet has provided a new avenue for delivering customer assistance.

Online knowledge bases make it possible for customers to answer their own questions. They should be dynamic constantly adapting.

Email provides delayed answers to customer inquiries. Customers emails should be acknowledged and responded within 24 hours. Web chat is an adaptation of Internet chat room technology that allows customers and service representatives to carry on two-‐way communication. Blogs and SNSs serve similar functions. Web analytics and benchmarking (comparing to others) provide data for constant improvement of your Web site´s effectiveness. Web-‐self service has a significant cost advantage over traditional customer service channels, such as talking to a live agent on the telephone. Therefore, some customers still prefer personal communication. E-‐services are not only cost-‐effective, but they can provide additional benefits such as improved custoemr relationships. However, poorly managed e-‐services can negatively affect the business image. 38

Summary Customer Service is essential in order to reach success in you company, so always try to give a good service quality. Listening to your customer is important, because you are understanding what he or she wants! Hearing is not the same as listening; hearing is the necessity of listening. It is the act of receiving sound waves and sending them to the brain, and listening is understanding all that sounds and giving meanings to those sounds. Environmental, internal and interactional elements may affect the conversation. In order to improve your listening, you should have good listening habits! Some important tips are: take notes, defer disagreement, avoid faking attention, be patient and solicit clarification. Do not forget to take importance of customer diversity! Take importance of issues as age. Also use the telephone as a tool for your business; a good telephone service may lead to customer loyalty! For giving a good service you can avoid call screening, answer with professionalism, benchmarking, check your phone use attitude, use courtesy titles, thank people for calling, and be sure the conversation is finished before you hung up! “If you are not in the web, you are not in business!” that is a good phrase because it indicates that the way of selling and advertising a product or a service is changing and innovating. Internet has provided a new way of business and customer assistance. Nowadays it is important to innovate and always be creative in your business! Technology has helped with this field, and it is essential to take advantage of this tool. You can give many type of answers to your customer, some of them are delayed answers, FAQ´s, hyperlink and self-‐serve personalized answers. Or you can also answer by a web chat or a blog! Bad usage of the e-‐service can cause bad reputation to your business. You should have a business plan to generate investors, that includes product description, market opportunities, unique traits, market leader, target market, promotion, advertising and physical location. In conclusion, it is not easy to create a business, to get customers and to maintain them, to give an excellent quality service and to use new tools as the Internet, but you can always apply the knowledge of the customer service principles! Everything is possible if you have faith, and if you are patient, creative, innovative and trustful! 39

Pictionary

Faking attention:

Automatical nodding response, but not concentrating and understanding at all. • Example: I was buying a t-‐shirt, but the employee was faking attetion to me.

Listening capacity: It is

Gatekeepers: A person who is in charge of the door or gate. • Example: I saw a big man, he was the gatekeeper of Claro.

Wide asleep listener:

the capacity or hability to hear what someone is saying, but also understand it.

When you look directly at the person as if you are paying attention, but you are not.

• Example: Mary's listening capacity is admirable.

• Example: Luis is a wide asleep listener, he thinks abou videogames all day long.

Noise: Refers to sounds

during the conversation. • Example: There was no noise, so we can talk calmly.

A behavior that is repeated regularly.

Habit:

• Example: Reading is a good habit.

Listen

Hear

Hearing to something, but also understanding it.

The act of perceiving sounds.

• Example: I was listening to the expositor, and I was taking notes.

• Example: The customer heard a bad new.

Call Center A call center is a centralized oﬃce that handle customer telephone requests for an organization. • Example: I called a call center in order to get some information.

Courtesy Title It is a title that is used through custom or courtesy. • Example: My dad uses courtesy titles when he talks on the phone.

Pitch

Loudness

The frequency of a sound.

The strengh of ear´s perception to sounds.

• Example: The pitch of the song is so detailed.

• Example: The loudness of the singer is so high.

Scanned and Proofread Documents

Points to Keep in Mind about Using Blogs… ü

Use blogs as a real-time online conversation. o It is important to have a real-time information-sharing site, in order to get information to improve your company.

ü

Remember the 80/20 rule. o 20% of the people have a great influence on what the other 80% think, and these 20% are actively reading blogs so it is better to have a great blog in your company in order to influence people in a good way.

ü

Understand that almost one-third of all U.S. Internet users read online forums. o Therefore there is a high potential about communicating on good or bad customer service issues.

ü

Reach out to bloggers who follow your issues. o Bloggers who follow your issues are interested in your company, so engage them to your company by conferences.

ü

Submit posts/comments from your organization´s leaders on blogs. o You are able to be part of the real-time conversations online by posting or commenting on blogs.

Homework Read the story of Garth´s call to the car dealership preented on page 56. Then, describe four telephone use problems that probably led to Garth´s irritation and his decision not do business with that dealer. Problem 1: The receptionist said at first, “Can I help ya?” instead of saying “How can I help you?” And transfer him to the dealership. Problem 2: When he was transferred to the dealership a man said, “Hello?” But he didn’t ask with whom he was talking to, or what the other person wanted. Problem 3: Then, another voice responded “Hello? Hello?” But Garth told the voice that other person was already attending him. Problem 4: After a few minutes, the first man came and told him that it w as the daughter’s car, so Garth asked if it was on sale. The man came back and said “I’ll ask the owner”, so Garth had to waited again. Problem 5: The man came back and told him, “The owner said it is not for sale”, instead of “I am sorry. I was informed that it is not on sale. May I help you with something else?” Garth was thanking the man, when he hung up suddenly and impolitely without saying “I am sorry, I couldn´t help you. Thank you for calling.”

Mention six telephone tips…

Ex. Action Tip 8 (Be sure the Conversation is Finished before You Hang Up) Hanging up before the conversation is over is rude and could upset the customer. 1. Action Tip 7 (Smile) People perceive your attitude, so be nice while answering the phone. 2. Action Tip 4 (Answer with professionalism) The man in the line didn´t introduce himself by saying “Tom´s dealership. This is John Cook. May I help you?” He just said, “Hello?” 3. Action Tip 6 (Thank people for calling) “Thank you” is an essential phrase and a strong satisfaction booster, but Garth did not listened at all. 4. Action Tip 10 (Keep your conversation tactful and businesslike) Be careful about making callers feel less appreciated. Keep your comments positive and oriented toward solving the caller´s problem. In Garth´s case the employee was rude. He made Garth felt not fully understood. 5. Action Tip 13 (Do Not Let “Dead Air” Happen) Putting people on hold is impolitely, so it is better if you explain what are you doing and why. 6. Action Tip (Handle the upset caller with tact and skill) Use phrases as help me to understand, what would be a solution. Garth was asking for a car, but it was not on sale. It was difficult to deal with that problem because the man was not showing a respectful behavior, did not offer a solution, and hung up before the conversation was finished.

I am willing to invest in... E&E Nail Polish I am willing to invest in E&E Nail Polish because it is an innovative and creative product. It is unique and it has a prominent future. Some reasons for investing in it are: It is a very useful product because it changes color depending on the clothing you are wearing, there is a lot of women who will buy it because they do not have time to take the color off of her nails therefore it has a lot of market opportunities. It also has vitamins. It has a huge target market including young women, adults and even elders and the ways of advertising (social networking) are really proactive and simple.

Sweet Box I am willing to invest in “Sweet Box” because it is in! People can identify with this product because of their beautiful and unique designs. Besides it has an accessible price, and the ways of advertising are also accessible for everyone. Other reasons for investing in it are: The slogan calls people attention, which is “because the sweetest things, make life better”. People will be satisfied with the product and customer service quality will be excellent. It has a great opportunity in target market because children and teenagers are always willing to buy something sweet, specially if it is delicious and if it has an accessible price. Their location (Oakland Mall and Miraflores) is a great location for their target market. In conclusion both businesses have a prominent future and they can achieve their goals and be successful depending on the quality of the product and customer service. 47

BUSINESS PLAN TO GENERATE INVESTORS I. Service or Product Description Our product will be skins for Ipad, computers and cellphones made with typical Guatemalan clothing. We were inspired by Wakami, Karim Korzo and Maria Pacheco. II. Market Opportunities We believe our product will succeed because it is original and attractive. It reflects our culture in small pieces of art and demonstrate Guatemalan people talent. III. Unique Traits or Characteristics What will set our product from the other ones will be the colorful Guatemalan typical clothing and the variety of designs. It will surely call customer’s attention. IV. Market Leader Wakami is a worldwide leader because their products are well sell in Europe and United States. Wakami sells successful handmade products made by Guatemalan people. V. Target Market Our main customers will be teenagers (13-18) and young adults (from 25 to 30). VI. Promotion and Advertising We planned to promote our product before, during and after the released of the skins. The publicity must keep going so everybody can notice the product not just by word of mouth, but advertising. Our way of advertising will be social networking, billboards and publicity in applications. VII. Physical Location We are considering to locate our business in Oakland Mall, Miraflores, Portales and Los Proceres because they are places where people are used to go, and many of the teenagers and young adults spend their time there. We are planning to export our products outside of the country, and have some stores in the United States and Europe.