The 3 Biggest Customer Service Skills Needed for Your Franchise

by Nancy Friedman

TOP DOWN MENTALITY

Who is responsible when you receive bad customer service?

A. The company (top down)?

B. Management/direct supervisor?

C. The person who delivered said service?

D. The customer (self-imposed)?

Option A: TOP DOWN MENTALITY won hands down on our LinkedIn poll. Over 63% agreed IT STARTS AT THE TOP.

When it comes to business, delegation is fine; however, when it comes to your service mentality, those at the very TOP need to be involved. Must be involved. Whether you’re the franchisor or the franchisee owner and have a staff, you have the same concerns. How do we keep our clients (customers), patients, students, – you name it – happy and coming back? That’s the big question.

Have a starting point. Below are only three points. Sadly, there’s not just one skill, and there are definitely more than three. However, in order to get you off on the right foot, here are the big ones you can start with today. Be sure your training is consistent, embedded into your mission statement, checked often and used on a daily basis. You brush your teeth every day – so why not use all the customer service skills you can on a daily basis?

TOP DOWN MENTALITY TIPS

1. Listening Skills – “HUH?” “WHAT DID YA SAY?” and other caustic phases like that won’t do. Every time you ask a customer what they said is a red flag to them. It simply says “I wasn’t paying any attention to you.” Especially on the phone, as well as in person.

Getting their order wrong says you weren’t listening/paying attention. Sending the wrong information says you weren’t listening/paying attention. And that goes for whether you’re a fast food or a service provider. Be a double-checker on it all.

Remember. We hear, but are we really listening? Are we paying attention?

2. Sympathy and Empathy – And be sure everyone knows the difference.

* Sympathy – Sincerely feeling badly something happened and acknowledging it.

* Empathy – Understanding how a customer feels that something happened and acknowledging it. Do NOT say “I know how you feel.” We cannot know how anyone else feels! Not acknowledging one way or the other of a situation is big cause for your customer to take their business elsewhere.

3. The Ability to Apologize Properly – Believe me, “SORRY ‘bout that” is NOT an apology. When we screw up, make a mistake or do something wrong, the words need to be, “My apologies.” Not, “Sorry ‘bout that.”

Wrong change, wrong order, or wrong information it’s “MY APOLOGIES.” They say employees can only grasp three items at one time and for your information, it takes 21 days to change a habit. These are not overnight changes.

I promise to bring you more customer service skills in the upcoming months . . . unless you don’t want them. LOL!

Remember, the customer doesn’t care how much you know, until they know how much you care.

Nancy Friedman, Founder and Chairman of Telephone Doctor Customer Service Training, is a popular keynote customer service speaker at franchise, corporate meetings and conferences around the country. VIRTUAL programs now available for sessions at your conference and for webinars. Visit: www.nancyfriedman.com; email or call her: www.nancyfriedman.com, 314-291-1012, in St. Louis, MO, Central time.