Needs, products and framing: drills and holesĬonsider this example. It follows that you should never complain to a customer about your organisation, your day, how busy you are, the management, your colleagues or anything else that may lead the customer to develop negative feelings. The key is to focus on what you are going to do to put right the problem. This does not mean that you cannot apologise for any shortcomings. The difference is simply the framing: focusing on the positive rather than the negative. What is happening is the same, but your customer now understands that you are trying to help them, and you have also ensured that they will come back next week. “That should be in next week so, if you give me your name and phone number, I will give you a call as soon as it’s in and put one aside for you.”
“I’m afraid that’s out of stock at the moment, but if you come back in next week, we should have it.” If it sounds like there might have been a misunderstanding, clarify it straight away: don’t wait until your customer comes back to complain.Įven if you can’t do what your customer wants-either immediately, or at all-try to frame your answer in positive language. Mistakes can be expensive things to put right, so it is best to ensure that there are no misunderstandings. Communicate Clearly and in Positive LanguageĪlways communicate clearly to your customers, to ensure that they understand what you are offering or able to provide. See our pages: Non-Verbal Communication and Personal Appearance for more about body language and the messages it sends. Clients and customers are more likely to want to talk to a cheerful person with an enthusiastic personality, and by smiling while you talk you can help to project this. Odd though it sounds, a smile can be heard over the phone because your voice sounds different when you smile and are happy. If you are talking to somebody on the telephone then you can still smile. This will help the customer or client to feel at ease and welcomed, and you will come across as friendly and approachable, setting the scene for a positive interaction. It is almost impossible to fake a smile convincingly, so we tend to respond to smiles in a very genuine way, and they help to build rapport. Smiles are contagious – usually when you smile at somebody, they will smile back at you. This is the simplest, but often the most powerful tip for customer service (and most other interpersonal interactions). Smile at Your Customers, and Make Them Feel Welcome Of course, you then need to be able to provide them with a good solution too! See our pages: Listening Skills and Empathy. You may need to carefully persuade them that what they want will not actually solve their problem at all. Sometimes customers are not sure what they need, even if they know what they want. Notice that we said ‘needs’, not ‘wants’. This will enable you to pull together your knowledge and ensure that you provide what the customer needs. Pay attention to their body language, and link what you are hearing to what you know about the business, and what other customers have said in the past. You are unlikely to be able to help your customers effectively if you do not listen to what they are saying-and also what they are not saying, but may be implying in some way, or are carefully not mentioning.
It follows from this that the most important element of customer service is to listen. If you keep this in mind, you are unlikely to go far wrong. This applies at all stages of a relationship with your customer, including before, during and after a purchase. The key is to focus on the customer, and what they want from you. Providing good customer service is actually relatively easy.
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