What is it that makes one customer service rep consistently fantastic and effective, while the person in the next cubicle is merely average, or worse?
It isn't a matter of a single trait that can be glibly labeled enthusiasm, or sincerity, or caring.
I've identified no less than twenty five things that account for customer service success, and they're all behavioral. For one thing, great reps not only ask, "How may I help you?" but they do this with an ascending tone that conveys the impression that "I really WANT to help you!"
When reps know exactly what to do, when to do it and how to do it, they have one half of the puzzle solved.
But the other half is receiving ongoing feedback from customers, supervisors, and themselves that makes them aware of how they're doing, moment by moment, that is also essential to success.
Like driving a car well, it's not good enough to merely point your vehicle toward your destination. Once you're underway, you have to adjust to the road, to traffic, to your own impulses to jump lanes or pursue detours and short cuts, and even to the time you have allotted to reach your goal.
Yes, you can put your mind on auto-pilot and daydream your way through customer conversations, much like breezing down a highway on cruise control, but you'll be safer and less likely to get lost if you're paying close attention to your progress, second by second.
One of the basic problems associated with monitoring, measuring and managing customer service is the fact that reps, and their trainers and managers, are not classifying properly what's making a significant difference in their conversations.
Moreover, they're clueless about discerning which customers are strongly versus weakly satisfied as those conversations end. Customer reactions need to be scaled for intensity.
For example, do they "recommit" their business at then end, signaling loyalty and an explicit intention to come back again and do more business with your firm? If so, how strongly do they express it?
Likewise, if they thank you, what is the "magnitude of their gratitude?" Is it a one, two, three, four, or a zero?
Without clearly defined indicators, and accurate and quick feedback, customer servers can't really improve. Moreover, they're more likely to perceive their tasks as "thankless" while avoiding responsibility for service outcomes.
Salespeople, surgeons, and sports stars improve their skills and outcomes through feedback. Why shouldn't customer service folks excel through this device, as well?
When you provide rich feedback, you'll be on the right path to improving customer satisfaction.
Dr. Gary S. Goodman, President of Customersatisfaction.com, is a popular keynote speaker, management consultant, and seminar leader and the best-selling author of 12 books, including Reach Out & Sell Someone and Monitoring, Measuring & Managing Customer Service, and the audio program, "The Law of Large Numbers: How To Make Success Inevitable," published by Nightingale-Conant. He is a frequent guest on radio and television, worldwide. A Ph.D. from USC's Annenberg School, a Loyola lawyer, and an MBA from the Peter F. Drucker School at Claremont Graduate University, Gary offers programs through UCLA Extension and numerous universities, trade associations, and other organizations from Santa Monica to South Africa. He holds the rank of Shodan, 1st Degree Black Belt in Kenpo Karate. He is headquartered in Glendale, California, and he can be reached at (818) 243-7338 or at: gary@customersatisfaction.com. For information about coaching, consulting, training, books, videos and audios, please go to http://www.customersatisfaction.com. |
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