Customer Relations

illini tower

student village

Handling Crisis—remember these are your customers

"Ten Customer Service Secrets to Win Back Customers"

by Ed Sykes

The Story

Recently, I was facilitating an Outstanding Customer Service program and broke for lunch. Knowing that the restaurants in the area left much to desire as far as service, I gave the students an extra fifteen minutes for lunch.

Sure enough, a group of four students came rushing into the classroom with their lunches in hand. They apologized and quickly explained that they received poor service at a restaurant. (This restaurant is part of a national chain. Hint: The restaurant's name references a day in the week.) They explained that after the waiter took their order, they waited 45 minutes before the food finally arrived. During the wait, no one came to check on them.

Finally, when the food arrived, it was time for the group to return to class. They were not happy, so they asked to speak with the restaurant manager. The manager approached and asked, "What was the problem?" One of my students explained the situation to which the restaurant manager replied, "The food ticket only shows you were waiting for eleven minutes." My students were still not satisfied and said as much. She asked them, "Would you like desert?" My students re-emphasized their dissatisfaction.

(sic: Do you hear the manager's defensiveness?
Is she challenging her customers?)

Each time my students expressed their unhappiness, the manager page 9

would say she was sorry. But my students weren't buying it. The manager then left without explaining where and what she was doing. The manager returned and told my students their meals were free. Even though the manager gave them free meals, my students said they will never go back to that restaurant or any other restaurant in that chain.

(sic: Instead of showing that she understood her
customer's problem —empathy,
the manager made a gesture—self-importance.)

So, why weren't these customers happy?

• The restaurant had an opportunity to turn a difficult customer service experience into a winning situation for all and squandered it.
• Not only will these patrons never go back to any restaurant in that chain, but they will tell others about their unhappy experience.
• The unhappy customer, on average, will tell 27 other people about their experience. With the internet, whether web pages or e-mail, that not can increase to thousands, if not millions, with the click of a button.
• However, according to the Department of Consumer Affairs, 82-95% of unhappy customers will come back if impressed and actually refer five new customers.

10 Customer Service Secrets

1. Smile
   • Nothing can turn a hostile situation into a positive moment faster than a sincere smile.
   • A smile says, "I want to help you."
   • It communicates that you are positive about the interaction with the customer.
   • A sincere smile enhances the communication process so that you can find the solution faster.

2. Introduce yourself as the solution creator
   • Make sure you introduce yourself, find out the customer's name, and let your customer know your position and why you are there. This lets the customer know you are taking responsibility for finding a solution.
   • You might say something like, "Hello, my name is Mike. I am the manager at this location. I am here to assist you in this situation, please tell me about it."
   • Notice that I didn't say, "What's the problem?" By using "What's the problem?" you start the customre service situation in a negative note. The customer is thinking, "You're the problem," "This establishment is the problem," etc. By starting your conversation with "I am here to assist you in this situation, please tell me about it", you are setting up a verbal agreement in the customer's mind to move to a solution.
   • Note: If possible, please use the customer's name throughout the conversation.


3. Listen
   • Customers want to tell their side of the story and feel they are not only heard but that you listened to them.
   • Mentally, take a step back and dedicate yourself to actively listening to tha customer's story with an open mind so that you can find a solution.
   • In the above situation, the manager stood silently while my students were explaining their story.
   • Put yourself in the customer's shoes:
     • "I can appreciate what you're saying."
     • "I can understand how you'd feel that way."
     • "I can see how you'd be upset."
     • "It sounds as if we've caused you an inconvenience."
     • "What I understand the situation to be..."
   • Please stay away from communication that alienates the customer such as:
     • "I don't know why you are so upset."
     • "That's the first complaint we ever got on that."
     • "I know how you feel." (Because you don't.)
     • "Boy, you're sure mad."

     In the above story, the students told the manager that they weren't happy with the service because they didn't have time to eat their meals. The manager, not listening, said, "Would you like desert?" The solution was not more food. Listen for the solution!

4. Be sorry for the right reasons
   • Be sincere in your concern for the customer and say sorry the correct way.
   • (sic: When) The first words of the interaction are with the words, "I'm sorry." First, you didn't find out any information from the customer to be sorry.
   • When saying you are sorry, say exactly what you are sorry for.
   • The students, even though the manager kept repeating she was sorry, didn't think the manager was sincere in her apology.
     (sic: Or that her apology lacked value
     without meaningful content.)
     
     The correct way to say you are sorry is
     • "I'm sorry you had to wait so long for your food."
     • "I'm sorry that you were treated that way."
     • "I'm sorry that our employee said that to you."
     • "I'm sorry this situation happened to you."

     Let the customer know exactly why you are sorry. The student thought the manager's "sorrys" were insincere because she never mentioned why she was sorry.

(sic: How could they expect any different
treatment next time if she doesn't even know
what the problem is now?)


5. Give your personal assurance
   • Let the customer know you will personally create a solution for them.
   • It could be as simple as saying, "I'm taking personal responsibility for this."


6. Ask them what they want
   • One of the fears that we have when trying to satisfy the customer is that we think they want something out of our reach.
   • Ask the customer, "What would you like me/us to do?" or "What would make this situation right for you?"
   • You will be surprised that in most cases the customer will ask for less than you were expecting.

7. Use statements of conviction
   • Say the following to gain the confidence of the customer:
     • "We're going to do something about that!"
     • "We will make a change right now!"


8. Present a clear plan of action
   • Make sure the customer knows what you are going to do to correct the situation for them
   • 95 percent of making things right for the customer involves making them aware that you are taking action to make a difference for them.
   • Explain to them the actions and timelines you need to take to make things right for them. If you need to leave or make a telephone call to obtain additional information, say,
     • "Excuse me while I make a telephone call to obtain the best solution for you. This will take five minutes, can you please wait?."
     • Excuse me, I need to ask the person with the piece of missing information so that we can quickly resolve this for you. Do you mind waiting five minutes?"

   Note: Make sure you get back to the customer before the time you specified. If you promised ten minutes, get back to the customer before ten minutes. Rule of thumb, double the time it would normally take to get the information. If you know it will take ten minutes to get the answer for the customer, then tell the customer you will get back to them within twenty minutes.

9. Move quickly to the solution
   • If you applied steps 1-8 you are ready to give the customer the solution they wanted for a win-win situation.
   • You can confirm this by saying the following
     • "Would this be agreeable to you?"
     • "Is this the solution you were looking for?"
     • "Will this make things right for you?"

10. Ask for the business
    • If you did everything right this is the perfect time to ask the customer to come back and do business with your organization
    • You showed that you were professional, caring, sincere, positive, and proactive.
    • Why wouldn't they do business with you again?
    • Some of the ways you can say this include the following
      • "We would appreciate the opportunity to serve you again in the future."
      • "Please come back and I will personally guarantee you receive outstanding service."
      • "Here is a free meal card. Please use it on your next visit to our establishment."
      • "Look forward to talking to you again."
    • It's important that you let the customer know that you appreciate their business and want them to come back.
    • Remember, if you did everything right, not only will they come back but they will tell other people to do business with you.
    • Use challenging customer service situations to win back your customers and build your business.

Illini Tower Standards

• Phone greeting, "Good morning! Thank you for calling Illini Tower, this is Sara. How may I help you today?"
• Greet all residents that aproach the desk.
• Say hello to all residents that pass by the desk.
• Wear appropriate attire and nametag.
• Smile
• Say "Thank you" and "Have a nice day."
• Know tools and resources at the desk.
• Know your job.
• When unsure of an answer, admit it and make the commitment to follow through by asking another staff member.
• Don't be afraid to ask questions.
• Don't wait for someone else to do it.

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