A service breakdown occurs when a customer's expectations of service are not met. The document discusses recognizing different types of difficult customers and dealing with them effectively using knowledge of behavioral styles. It provides strategies for preventing customer dissatisfaction, implementing a frontline service recovery strategy, and maintaining good internal customer relations to avoid service breakdowns.

1. 7 3 Define what a service breakdown is. Apply knowledge of behavioral styles in difficult customer situations. Recognize different types of difficult customers and effectively deal with them. Building and Maintaining Relationships Service Breakdowns and Service Recovery Learning Objectives McGraw-Hill/Irwin Copyright © 2009 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

2. Service Breakdowns and Service Recovery Learning Objectives , Continued Use the emotion-reducing model to help keep difficult situations from escalating. Explain why customers defect. Develop effective strategies for working with internal customers.

3. Identify strategies for preventing customer dissatisfaction and problem solving. Explain the six steps of the problem solving model. Implement a front-line service recovery strategy, and spot roadblocks to service recovery. Service Breakdowns and Service Recovery Learning Objectives , Continued

4. Understand Service Breakdowns : What are service breakdowns ? Service breakdowns occur daily in all types of organizations. Definition : Situation when customers have expectations of a certain type or level of service that are not met by a service representative.

5. Behavioral Preferences Play a Major Role The Role of Behavioral Style The more you know about style preferences, the better you will understand your customers. See Ch. 6 to review the behavioral preferences if you have need to confirm their patterns and strategies for dealing with them.

6. Difficult Customers Various types of difficult customers will be faced . Demanding or demeaning Be professional, respect the customer, be firm and fair. Say what you can do. Indecisive customers Be patient, ask open-ended questions, listen actively, suggest options, guide decision making

7. Difficult Customers , continued Other types of difficult customers Dissatisfied and angry customers. Be positive, acknowledge customer’s feelings, reassure, remain objective, listen actively, reduce frustrations, negotiate solutions and follow up. Rude or inconsiderate customers. Remain professional. Don’t retaliate.

8. Talkative Customers Tips for dealing with talkative customers Remain warm and cordial, but focused Ask specific open-ended questions. Use closed-end questions to control. Manage the conversation.

9. The Emotion-Reducing Model Review each area of the model. Use the model for reducing customer emotions .

10. Customer Defection Reasons to Defect Poor service and complacency. Inappropriate complaint resolution. Unmet needs. Failure to be sensitive to diversity may set you, your company, and your customer on a collision course.

11. Internal Customer Relations Relationships—Internal customers are special also Stay connected Meet all commitments Don’t sit on your emotions Build a professional reputation Adopt a good-neighbor policy

12. Strategies to Prevent Dissatisfaction : Use problem solving Ways to deal with a service breakdown is to prevent it : Think like a customer Exceed expectations Pamper the customer Respect the customer Focus on the customer

13. Prevent Dissatisfaction : Focus on the Customer Take the following actions to focus on the customer : React to remarks or actions. Empathize. Take action. Reassure or reaffirm. Follow-up.

14. The Problem-Solving Process Steps to Problem Solving

15. Implementing a Service Recovery Strategy The five phases of the service recovery process are : Apologize, apologize, apologize again. Take immediate action. Show compassion. Provide compensation. Conduct follow up.

16. Service Recovery Process , Fig. 7.7 Use the form to format the discussion easier

17. Examples of Service Breakdowns Review each with an eye to solving the problem.