This document discusses excellent customer service. It begins by explaining that keeping existing customers is more important than attracting new ones, as repeat customers spend more and it costs less to retain them. It then outlines strategies for building customer loyalty like satisfaction and relationships. The document provides tips for good customer service including listening, making promises you can keep, dealing with complaints, and being helpful. It discusses communication skills and provides examples of empathetic and relationship-building phrases. Finally, it offers advice for handling different types of difficult customers through role plays.

1. Excellent
Customer
service
Basic concept of customer service
Basic communication skills of dealing with
customers

2. Review
Do you think companies spend
most of the time and energy
attracting new customers or
keeping existing customers?
Which one is more crucial to a
company, attracting new
customers or keeping existing
customers? Why?
How do you understand the
idea of “Customers are God”?

3. Statistics: Advantages of
Keeping Customers
Repeat customers spend 33%
more than new customers.
It costs 6 times more to
acquire a new customer than it
does to keep an existing one.
As little as a 5% increase in
customer retention can
increase profits by 25 to 95%.

4. Ladder of customer loyalty
Advocate
Supporter
Client
Customer
Prospect

5. Strategies of Building
Customer Loyalty
Building brand equity
- Brand loyalty (From a marketing
point of view, brand equity is the
measure of customer loyalty to a
brand.)
Creating customer satisfaction
Creating and maintaining
relationships
- Customer service
- CRM (customer relationship
management)

6. I. Customer Service
Discussion: Sharing your
experience
Talk with your partner about
your most delightful or
annoying experience with
customer service as a
customer.

7. Discussion:
What were the consequences
of your delightful and
annoying customer service
experiences?

8. Facts about Customer Service
80% of business leaders believe
their companies are doing a
good job in the way they treat
customers.
Only 8% of customers agree.

9. 54% to 70% of customers who
complain will do business with you
again if they feel their problem is
resolved. That figure jumps to 95%
if the customer feels the complaint
has been resolved quickly.
According to the above recent
reports, outstanding customer
service is now rated as being more
important than low prices and
quality products!
Facts about customer service

10. 1. What is Customer Service?
How a company deals with its
consumers before, during and after
a purchase or use of a service.
A series of activities designed to
enhance the level of customer
satisfaction – that is, the feeling that
a product or service has met the
customer expectation.
A proactive attitude that can be
summed up as: I care and I can do.

11. 2. Why it Matters?
Businesses need to recognize:
The benefits of having
satisfied customers;
The costs of having
dissatisfied customers .

12. 3. Who Offers It?
Who gives customer service?
Name some job roles…
Shop assistants (salespersons)
Receptionists
Bank assistants
Insurance agents
Food servers
Bus drivers
Customer service
representatives

13. Link: Customer Care
Customer care centre
Customer care representative
The two terms (customer
service and customer care) are
often used interchangeably.
Customer care is the
application of customer service.

14. 3. Who Offers Customer
Service?
Excellent customer service can
only be achieved by training
all employees, even those who
do not have direct contact
with customers.
Happy employees make happy
customers.

15. 4. How to offer Customer
service?
Listening

16. 4. How to offer customer
service?
Discussion:
What rules for good customer
service can you summarize?

17. 4. How to offer customer
service?
Excellent customer service is the
ability of an organization to
constantly and consistently exceed
the customer's expectations.
It’s all about attitude and skills.

18. Rules for Good Customer Service
Answer your phone
Make sure that someone is picking up the
phone when someone calls your business.
Don’t make promises unless you WILL
keep them
Listen to your customers
Let your customer talk and show him that
you are listening by making the appropriate
responses, such as suggesting how to solve
the problem .
Deal with complaints
Be helpful, courteous, and
knowledgeable

19. Communication Skills of Dealing
with Complaints
“Customer complaints”
“Telephone complaints”
“Handling difficult situations”
“Resolving conflict”
“Active listening”

20. Words & phrases that damage
customer relationship
You don’t understand.
I don’t know.
I can’t…
You don’t see my point.
Hold on (or hang on) a second.
Our policy says (or prohibits)…
That’s not my job/responsibility.
You must/should…
You’ll have to…
What you need to do is…
What’s your problem?
Why don’t you…?
I never said…
“I’ll find out for you”;
“I’ll need to check on that
and get back to you”;
“I’ll have to look that up,
when is a good time for me
to call you back?”

21. Words & phrases that build customer
relationship
Please.
Thank you.
I can/will…
How may I help?
I was wrong.
You’re right.
I understand how you feel.
May I …? / Could we try …?
Have you considered …
I’m sorry for …
It’s my/our fault.
What do you think?
Would you mind?

22. Express Empathy to
Customers
Use empathic phrases:
“I can see why you feel that way”
“I see what you mean”
“That must be very upsetting”
“I understand how frustrating this
must be”
“I’m sorry about this”
Always say you’re sorry

23. Excellent Customer Service
Study these “winners”
Customer service stars:
BusinessWeek Top 25
http://images.businessweek.com/ss/
09/02/0219_customer_service/1.ht
m

24. Customer Service & CRM
CRM is useful for customer service.
Businesses can use automated CRM
applications to analyze customer
complaints, or compliments, and
change the business processes
accordingly. Interestingly enough,
CRM products also run many
automated call-centers for
businesses (i.e. customer service
systems). CRM applications and
practices are used to make
businesses more efficient and
improve customer satisfaction.

25. Role Play (work in pairs)
You have bought a cell phone and
it’s broken after only one week and
you’re very angry about products
not being made to last anymore.
You want the salesperson to do
something immediately. She is
offering you a replacement and you
want a refund.

26. The Talkative Customer
Ask closed questions
Limit the time available for them
to interrupt (don’t have long
pauses)
Provide minimal response
Smile and be pleasant, but don’t
encourage them
Wind up – thank them for coming,
walk them to the door but don’t
be rude or dismissive

27. The Angry Customer
Listen carefully without interrupting
so you understand the problem
Empathize in a broad way
Stay calm and remain polite
Don’t escalate the problem
Don’t take it personally, be defensive
or blame others
Propose an action plan and follow it
Seek support if you are scared, if you
can’t agree on a solution or if the
customer asks to see “whoever’s in
charge”

28. The ‘know it all’ Customer
Acknowledge what they say
Compliment them on their
research
Be generous with praise
Don’t put them in their place no
matter how tempting
Don’t try to be smart – you can’t
win!
Ask them questions and use them
to improve your knowledge

29. The Indecisive Customer
Find out what they really want
Ask them for the options
Reflect back to them what they’ve
said
Assume control gently and point
out the best course of action from
what they’ve told you they need
Be logical
Confirm a plan of action with
them
Maybe even put it in writing

30. The Suspicious Customer
Establish your credibility
Ensure you know your product or
service
They will try and catch you out so
don’t guess or tell them
something you’re not sure of
Be careful what you say
Be polite
Don’t take it personally, they
don’t trust anyone!