The challenge for the 21st century is moving beyond customer satisfaction. Suzanne Chambers discusses how to use customer service to your advantage during an economic downturn, improving the ways you speak to your customers, and meeting and exceeding customer expectations.

1. How Loyal Are Your
Customers?

2. Suzanne Chambers
Customer Care Manager
• 30+ years experience in payroll
• and accounting
• Helped develop and currently leads the
Customer Care Center for G&A
Partners
• CPP (Certified Payroll Professional) and
is Customer Service Certified (CSC)

3. It Is Wise to Remember. . .
That the average customer is:
• Educated
• Knowledgeable
• Time Driven
• Value-oriented
• Opinionated
• Skeptical

4. A solid service quality plan is as critical to
a successful improvement effort as a
good map is to a successful journey.

5. Present Situation of Customer
Service Today. . .
• Bad, and getting worse
• Companies distancing themselves from customers
• Companies train in terms of their “policy”
• Employees care about self, not customers or company
• Employees don’t see training as “for themselves,” rather as a
pain in the butt and a “necessary evil” of the job.
• Service people are not prepared to serve in a memorable way.

6. • Do not utter the
words “our
company policy”
unless they are
followed by “is to
exceed your
expectations.”
Jeffrey Gitomer

7. The Challenge for the 21 st
Century is Not Just
Serving Customers. . .

8. • It’s understanding customers
• It’s being prepared to serve customers
• It’s helping an angry customer immediately
• It’s asking customers for information
• It’s listening to customers
• It’s being responsible for your actions when a
customer calls
• It’s living up to your commitments
• It’s being memorable
• It’s surprising customers
• It’s striving to keep customers for life
• It’s getting unsolicited referrals from
customers. . .regularly!

9. These Days Customers are. . .
• Smarter
• Leaner
• Price conscious
• Lower morale (downsized)
• Hit on more by competitors

10. • More demanding
• Less forgiving
• Harder to satisfy
• Less loyal

11. Companies can boost
profits anywhere from
24—125% by merely
retaining 5% more
existing customers.
A 2% increase in
customer retention has
the same effect on
profits as cutting cost
by 10%.

12. ???????????
?
What prompts you to more
often return to a particular
store or business rather than
“shop around?’

13. NEWS FLASH!
• According to John Franco, former president of Xerox Learning
Systems, 8 of the top 10 reasons customers give for buying a specific
product or service have to do with the delivery of customer service.
Things like responsiveness, technical knowledge or skill, & professional
attitude.
• British Airways’ found that friendly staff was twice as important as
operational factors, like food service and speed of check-in, for
generating goodwill with their customers.
• The Strategic Planning Institute found that companies considered to be
service leaders can charge 10% more for their products or service than
average companies. They also tend to grow twice as fast and are 10
times more profitable.
• A Forum Corporation study found that 7 out of 10 customers said they
left a business because of poor service—not price or quality.

14. • Answer from Sales People?
– “Because prices were too high.”
• Answer from Customers?
– Only 9% even mentioned price.
– 68% said it was because of indifferent
treatment by an employee.
More than 50% of customers rank the service
they receive as “only fair” or “poor.”

15. It takes twelve positive
actions to get rid of one
negative experience.

16. Just What Is Quality Service to
the Customer?
• What makes it distinctive?
When it comes to defining quality service
the only perception that really counts is
the customer’s, because it’s the only
one that will determine their decisions—
their decision on whether to continue to
do business with you or not.

17. CUSTOMERS
• Satisfied Customers • LOYAL customers
Will Shop Anyplace will fight before they
switch.

18. • AND they will proactively refer people to
buy from you.

19. What is a Satisfied Customer?
• One that felt okay about dealing with you.
• Their needs were met.
• The product was okay.
• The service was okay.
• The experience was okay.
• They are satisfied (happy) with their purchase.
• They may or may not talk about the experience.
• They may or may not refer someone to you.
• Their overall feeling about you is between neutral and
positive, and their experiences with you have not
been negative.
• Not bad—but not great.

20. What is a Loyal Customer?
• One who feels GREAT about dealing with you.
• Their needs were met and/or exceeded.
• Your delivery was GREAT.
• The service was GREAT.
• The experience was GREAT.
• They are ecstatic with their purchase.
• They will proactively talk about the experience.
• They will proactively refer someone to you.
• Their overall feeling about you is wonderful and their
experiences with you have been memorable.
• WOW!

21. Loyal Is. . .
. . .unyielding
. . .unrelenting
. . .ever faithful
. . .true to the end

22. How Do You Get to “Loyal” in the
Relationships with Your Clients?
• Apply the principles that build loyalty in
every other aspect of your life.
• Loyalty is more delicate with customers
because there is a balance of money
and value.
• Loyalty is not just granted—it is an
earned distinction.

23. Loyalty is. . .
• The highest mark
• Success
• Solid gold
• Golden business
• Your golden opportunity to win by
earning it from others

24. Who is the Most Important
Person in the World?
• The problem is when you are speaking with a customer they
think THEY are the most important person in the world—and
your job is to treat them that way—but you do not.
• You say. . .
– The person who takes care of that is on vacation for a week.
– We are out of stock, and I do not know when we will have more.
– I am sorry, this is the best we can do.
– That is not my job.
– I do not care how you got it before—this is the way we do it now.
– I do not have to take this.
– (computer voice) Your call will be answered in the order in which it
was received.
– I am either on my phone or away from my desk.
– Our policy says. . .

25. “The customer only wants two
things—show me you care
about me personally, and tell
me what you’re going to do
for me now (help me,
please).”
Jeffrey Gitomer

26. The Fortune Being Made in Service—and
the Fortune Being Lost.
• “We have a 97.5% customer
satisfaction rating!”
• That means 2.5% of your customers are
mad and they are telling everyone.
• 97.5% of your customers will shop
anyplace the next time they go to
market for your product or service.

27. Loyalty. What Is It? How Do
You Get It?
• By giving it first.
• The more loyal you show someone you are, the more
likely they are to be loyal back to you.
• Compare to the institution of marriage—the reason
most marriages fail in the loyalty factor is that the
other person in the marriage fails to continue to earn
the loyalty.
• Loyalty does not disappear all at once. It erodes day
by day. The same way you can continue to build it
day by day.

28. What actions do you take each day
in order to be able to keep your
spouse or your customer in the
category of loyal?
How are you earning loyalty?

29. Let’s Define Your Customers. . .
• Overbearing
• Demanding
• Cheap
• Past Due
• Back Stabbing
• Wolf Crying
• Disloyal
• Lying
• One more thing. . .

30. PAYCHECK!
• The owners of your companies do not
pay you. They are just a conduit for
funds. The customer pays you. The
owners just sign the checks for money
put in the bank by customers. It’s not
your boss you need to be afraid to make
angry...it’s your customer.

31. JustTryThis. . .
• Here’s a way to ensure you understand
who the customer is. Every time you
lose a customer, and he stops doing
business with your company—the net
result from the loss of revenue is. . .
your kids eat less!

32. YOU’RE FIRED! BY THE REAL
BOSS—YOUR CUSTOMER.

33. 15 Reasons Why Customers Fire You:
1. Showing no genuine or personal
interest.
2. Poor response.
3. Unavailability (people or product).
4. Hard to do business or order.
5. Unfriendly person on the front line.
6. Poor or rude collection practices.
7. Over-promising.
8. Inadequate capability to handle the
customer’s problem.

34. 15 Reasons Why Customers Fire You:
9. Too eager to do more business.
10. Poor professional package or image.
11. Dumb excuses about why you “can’t.”
12. Nickel and dime-ing.
13. Poor product quality.
14. Poor service delivery.
15. Poor training.

35. Why Customers Get Upset:
• They did not get what was promised
• Someone in your organization was rude
to them
• They perceived an attitude of
indifference
• No one LISTENED

36. Customers Want You To:
• LISTEN
• Take responsibility and ownership
• Pay attention to the details
• Remember it is their time and money!

37. Customers Like. . .
• Value • Tangibility
• Communication • Assurance
• Attitude • Empathy
• Reliability • Exceptional Service

38. Two Questions. . .
• What are you doing to build loyalty and
ensure repeat purchases?
• Are your customers resigning or re-
signing?

39. • You do not even have to go the
“extra mile”—sometimes an “extra
inch” will do. The value-added
inch. The inch that can make a big
difference.

40. 8 Advantages of Great Service
1. It is free.
2. It builds goodwill.
3. It builds customer loyalty.
4. It creates memorable experiences that will be retold time
after time.
5. It makes your customers salespeople for your business.
6. It leads to referred business.
7. It makes it harder (impossible) for competitors to steal
away customers—even at a lower price.
8. It creates a clear distinction between two companies
engaged in the same business.
AND people will tell others!

41. . . .The only trouble is the customer
makes up the rules and decides
whether or not you get to keep playing.”

42. Customer Care Tip
30% of people shopping for a new
product or service will hang up and go
elsewhere if their call is answered by
automation.

43. Customer Care Tip
Imagine you are being called by your best
friend (you are).

44. Customer Care Tip
What you say is far less important than
how you say it.

45. Customer Care Tip
Listen through your customer’s ears.

46. Customer Care Tip
“People will believe what they see before
they believe what they hear.”
» BERT DECKER, HIGH IMPACT COMMUNICATIONS

47. Customer Care Tip
“It costs 5-6 times more to gain a new
customer than to retain an old one.”
» THE POWER OF CUSTOMER SERVICE

48. Customer Care Tip
If you’re right, there’s no reason to lose
your temper; if you’re not, you can’t
afford to!

49. Customer Care Tip
Polices should never surprise or
inconvenience a customer.

50. Customer Care Tip
Customers are like a box of chocolates
. . .you never know what you’re going to
get, so enjoy each one.

51. Customer Care Tip
Customizing shows people you really care
about them, and it virtually eliminates
your competition.

52. Customer Care Tip
Customers. . .
. . .Are the most important people who will ever be in this office.
. . .Are those special VIPs who call on the phone.
. . .Are not interruptions of our work. . .they are the reason for it.
. . .Are individuals with names and feelings.
. . .Are not people I argue with.
. . .Are the reasons I have a job.
. . .Are not always right, but they are always. . .
THE CUSTOMER

53. Customer Care Tip
“Imagine that every customer is wearing
an invisible sign that says: ‘Make me
feel important.’” Mary Kay

54. Customer Care Tip
People hope for friendly,
but rarely get it. You
can capture business
with friendship
gestures. . . You can lose business
without them.

55. Customer Care Tip
Everyone has a complaint department,
but no one has a praise department.
Why not open up a praise, problems,
and information department?

56. Astounding Customer Service is
like a Fitness Program. . .
• Time
• Repetition
• Consistent message
• Reinforcement
GREAT Customer Service does not just happen!

57. Question & Answer
For More Information:
Suzanne Chambers
G&A Partners
4801 Woodway, Suite 210
Houston, Texas 77056
(713) 235-8201
www.gnapartners.com
schambers@gnapartners.com