Five Ways to Avoid Self-sabotage in Customer Service

Customer service can be difficult enough without any extra 'help', but service providers often unknowingly self-sabotage their efforts. Here are five ways you can avoid hurting your own customer service.

Tip #1: Avoid trigger words
Have you ever wondered why telling an irate person to "Calm down" has the opposite effect? There are certain words that can trigger a customer's anger in emotional situations. For example, the word "No" can trigger an outburst because it makes a customer feel powerless and without options. A saavy customer service rep will find other ways to deliver the message without igniting anger, even if the answer really is "No". See some more examples.

Tip #2: Avoid quoting time in ranges
We often need to give a customer a time frame for something to happen. For instance, we might say, "Your replacement part will arrive in 2 - 4 business days." Unfortunately, it's human nature for your customer to only hear "2 days". Your customer may get upset when the promised part doesn't arrive two days later. It's much better to give one date, such as "Your replacement part will arrive by Friday, January 28." If it arrives early, you are a superstar. If it arrives by the 28th, you simply made good on your promise.

Tip #3: Set conservative expectations
Anytime you get a chance to set expectations, set them low so they are easier to exceed! For example, let's say you need 30 minutes to research a question and get back to your customer with an answer. If you say 30 minutes, you are risking a service problem if something interrupts you and it takes 45 minutes to respond. On the other hand, if the customer agrees to a one hour response time and you get back to them in 45 minutes, your response time seems faster than expected!

Tip #4: Follow-up on problems
A great way to avoid looking like a slug is to follow-up on problems to make sure everything is OK. For example, let's say you agree to help a customer with a billing problem. You contact someone in your accounting department and ask them to make the adjustment and send out a corrected statement. You'll score a few points with your customer if you follow-up to make sure the problem has been resolved. You may also sniff out a problem before it gets worse if you discover they still haven't gotten what they needed.

Tip #5: Listen fully and without judgment
Complete this sentence. "When listening to a customer, it's always wise to avoid jumping to ___________." I bet the word "conclusions" flashed into your brain, right? Most of the time, the ability to fill in the blanks is a terrific skill to have. Unfortunately, it's a habit that can be dangerous when we are listening to a customer's needs, especially if we don't fill in the blank correctly. For example, the word that should complete the sentence above is "solutions", a small but subtle difference!

How else can we avoid self-sabotage in customer service? Leave your tips in the comments section below!

Losing the sale to sloppy service

It's always amazing to me when salespeople sell themselves right out of a sale. Over the past few months, I've been shopping for some new insurance coverage for Toister Performance Solutions. It's finally over and I now know two things. First, I'm thankful for State Farm insurance Agent Bob Beedle. Second, there are a lot of insurance brokers out there who should swear off coffee, because coffee is for closers.

Brokers 1, 2, & 3
The first broker never bothered to send me the application he said was necessary to get a quote. The second one chewed me out when she realized I was looking at several different brokers, even though I was very up front that I was considering several options. The third broker was initially responsive, but then never follow-up with the requested quote.

A commission not worth the trouble
One broker told me her commission was "only fifty bucks" so she was helping me as a favor. Was it possible the lack of service from these brokers stemmed from a perception that the commission simply wasn't worth the effort?

Enter Bob Beedle
There is a happy ending to this story. Bob Beedle, my State Farm insurance agent for the past ten years, was able to sell me the coverage I needed. Bob is terrific. He is responsive, he always takes the time to fully answer my questions, and he is careful to sell me just the amount of insurance I need. He even hand delivered the new policy to my home so I'd have it quickly.

Why didn't I go to Bob in the first place? Well, it's a long story, but let's just say that I'm glad Bob is persistent with a certain small department at State Farm.

Please consider Bob for all your insurance needs!

Bob Beedle
7185 Navajo Rd, Ste B
San Diego, CA 92119
619-462-1155
Website

5 Ways to Help Employees Empathize More

Empathy is an amazing customer service skill that can solve a lot of problems, lead to enormous goodwill, and create customers for life. A popular story on the internet today details how a Southwest Airlines pilot held his plane so a late passenger was able to travel from Los Angeles to Colorado in time to see his grandson before he died. An understanding of what the grandfather was experiencing prompted the pilot to take extraordinary action. (Read the story here.)

Unfortunately, demonstrating empathy can be difficult for many customer service professionals, especially when the situation isn't quite so extreme.

A housekeeper in an upscale hotel may never have spent $200 to spend the night on a luxury hotel room.

A tech support rep may fix his own computer, so he has a hard time understanding why so many customers can't fix seemling simple issues.

A sales rep at an office supply store might not own a small business, so she can't related to the needs of the business owners she serves.

How can you help employees empathize?

There are simple techniques you can use to ensure your employees are better able to demonstrate empathy with your customers. Here are a few of my favorites.

#1 Hire people who have been there, done that. I love buying outdoor gear at REI because the people who work there are passionate about the gear they sell. When my wife, Sally, and I bought backpacking equipment a year ago, a sales associate who was an avid backpacker gave us all sorts of useful pointers. Compare this to a big box sporting goods store where the only 'pointer' you might get is the sales associate's finger pointing at an intimidating wall of backpacks.

#2 Help employees acquire customer experiences. If your employees aren't already customers, help them temporarily become one. For example, some hotels have associates spend the night as a guest to gain a new perspective. Another great one is a catalog company that gives its reps gift cards to other catalog companies so they can see what it's like to be an a customer. And, there's always the time-honored employee discount!

#3 Coach employees to empathize. Employees can develop a better sense of empathy through coaching. Start by having them identify why a customer might be upset in a particular situation. Next, ask the employee to think of a similar experience and how they felt. Finally, discuss ways they can provide assistance so the customer won't feel like they did.

#4 Conduct after action reviews. Empathy skills can take time and patience to develop. Try conducting an 'after action review' when an employee misses an opportunity to serve with empathy. This will help the employee identify alternative strategies that might yield a better result the next time they encounter a similar situation. An after action review also helps the employee focus on future performance rather than feeling upset at being blamed or scolded by the boss.

#5 Remove anti-empathy pressure. You'll naturally create more empathetic employees when you remove negative pressures that might convince them to act without concern for their customer. The Southwest Airlines pilot who held his plane for the grandparent risked upsetting the other passengers and possibly getting into trouble. However, Southwest Airlines quickly reinforced his actions by releasing a public statement that made it clear they were proud of their pilot's actions.

How else can you help your employees demonstrate empathy? Chime in a share your ideas!

Why the boss asks employees to do their dirty work

My wife, Sally, and I just had hardwood floors installed in our home, finally replacing carpeting that looked old and outdated when we moved in nine years ago. It looks beautiful and the workmanship is outstanding, but the job was not without adventure. Our installer ran out of materials - twice. Worse, our installer had to share the bad news with us personally rather than the owner of the company (who was our salesperson) picking up the phone to apologize and give us the update herself.

This situation raises an interesting question. Why are bosses and business owners so willing to put their employees in the line of fire rather than handling their own mess?

Social scientists at Carnegie Mellon University discovered a possible explanation. They conducted an experiment where participants were given $10 and instructed to share as much as they'd like with another participant. Next, they were asked to repeat the experiment, but this time they used an itermediary (i.e. 'employee') to share the money on their behalf. On average, participants shared $1 less when using an intermediary than when they shared the money directly. The implication is it is easier to do something unfavorable to another person if we do it through an employee.

(Ok, that was a very superficial summary. If you are a nerd like me, you can read the whole study here.)

The CBS show Undercover Boss is another great illustration of this phenomenon. In each episode, a senior executive goes 'undercover' to work frontline positions in his or her company. One episode featured the owner of a fulfillment company taking calls in a call center. He quickly realizes how these employees are put in impossible situations where they don't have the training or authority to provide appropriate solutions to customer problems. (See my previous post about the show.)

Other examples abound. How else could bank executives ask their employees to enforce unpopular fees in the name of profitability while giving themselves outsized bonuses? Why do we spend 10 minutes arguing with a frontline employee who says they are only following policy and then the supervisor overrides the policy to give us what we want immediately?

Sexual harassment cases abound in 2011

Update 10/5/11: Time is running out to schedule your California AB1825 training!
Update 4/7/11: Three things you need to know about California AB1825 training

A lot of (allegedly) bad behavior is catching up to several prominent figures during the first week of 2011. Former New York Jets quarterback Brett Favre has been named in a lawsuit, ESPN announcer Ron Franklin was fired, and Naval Captain Owen Honors was relieved of duty, all for allegedly engaging in harassing behavior at work. These incidents should serve as a reminder to all companies about the importance of taking proactive steps to prevent workplace harassment. Failure to do so could lead to lost productivity, expensive litigation, and bad PR. Really, really bad PR.

When there's smoke, there's fire
The lawsuit filed against Brett Favre and the New York Jets is just one of several sexual harassment issues the New York Jets have faced in the past few months. Favre is fresh off a $50,000 fine from the NFL for not cooperating with an investigation into a separate sexual harassment complaint filed by New York Jets game day reporter Jenn Sterger.  The Jets organization also made headlines in September 2010 after reporter Ines Sainz was reportedly subjected to inappropriate comments and behavior from Jets players and coaches.The lawsuit filed this week alleges that two message therapists were not offered continued work by the Jets organization after they refused sexual advances made by Favre via text message.

 

Organizations should never assume a sexual harassment complaint is an isolated incident.

Cultural Issues
You have to wonder about the company culture when an organization repeatedly deals with sexual harassment issues. ESPN announcer Ron Franklin was fired this week after allegedly making sexist comments to a female colleague. Unfortunately, this wasn't even close to the first time ESPN has dealt with an on camera personality accused of inappropriate behavior. Harold Reynolds, Eric Kuselias, and many others were already on the list. Are all of these folks lewd, sexist pigs? The problem is the general public doesn't have the facts, but they do have the sensational story. We have to form our opinion based on what we have.

Embarrasing Evidence

An inappropriate video filmed in 2007 caught up to Naval Captain Owen Honors when he was relieved of duty as commander of the USS Enterprise this week.  This type of technology is clearly creating problems with workplace behavior. It's too easy to click "Send", "Share", or "Record" when faced with something that is both inappropriate and amusing (at least to some). While private behavior may be lost with time and fading memories, recorded behavior lives on.

Schedule your 2011 harassment prevention training
California employers with 50 or more employees are required to provide two hours of sexual harassment prevention training every two years. For many companies, 2011 is a 'recertification year', meaning that it's time to conduct the training once again. Fortunately, Toister Performance Solutions offers a workshop that is fun, educational, and easy to schedule.

Learn more about our sexual harassment prevention class.