Customer Service Tips

Customer Service Training:
Four Simple Steps to Great Customer Service Skills

I tell my kids that good manners are an inexpensive way of looking classy. Great customer service begins with using simple good manners. These four tips are simple and easy yet they are too often overlooked in the business place.

1. Greet people with a smile as soon as they enter.

Sometimes the simplest things are overlooked! I recently gave a customer service workshop to hospital staff that was getting poor customer service reviews. One of the many complaints was that the front line receptionists made them wait to talk to them. Ridiculous!

Have you ever walked into an office and had the receptionist ignore you until he/she was "ready" to say hello. Irritating and demeaning. If a person walks into your office, onto your hospital floor, into your store...greet them. If you are on the telephone, make eye contact with them and smile. Let them know you see them. This is basic stuff but it is repeatedly overlooked.

First impressions are critical and easily messed up. I can't think of a business out there that doesn't depend on people to survive. Your typing, or steaming out clothes, or filing can wait. Unless you are giving CPR, you have a moment to greet the human being who just entered your workplace. So do it. Do it nicely with sincerity and you will be off to a great start!

2. Give people your undivided attention.

Just like you, your customer or patient or client wants to be heard and understood. Do not multi-task while a customer is talking with you. If they approach you while you are documenting on patient turn away from your computer and give them eye contact and listen.

If you absolutely have to finish what you are doing then tell the customer "I really want to give you my undivided attention. Will you give me a moment to just finish this up so I can get right to you?" Most often people are fine with this. Just make sure the task you need to complete is worthy of making them wait.

I was recently shopping for a cell phone. While I asked questions, the salesperson texted on his cell phone. He looked up and gave me eye contact every few seconds but it was clear that I wasn't a priority. I left without buying a phone. We live in a world where multitasking has become the norm but it is still rude to multitask when talking to a customer. It is also bad business.

3. Use the customer's name.

Everyone wants to feel special and important. If you take enough care to remember a customer's name and use it they will know that you are listening to their specific needs. If during the interaction their name escapes you simply stop, ask their name and apologize for forgetting. At least you are taking the time to make a unique connection with that person and they will appreciate that.

4. Thank the customer for their time

In the best stores (not necessary the most expensive) customers don't slip in and out without acknowledgment. Whether they buy or not, thank them for stopping. If a customer has a complaint, thank them for taking time to tell you about the problem. If a family member visits a patient on your unit, thank them for visiting. It is gracious. It is kind. It doesn't cost a thing.

Source: Amy Dee Kristensen: link

Article Content: Customer Service Skills

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Customer Service Training:
Four Simple Steps to Great Customer Service Skills