Transcript Chapter03

Chapter 3:
Customer Service Skills
for User Support
By Anthony W. Hill & Course Technology
1
Communication Skills and Customer Service
Customer Service Ethics
– Dissatisfied Customers generate
• Lengthy calls – the call might took lots of time and the time
wasted can be used for entertaining other customers.
• Repeated callbacks – unsatisfied customers will get to you
every time until they are satisfied.
• Complaints and ill-will among clients – your company
reputation will get worse if they tell to each other.
By Anthony W. Hill & Course Technology
2
Communication Skills and Customer Service
Customer Service Ethics
– Dissatisfied Customers generate
• Rerouting of calls to higher-level support specialists –
instead of forwarding their problem to the customer support,
they might go beyond that.
• Product returns for refund – this will reduce the profit for the
company.
By Anthony W. Hill & Course Technology
3
Communication Skills and Customer Service
Customer Service Ethics
– In pursuit of customer service excellence, support staff
members:
• Provide users with information, service or a solution.
• Explain to customers what can be done for them if a
problem can’t be solved.
• Treat customers and potential customers with respect
By Anthony W. Hill & Course Technology
4
Communication Skills and Customer Service
Customer Service Ethics
– In pursuit of customer service excellence, support staff
members:
• Communicate to callers how long they are likely to be on
hold and provide time estimates on how long it will take to
solve a problem.
• Return calls when promised, even if just to report that no
progress has been made.
By Anthony W. Hill & Course Technology
5
Key Concepts
To be an articulate User Support Specialist
– Listen Carefully
– Build Understanding
– Speak Effectively
• Sincere Greeting
• Scripts Appropriately (Prepared sequence of questions)
• Tone and Style Effectively
By Anthony W. Hill & Course Technology
6
Call Management Strategy
CMS is a collection of tools, techniques, and approaches that
successful support specialists use to move through a call
effectively and efficiently. Goals are:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Provide user with information he or she needs
Manage stress levels for both the caller and the support specialist
Ensure that the call progresses from start to finish in an effective and
efficient way
Make the user more self-reliant
By Anthony W. Hill & Course Technology
7
Call Management Strategy (cont’d)
Ask goal-directed diagnostic questions
Be honest
Say “I don’t know” when you don’t know
Apologize
Say thank you
Use call management, not caller management
Teach self-reliance
By Anthony W. Hill & Course Technology
8
Strategies for Difficult Calls
Calls:
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
From those who complain
From Power Users
That get off track
Who are upset or angry
Who abuse
Who won’t talk
Who won’t stop talking or hang up
By Anthony W. Hill & Course Technology
9