Customer service job description

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Customer service job description

WHAT DO WE MEAN BY ‘EFFECTIVE CUSTOMER SERVICE’?

‘Quality’ is the customer’s overall view of the relative superiority/inferiority of a service or product. Customer satisfaction depends on experience of individual service transactions and feelings about the overall service received - a customer’s previous experience can significantly add to or diminish their level of expectation. We have an opportunity to 'add value' through the way we provide customer care.

Factors influencing Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction:

responsiveness
attentiveness/helpfulness
care
friendliness

These factors, though largely intangible, are critical.

Customers look for ‘value for money’ – this is not the same as the cheapest option.

Responsiveness

respond quickly to customers

respond appropriately if they have had a negative experience (for example if they have been kept waiting) - ‘I’m very sorry you were kept waiting, how can I help?’

under promise and over deliver

respect the customer’s need for information and control (ie a need to feel that they have an impact on what happens)

build your knowledge of your service/product, organisation and communication channels – the customer’s perception of the organisation will be improved through your informed approach

successfully managing a customer transaction requires personal communication skills including active listening and effective questioning

The Importance of Courtesy, Helpfulness and Friendliness

These are factors within your personal control. Think about the degree to which you personally influence customer perception - customers generally think better of an organisation that manages conflict and handles complaints effectively. Interestingly, there is a direct link between satisfied customers and satisfied employees.

Deal proactively with problems - question assertively to establish the real causes.

Tell the customer what CAN be done rather than what can’t – it is more positive and encourages feelings of control on the part of the customer.

Be precise and to the point – mistakes annoy customers and may lead to them assuming that the organisation is inefficient

Build rapport - people need to feel respected and important. Customers like to have their viewpoints and feelings taken into consideration

Be positive and proactive – help the customer to visualise the outcome when offering solutions

Where Does It Fit Into My Role?

‘Customer Service’ is part of all of our jobs – we tend to think of the customer as someone who buys our service.. but another description of a customer is ‘a person one has to deal with’ – so we ALL have customers.

Customer focused organisations tend to:

have better reputations
be more competitive
be more productive and profitable
have a better image with their customers
experience fewer complaints and errors
show improved employee morale

Internal and External Customers

Customers fall into two categories – EXTERNAL and INTERNAL

External customers buy our services – THEY are the reason the business exists

Internal customers work within our organisation and rely on us for the materials, services and information that they need to get their jobs done

Treating our colleagues as customers is the best way to build a customer-focused organisation

Next time we talk we may be asking a colleague to supply us with a service – if they feel we have previously been unhelpful, discourteous or slow in providing something they needed, they may well respond in kind..

With our internal customers it is sometimes useful to separate ‘needs’ from ‘wants’ – prioritise what they genuinely need and defer some of ‘in an ideal world’ stuff if necessary.

With external customers try to meet ‘needs’ and as many of their ‘wants’ as possible - this will build a service reputation. There are a variety of ways in which we can identify an external customer’s needs:

by discussing their needs with them
by asking for Customer Feedback
by analysing complaints
through Staff Feedback
carrying out Market Research
through Customer Surveys
through Questionnaires
through Customer Audits
through Attitude Surveys

A thought for managers...

Staff who feel badly or unfairly treated will often deal with their customers in the same vein – so quality of service (and business reputation) is affected by the way they feel

Never treat customers as if they are an interruption

Customers are the reason we do our job – they are the MOST IMPORTANT PART – without them we serve no purpose

Don’t let the tasks of your job distract you from its purpose – you risk becoming a ‘busy fool’, so focused on the day-to-day pressures of the job you forget why you're doing it!

Customers are fickle creatures – they tend to take good customer care as a given – only noticing when they don’t get it. In fact, keeping the edge is a never-ending task, other suppliers will soon take advantage of your ideas and in any case what was originally ‘added value’ to the customer soon becomes the norm.

Market your successes – bring them to your customer's attention and stress the benefits of your service to them

Relationships with Suppliers

Building relationships with our suppliers is also an important aspect of our ability to offer excellent customer service. If our relationships are good we're more likely to get better service ourselves, helping us in turn to respond more effectively to our customers' needs.

Remember, suppliers can be external to our organisation or they may be other employees on whom we depend for materials and/or services - and good relationships are built by the way we work and interact with one another. So always try to:

make eye contact with them
say ‘good morning/afternoon’
make it clear that you need their help
say ‘please’ and be specific about what you want and when you want it by
be exact about special requirements
make sure they have the authority to do as you ask
don’t expect them to be mind readers!

Don’t be unwilling to ask for their help – they may be able to make suggestions you haven’t thought of..

HOW YOU AFFECT CUSTOMER CARE

Think about the way you look and behave – this has a major impact on how customers perceive you and your organisation

Negative impressions are often applied to the whole company – however unrepresentative they may be!

FIRST IMPRESSIONS – you only get one chance- a few seconds that leave a lasting impression

Make sure its is a good one!

Try always to be courteous and considerate and greet customers with a smile

Listen carefully and make sure you have fully understood their needs – you may want to practice using active listening skills.

Listening Skills

'We can hear without listening and listen without understanding'. According to folk lore we were born with two ears and only one mouth because we were meant to listen twice as much as we talk..

Listening is about HEARING, UNDERSTANDING, EVALUATING and RESPONDING

Poor listening happens because of:

perception – people sometimes jump to conclusions about the content of a communication and assume it will be boring or unimportant – we all have perceptual filters and these can prevent us from accurately hearing and understanding

we’re rarely taught to be good listeners

semantic problems - differing usage/understanding of words

gap time – the brain is capable of processing more than 500 words per minute – but most people can only talk at about 140 words per minute – this allows the brain to ‘wander’ and we lose concentration

Things to do to Improve Your Listening

stop talking..

minimise distractions

observe body language

show you are listening – use eye contact, nodding and facial expression – this will encourage confidence in the speaker

empathise, ‘walk a mile in their moccasins.. ' – this will help your understanding of how the problem is for them..

deliberately separate fact from emotion – to understand the problem it must be unobscured by emotion

watch carefully for incongruence (actions not matching words) – eg lack of eye contact, hesitation, contradiction
listen to what is said and what is not said..

listen to how something is said

avoid prejudice - think about the words you are hearing and not the person saying them

keep an open mind

remember listening is not problem-solving

repeat key words mentally to help you remember what has been said

when you respond paraphrase what you have understood so far, if you need to go over something again, do so

check that your own messages have been understood

listen attentively – if you are thinking about what to say next, or preparing an answer you are not giving your full attention

keep your promises

use open questioning and summarise to make sure that you have understood

if you need to take notes explain this to your customer first – bearing in mind that this may affect the quality of your listening

DON’T

read hidden meanings into what is said – take at face value until proved otherwise

hear only what you want to hear

dominate the conversation – ask open questions

REMEMBER

Communicating with Customers

86% of communication over the phone comes from tone of voice – use your voice effectively through the way you use inflection, pace and volume. Smile when you’re on the phone – this has a physiological affect (smiling raises the soft palate at the back of the mouth and makes the sound waves more fluid, affecting the tone of your voice). Sit up straight and avoid distractions.

When a customer complains – listen to the whole story, let them ‘vent’ – they won’t be interested in anything you have to say until they have!

Most people assume that when a customer is obviously upset that the response should be low key, calm and measured but the customer will often respond better if you also show your concern by matching their intensity. Show your concern through your voice.

Use inflection to show interest and concern

Adapt the volume of your voice to get the customer’s attention

Adjust the rate of your speech to match that of the customer (pace)

Adjust intensity to match the pace of the customer

Always show your concern and a genuine wish to help them with their problem. Apologise - this need not mean that you will be accepting liability - rather you are genuinely sorry they have had a problem..

Tell the customer what action you intend to take and keep them informed throughout

Take ownership for making sure the matter is progressed

Avoid passing people around and if you can’t deal with a problem, make sure that it is taken up by the right person

Build trust – if you say you will do something, do it. Keep to deadlines, ring back when you say you will, keep people informed. Always be sincere and honest.

Don’t take customer complaints personally - it is usually the situation that has upset them, you are listening to someone in an 'attacking mode'

Be professional and flexible when trying to meet customer needs but don’t agree to unrealistic expectations you can’t fulfil

Some Basic Rules for Dealing with Customers on the Phone

Answer promptly, greet the caller and give your name. (You will probably use different greeting depending on whether you are answering your own direct line, a departmental or business line). Know the different ringtones associated with internal and external calls

Ask how you can help

If possible use the customer’s name or preferred salutation – choosing the right form of address is important. If they refer to themselves as ‘Professor’, call them Professor. The clue is usually in the way they refer to themselves

Never leave a colleague’s phone ringing - take a message for them

Know how your telephone system works

Ask for the caller’s number in case they are cut off, you can then ring them back. (It’s also important when you’re transferring the call so that the recipient knows to whom they are talking)

Never assume callers are willing to ‘hold’ – always ask first. If they prefer not to hold, find out whether they want a return call, to leave a message or would like to speak to someone else

Transferring Calls

If you need to transfer a caller explain who you are transferring them to and why – and ask permission to transfer them

Don’t hang up before the person to whom you are transferring has answered, tell them the customer’s name and brief them on the nature of the call

Taking Messages

If the person the caller has asked for is unavailable – explain in a way that leaves a positive impression with the caller.. Be professional - don’t disclose information such as ‘he/she’s out sick/on holiday/off on a jolly..’ Instead say ‘I’m sorry Jo isn’t available at the moment – can I take a message for you?’

Dealing with Abusive Callers

Very occasionally you may have to deal with someone who is angry/using inappropriate language – if this happens you should:

Respond politely by saying ‘I’d like to be able to help but I’m having difficulty with the kind of language you are using. Could you please refrain from using that kind of language?’

This is often enough to bring the customer back down – they may not even have realised they were swearing. If they continue to swear – ‘As I said, I’d like to help but I can’t respond to your problem because of the language you are using. Would you please stop!’

If they don’t stop KEEP CALM and tell them that you are no longer able to deal with their problem but that you will get your manager to call them to discuss it. Then hang up and pass the matter to your supervisor.

Source : https://www.southampton.ac.uk/pdu/resources_links/resources_pdfs/customercare.doc

Web site link: https://www.southampton.ac.uk

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Author : P.Morgan

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