Customer Service

Unforeseen Customer Service Circumstances

Posted on March 12th, 2013 by Shome

Customer Service Blog Unforeseen CircumstancesOn Sunday, February 10, Carnival Triumph, a cruise ship became stranded in the Gulf of Mexico as it was on its way back to port. The engine had caught on fire, resulting in a loss of electricity throughout the ship. It made nationwide news, if not worldwide, and it was covered through a variety of mediums, including print and online newspapers. The ship had to eventually be tugged to Mobile, Alabama–its original destination was Galveston, Texas–and it Mobile late on the night of Thursday, February 14. Originally, Triumph was supposed to reach back to Galveston on Monday, February 11.

 Unforeseen Circumstances

Imagine about 4,000 customers becoming angry, impatient, anxious, and scared. Imagine about 4000 customers having to wait for three hours for a hamburger, and imagine about 4000 customers without electricity, and broken sewage. And of course, all of this is happening in the middle of the ocean, on a ship.

 

Two of my close friends were on Triumph. I was very curious to hear about their experiences on the ship, and I was able to catch up with one of them on Friday, which was the same day he had gotten back to Lafayette after what must have seemed like a 20 hour car ride, I imagine.

 

When I asked him about the trip, the first statement he made was that they had a great time. When I asked him if the media was reliable in its coverage, his answer was threefold. He said some of the information was exaggerated, some of the information was true, and some of the information was somewhat true. He again said that they had a wonderful time. Then, without asking about the crew members and staff, my friend brought them up, saying that they were great throughout the whole experience. He said that they were still nice, and that they were trying their best, with what they had, or didn’t have, to make them feel as comfortable as possible.

 

I actually didn’t think about it until my friend mentioned it–when I thought about the Triumph situation, I was just really thinking about the customers or passengers, and my friends; however, just like the customers, the staff  and crew members were in the exact same scenario. Not only were they in the exact same situation, but they also had to cater to 4000 or so customers. That’s a lot of pressure and stress to deal with while being stranded out in the middle of the ocean, and according to my friend, they handled it with great diligence and kindness–reacting to unforeseen circumstances, out in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico.

What Does a Healthy Organizational Culture Look Like?

Posted on March 11th, 2013 by Dexcomm HR Department

More businesses are seeing a direct return on investment in areas like customer service and bottom line figures. Can a healthy organizational culture influence customer service? If so…

What does a healthy organizational culture look like?

The Institute for Business, Technology, and Ethics (IBTE) has developed Eight Traits Of A Healthy Organizational Culture (Fostering A Sharp Customer Focus). The IBTE believes that any good organization must have an inspiring, shared mission at its core–and it must have capable leadership in place and in development. Assuming these two factors are present, the following eight traits define a healthy organizational culture:

  1. Openness and humility from top to bottom of the organization. Organizations whose executive management team does not mind getting their hands a little dirty succeed more than those who don’t. These organizations learn what works and what doesn’t work from the doers in order to build more effective processes, etc.
  2. An environment of accountability and personal responsibility. Denial, blame, and excuses harden relationships and intensify conflict. Successful teams hold each other accountable and willingly accept personal responsibility.
  3. Freedom for risk-taking within appropriate limits. Both extremes–an excessive, reckless risk-taking and a stifling, fearful control–threaten any organization. Freedom to risk new ideas flourishes best within appropriate limits.
  4. A fierce commitment to “do it right”. Mediocrity is easy; excellence is hard work, and there are many temptations for shortcuts. A search for excellence always inspires both inside and outside an organization.
  5. A willingness to tolerate and learn from mistakes. Punishing honest mistakes stifles creativity. Learning from mistakes encourages healthy experimentation and converts negatives into positives.
  6. Unquestioned integrity and consistency. Dishonesty and inconsistency undermine trust. Organizations and relationships thrive on clarity, transparency, honesty, and reliable follow-through.
  7. A pursuit of collaboration, integration, and holistic thinking. Turf wars and narrow thinking are deadly. Drawing together the best ideas and practices, integrating the best people into collaborative teams, multiplies organizational strength.
  8. Courage and persistence in the face of difficulty. The playing field is not always level, or fair, but healthy cultures remain both realistic about the challenges they face undeterred by difficulty.

On the contrary

Julie Rains of Wise Bread gives some telltale signs of an unhealthy organizational culture. She says that if you are observing these signs in your organization, chances are your ailing culture will need work.

If you find your organization exhibiting any of the following behaviors, it may be a sign you may have an unhealthy culture.

  1. Playing favorites. Some employees have frequent contact with you, resulting in a strong bond. He or she pleased with you and your company. But others don’t get much support—coaching, mentoring or encouragement—from their managers and colleagues.
  2. Bending the rules too much. As a caring boss, you make sure that employees have the time off and extra resources to tend to urgent personal needs. But many of your team members may be frustrated by the low productivity of these high-maintenance employees.
  3. Employees fear taking risks. Your team members seem reluctant to introduce innovation, despite your encouragement to adopt new approaches. If you’ve blamed your employees for missteps when they made good-faith efforts to execute new initiatives, you haven’t adopted the right approach to employee growth.
  4. Employees are defensive. Whenever you rightly point out an area that needs improvement or a problem that needs a remedy, employees react defensively. If honest dialogue is rare, then employees don’t feel supported enough to function effectively.
  5. Employees give only positive feedback. People may not complain because they sense that negative comments are unwelcome. Or they may fear repercussions.
  6. Talented people giving average performance. Talented people want to deliver great results, not only for your business but also for their resumes. If your star employees are delivering average sales, productivity and profitability, they are not getting what they need from you.
  7. Customers complain often. Customer responses to your company reflect their treatment by employees, particularly your front-line staff. Lots of complaints means the culture you’ve tried to create has either not reached everyone or seems so contrived that customers are dissatisfied rather than delighted.
  8. Hearing bad news too late. You are unable to salvage relationships because customers abandon your company without fair warning. The complaints that seemed like isolated minor concerns turn out to be really serious ones. Customers are frustrated with your company’s failure to provide them with fresh, relevant solutions to their problems. And your employees are discouraged about the company’s ineffectiveness.
  9. Issues are repeated in meetings. If you hear about the same problems over and over, it’s likely that there is little or no effective action being taken to deal with them.

 For more on organizational culture

eBook How to Motivate Your Staff and Improve Employee Morale

Can a Healthy Organizational Culture Influence Customer Service? Click HereClick Here for Tips on Creating a Healthy Organizational Culture - Dexcomm

Intriguing Customer Service Application

Posted on March 7th, 2013 by Karl Schott

Talk to the Manager

Customer Service AppI received an interesting follow on twitter from a company featuring an intriguing customer service application recently. Talk to the Manager gives businesses an outlet for their customers to anonymously contact a manager to communicate compliments and concerns about service via text message.

People have several reasons for not voicing dissatisfaction with the companies they do business with. Companies that are great at customer service are constantly and actively seeking feedback about their products, their people, and the customer experience. One tough barrier to crack is that giving negative feedback to a business can sometimes be time consuming. Many dissatisfied customers would rather leave unhappy than wait ten minutes while someone at a counter goes to retrieve a manager to discuss a problem. Another is that some people simply are not comfortable expressing dissatisfaction.

The obvious risk is that if you don’t provide an outlet for your customers to give you feedback they could take to the Internet and share their concerns with the general public. Then things can really get out of control.

@sk the Expert - Karl Schott Customer Service ManagerAn anonymous text message can breech both barriers at once. It’s an interesting concept and seems like it might make a great tool to people who deal with a lot of customer foot traffic at their physical locations. It might make a great tool for a practice manager at a doctor’s office as well who is interested in feedback from patients about their waiting room experience. I’d love to know if anyone out there has any experience with the product.

 

 

 

 

Customer Service Tips: Reputation

Posted on March 5th, 2013 by Shome

Your Customer Service ReputationCustomer Service Reputation

Over at prweb.com, there’s this article called, “ShinyReputation.com Reveals Tips That Will Keep Customers Happy and Coming Back.” It talks about interacting with customers, and it provides some helpful tips. These are tips that companies should adhere to, already, but it’s nice to be reminded of our goals when helping customers. Here is the first tip from the article:

 

“It is important to treat the customer with the utmost respect at all times even when the customer may not always be right. Most patrons will recognize when they have been difficult and may comment on sites such as Yelp on how the business and its employees reacted to a particular situation.”

 

Notice that it states…”even when the customer may not always be right.” This can be tough some times, or perhaps, most of the times; however, to establish a solid reputation, companies should strive to go beyond the natural inclinations of dealing with a tough customer and provide excellent customer service no matter the situation. By building a good reputation, the word will spread around, especially with the Internet, recommendations or gripes can be easily communicated to the world. The tip above also refers to online venues that serve as a rating and review system for various service industries. One such site, as stated above, is Yelp. There’s even one for teachers.

 

Keeping track of what customers are saying about your business, whether it’s good or bad, can provide great insight with what is or is not working for your company. Perhaps, the customer’s review will help one to make changes to better serve its clients. Or perhaps, the customer’s review will let the company know that they’re on the right track. Sometimes the reviews can be bitter; however, take it all into consideration, and of course, if you were to respond, respond with grace and compassion. Building a positive reputation can be hard work, but it’s worth it as the companies mentioned in the linked article are now getting great exposure for their excellent customer service practices.

 

Dexcomm - Baton Rouge, LA

Dexcomm – Baton Rouge, LA

yelp Dexcomm

Dexcomm – Corporate Office

Organizational Culture Influences Customer Service

Posted on March 4th, 2013 by Dexcomm

Healthy organizational cultures used to be something that only human resources professionals talked about but in recent years having a healthy organizational culture has become an important topic from everyone to Customer Service Managers to the “C-suite.” More businesses are seeing a direct return on investment in areas like customer service and bottom line figures.

“If you look at companies lauded for their superior customer service, you almost always find that those companies create a culture that supports excellence in customer service. It’s not that they simply train their employees in customer service skills” (Robert Bacal)

 

What is Organizational Culture?

Every business has a culture that exists within the structure of the organization. Organizational culture can be seen in values, customs and traditions within organizations as well as the professional atmosphere that is reflected in how their employees’ dress, conduct and ways of communicating internally and externally. The objective is to have an organizational culture that supports the goals of the organization. Business experts call this having a healthy organizational culture.

 

How Can a Healthy Organizational Culture Influence Customer Service?

Click Here for Tips on Creating a Healthy Organizational Culture - Dexcomm“A healthy company culture that focuses on providing excellent customer service, regardless of their products and services, will have a much easier time teaching, coaching and reinforcing employees on the significance of providing excellent service.” (Sweeney, 2011)

There are many other benefits of having a healthy organizational culture. Kevin Eikenberry, the Chief Potential Officer of The Kevin Eikenberry Group, says that there are seven reasons organizational culture matters, “These seven benefits can help to reinforce existing customer service strategies and can contribute to greater results.” (Eikenberry, 2006)

  1. A strong culture is a talent-attractor. Your organizational culture is part of the package that prospective employees look at when assessing your organization. Gone are the days of selecting the person you want from a large eager pool. The talent market is tighter and those looking for a new organization are more selective than ever. The best people want more than a salary and good benefits. They want an environment they can enjoy and succeed in.
  2. A strong culture is talent-retainer. How likely are people to stay if they have other options and don’t love where they are? Your organizational culture is a key component of a person’s desire to stay.
  3. A strong culture engages people. People want to be engaged in their work. According to a Gallup survey at least 22 million American workers are extremely negative or “actively disengaged” – this loss of productivity is estimated to be worth $250-$300 billion annually. Your culture can engage people. Engagement creates greater productivity, which can impact profitability. Need I say more?
  4. A strong culture creates energy and momentum. Build a culture that is vibrant and allows people to be valued and express themselves and you will create a very real energy. That positive energy will permeate the organization and create a new momentum for success. Energy is contagious and will build on itself, reinforcing the culture and the attractiveness of the organization.
  5. A strong culture changes the view of “work.” Most people have a negative connotation of the word work. Work equals drudgery, 9-5, “the salt mine.” When you create a culture that is attractive, people’s view of “going to work” will change. Would you rather see work as drudgery or a joy? Which do you think your employees would prefer? Which will lead to the best results?
  6. A strong culture creates greater synergy. A strong culture brings people together. When people have the opportunity to (and are expected to) communicate and get to know each other better, they will find new connections. These connections will lead to new ideas and greater productivity – in other words, you will be creating synergy. Literally, 1 + 1 + right culture = more than 10. How is that for leverage?
  7. A strong culture makes everyone more successful. Any one of the other six reasons should be reason enough to focus on organizational culture. But the bottom line is that an investment of time, talent and focus on organizational culture will give you all of the above benefits. Not only is creating a better culture a good thing to do for the human capital in the business, it makes good business sense too.

For more information regarding return on investment and statistics of a health organizational culture, click here to learn about the Denison Model Statistics.

 

Works Cited

Eikenberry, K. (2006, March 19). Seven Reasons Organizational Culture Matters. Retrieved March 4, 2013, from Ezine Articles: http://ezinearticles.com/?Seven-Reasons-Organizational-Culture-Matters&id=164337

Robert Bacal, B. &. (n.d.). What is a customer service culture? Retrieved March 4, 2013, from Customer Service Zone: http://customerservicezone.com/faq/culturewhat.htm

Sweeney, M. (2011, July 14). The Impact of a Healthy Organizational Culture on Customer Service. Retrieved March 4, 2013, from Bright Hub: http://www.brighthub.com/office/human-resources/articles/121405.aspx

Customer Service Tips for Handling Multiple Phone Lines: Workstations

Posted on February 21st, 2013 by Dexcomm

Customer Service Tips for Handling Multiple Phone LinesHandling Multiple Phone Lines

 

 

 

Managing multiple phone lines in your business can be very challenging at times. Mismanaged phone lines can lead to angry customers and frustrated employees. Dexcomm wants to help small businesses learn effective ways of achieving successful customer service results while handling multiple phone lines. Here are a few useful customer service tips for handling multiple phone lines to think about when getting your space set up.

 

Workstations:

Great managers and supervisors know that in order for their employees to be successful, they must provide them with the proper tools and techniques they need to succeed. For phone operators who are handling multiple phone lines, this means having the appropriate workstation available.

 

If your small business has only one person answering phones and greeting visitors, the front desk may be the most optimal space. But if your business has multiple phone operators, an area away from visitors may be more appropriate because of the noise associated with multiple operators. In addition, if your business does have multiple operators, it will be important to ensure that they can hear over each other. You may consider using cubicle walls or spacing the workstations out enough so that they can properly hear their callers.

 

Quick Tip: Workstations should be ergonomically set up to avoid safety concerns with repetitive motions. Click here to assess the ergonomics of your operator workstations.

 

Headsets or earpieces are another important tool in helping your operators to achieve success. The latest technology includes options like wireless and blue tooth. Hands-free devices allow operators to take better notes, decrease the repetitive motion of using a traditional phone and increase the amount of movement and flexibility for multitasking. Multitasking activities can include things like greeting visitors and taking deliveries while continuing to manage the phone lines.


HIPAA-eBook-Banner

If your phone operator is responsible for managing the front desk, consider having a window for privacy during phone calls or another way for the operator to notify a visitor that he/she is on the phone. One important consideration is the Health Insurance Privacy and Portability Act (HIPAA) and legalities around what visitors overhear when they are waiting to be greeted by your front desk person.

 

 

Phone system capabilities are another important part of having the right tools in place for achieving successful customer service results. Features like call recording, logging, caller id, voice mail, ease of use, ringing options, hold music or service listings and voice over IP are all features that should be considered when assessing phone systems. 

 

Having a computer or standardized forms for your operators’ availability can help with message taking, note taking, form completion, customer resolution issues, etc. Assess what is unique to your business and set up systems for effective client management for your operators. Also consider having a system to allow operators to notify a supervisor or backup when in need. Consider a chat feature, a help button or other form of notification.Learn how to improve your office's communication with our free Telephone Techniques eBook. Click here to access.

Customer Service Tips From The Enchanted Neighborhood

Posted on February 20th, 2013 by Shome

Winnie the Pooh on Customer Service

Customer Think posted an article about the top 5 posts for the first week of January. To my delight, there is a link referring to one of mine, and I’m sure, for a lot of us, favorite childhood character and loveable bear: Winnie.

 

It’s interesting because it goes to show that we never know were we can find insight into customer service related matters–it can be from, of course, through personal experience, magazines, books, blogs, and so on, and it can also be from fictional stories and cartoon characters.

 

Customer Service Tips from the enchanted neighborhood

The article, “5 Customer Service Lessons From Winnie-the-Pooh,” written by Marc Compeau provides five quotes from Winnie, and they can all relate to customer service tips, and of course, generally, it can use for life related philosophies. All in all, it’s referring to how we should treat one another. There is much to learn from Winnie and his creator A.A. Milne, and the one that stands out most to me:

 
“Some people talk to animals. Not many listen though.
That’s the problem.”

 

The quote pretty much speaks for itself–listening, showing empathy and compassion, being patient, and showing that you care can all relate to this particular quote. For more Winnie aphorisms, check out the article here.

 

The mediums from where we can find our insights into life are infinite, and the variety of sources helps us to understand ourselves and others. Whether it’s from the loveable Winnie or works such as Twilight, Harry Potter, or Zen and The Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, or comedic and dramatic movies, or music, there is much to learn about life through these forms of entertainment, and what we learn about life and the people around us can help us in our customer services.

 

Trending Customer Service Strategies in 2013

Posted on February 14th, 2013 by Shome

Customer Service StrategiesDexcomm Customer Service Strategies 2013

Customer Think posted an article called, “What Lies Ahead for Customer Service In 2013,” and it’s about how companies will focus on certain customer service techniques for this year. The first two practices on the list seem to stick out the most.

 

The first customer service strategy centers around “everyone serves,” stating that “everyone in the organization – from those who look after the website, to those who work in the contact center and even those who work in the fulfillment side, all focused on the customer in a unified way.” The key word here is “unified.” It’s the effort of keeping all employees, no matter their position, striving for the same goals when interacting clients. Everyone is involved, thus maintaining a level of consistency and accountability.

 

Second on the list is information about how the Internet will become the main medium for customer service interaction as opposed to using the phone to communicate with clients: “digital channels will no longer be viewed simply as a channel shift mechanism but rather be promoted and designed to be the default way in which service is provided.” As the uses of technology grows and changes, and as more are using mobile devices as their main form of communication, customer service practices are accordingly acknowledging this trend and are going a long with it.

 

For the rest of the trending customer service practices and techniques for 2013, as well as some observational notes, check out the article here.

@sk the Expert@sk the Expert - Karl

If you are a small business owner, keeping up with a 24/7 world can be tough when you are trying to provide your customers and clients with an experience that meets their expectations and enjoy your personal time. When looking for customer service strategies that work best for you, consider a Virtual Receptionist service.

A Virtual Receptionist can provide reminder services, fax-to-email service, voice mail screening, provide product help-desk assistance to you clients, take inbound orders and reassure your clients and customers that you are always accessible and there to meet their needs.

Read More

 

Going Beyond Customer Service

Posted on February 7th, 2013 by Shome

There are several stories out there that really dig deep into the human condition. Sometimes these stories make national headlines, other times, they mainly stay local. However, whenever I hear about them, I realize that there is so much going on beyond the surface of the article.

CONCERN FOR OTHERS Caring for and serving first the needs of the customer, caller or co-worker while treating everyone with dignity and respect.

 

 

Going Beyond Customer Service

 

 

The Yahoo! News article, “Robber’s Change of Heart Inspires Clerk to Make Pizza,” is about a man who was about to rob a pizza restaurant in Montana–his weapon of choice was a knife. However, in the middle of it all, the man broke into tears as he told the employee that he was doing this because he was trying to support his family which includes children. What happened next? The employee sympathized with the man and made him a pizza and some chicken wings as the man sat in the restaurant and waited for his “order.” Once the pizza and the chicken wings were ready to be served, the man took the food and left.

 

This, perhaps, can be seen as customer service at its best. There is something about it that goes beyond the concept of business and marketing and making money. It’s about the human condition. It’s about understanding that times can be tough for people, and their circumstances lead them to use strange tactics whether they want to do it or not. Sometimes, we try to help out–this is one of those stories…it’s about helping out during a most unusual situation. It’s about how compassion can exist in a place where it normally does not find itself. It’s about going beyond customer service.

 

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Customer Service Role Playing

Posted on February 5th, 2013 by Shome

Are You Customer Service Role Playing?

Using the Google Search Engine, I typed “funny customer service,” just to see what would pop up, and I clinked on an article called, “The Funny Side of Customer Service,” from the website, We Build You Blog. I couldn’t help but chuckle a bit at a few of the conversations and scenarios taking place, and at first I thought that this was all just made up for a humorous sake; however, either way, it did bring up an interesting point.

 

Before providing a few examples of the lighter side of customer service, the article provides a few tips on the subject itself:

 

  • Providing some advice to a customer’s question
  • Making it easy for the customer to purchase your products and services
  • Responding to any customers requests

 

After that, the article shows a series of situations that variety of companies experience when helping customers. Such customer service businesses include Samsung Electronics, WordPerfect, and RAC Motoring Services.

 

It made me realize that, from a customer service viewpoint, sometimes the customers may not know anything at all about their products they’ve purchased. Though it may seem humorous at times, customer service representatives must try to put themselves in the customers’ shoes to gain a better understanding of the issues at hand. It’s a bit of role playing–pretend that someone from another world has just landed on your planet and needs help with understanding a certain concept (or product)…basically, the customer service representative must start right from the beginning to make sure that this person gains a full understanding of the answers. Ideally, by providing solid answers and instructions, the customer, whether she or he is from “another world” or this world, will know how to fix certain issues without calling customer service again because the right foundations have been set. Showing empathy for the situation and taking the time (and extra time) to help those in need can make a pleasant experience for both the customer service representative and the customer.

 

@sk the Expert Tips & Techniques

Role Playing and using Stock Phrases in Customer Service Training

 

@sk the Expert - Karl

It’s no secret that careers involving interactions with customers and clients can occur at times when those individuals are stressed and frustrated. Role playing in customer service training can be a powerful tool when it comes to building new skills and techniques to handle different customer types and difficult situations. 

Read-More

 

 

 

If you need an expert to help you evaluate your customer service telephone techniques, contact us about a Quality Assurance Evaluation.

 

 

 

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