This presentation is based upon the book, ‘Why my Horse Doesn’t Smile – Learn to serve your customers. Though, ‘customer’ has always been the focal point of any business, yet, in today’s business world, ‘Customer Service’ is the ONLY differentiator. Customer service is the latest ‘mantra’ for success. Better the services a customer receives and more importantly perceives; better are the chances that the business will evolve and grow. It is a proven fact: a satisfied customer becomes the source of word-of-mouth advertising and also continues to remain a loyal customer. In order to have a competitive edge over competitors, it is a must for an organization to provide the ultimate experience to each and every customer. Good quality customer service helps organizations to create positive moments of truth in their interaction with customers leading to unparalleled advantage over competitors. It is a necessity to reinforce the earlier positive experience of customer in future interactions with them. Also, it is important for you to understand that your role is more than just a job? It is an opportunity to connect with customers, and to brighten their day, to possibly make a difference in the way they shop. In order to serve better, you first need to identify: • The issues and concerns that restrict you from offering good customer service. • Different ideas and better ways and means to deliver world class customer service to every customer? • What do you need to do in order to make customer service a priority? • How can you exceed customer’s expectations so that they remain loyal to your organization? This book will help people decipher the ‘mantra’ for success, i.e., ‘How to serve customers with a smile’. The examples shared in this book may or may not be directly related to the type of product or service one is offering may be through a call center or at a retail outfit. However, both ‘Tips’ and the ‘Words of caution’ mentioned in this book will help individuals to improve interactions with customers. In addition, such inputs will also help them to improve their overall personality and relationships with others.

1. “Why My Horse Doesn’t Drink”
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2. “Why My Horse Doesn’t Smile”
Coverage of Book / Presentation
• The issues and concerns that restrict us from
offering good customer service.
• Different ideas and better ways-n-means to
deliver world class customer service.
• What do we need to do in order to make
customer service a priority.
• How can we exceed customer’s expectations to
make them remain loyal to our organization.
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3. “Why My Horse Doesn’t Smile”
• ‘Customer Service’ is the ONLY differentiator in today’s biz
world.
• If we don’t take care of our customers, someone else will.
• Good quality customer service is a necessity to reinforce
the earlier positive experience of customer.
• Our greatest asset is the customer! Treat each customer as
if they are the only ones.
• Customers don’t expect you to be perfect. They do expect
you to fix things when they go wrong.
Some Thoughts
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4. “Why My Horse Doesn’t Smile”
Let your customer do selling for your organization
• Good customer service builds great experience; customers
tell each other about that; Word of mouth is really powerful.
• One customer, well taken care of, could be more valuable
than $10,000 worth of advertising.
• Single most important thing to remember is that the result
of a business is a satisfied customer.
• There is place in the world for any business that takes care
of its customers – After the Sale. Some Thoughts
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5. “Why My Horse Doesn’t Smile”
Customer – A few Definitions
• A customer is someone who purchases or rents something
from an individual or organization.
• Any person, who defines needs or wants, justifies or pays
for part or entire project, or evaluates or uses the results.
• The person or business that buys from a business; a
purchaser of goods or services.
“Customer service is awareness of needs,
problems, fears and aspirations”
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6. “Why My Horse Doesn’t Smile”
Characteristics of a Customer
A customer is someone
• Who has a ‘need’ or ‘want’ of a particular article.
• Who can afford it, means who has enough ‘money’ to buy it.
• Who has the ‘authority’ to decide the purchase.
“A company without customer service will be a
company without customers”
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7. “Why My Horse Doesn’t Smile”
Service – Some Definitions
• Work done by a person or group that benefits another.
• An act of help or assistance.
• The act of managing the expectations of others.
“One customer, well taken care of, could be more
valuable than $10,000 worth of advertising”
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8. “Why My Horse Doesn’t Smile”
Customer Service – A few Definitions
• Customer service is your ability to cater to the needs and
the wants of your customers.
• Customer service is your ability to constantly and
consistently exceed the customer's expectations.
“The goal as a company is to have customer service
that is not just the best, but legendary advertising”
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9. “Why My Horse Doesn’t Smile”
Customer Service – Few simple rules
• Always give people more than what they expect to get.
• I may not have the answer of all questions, but for my
customer
• I will find the answer he or she is looking for.
• I may not have the time, but I will make it.
“Care stands for Customer Are Really Everything”
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10. “Why My Horse Doesn’t Smile”
Customer Service – Grooming
THE ART OF LOOKING GOOD
• Proper dress sense
• Shaved face
• Combed hair
• Polished shoes
• Neatly cut nails
“Personality is to a person what
perfume is to a flower”
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11. “Why My Horse Doesn’t Smile”
Customer Service – Pre-requisite
• I know you have an impressive wardrobe. But of all the
things you wear, your expression is the most important.
• It is true, if someone remembers your suit and not your
smile, you didn’t smile enough.
• If you work just for money, you will never make it, but if
you love what you are doing and you always put customer
first, success will be yours.
“Everyone smiles in the same language”
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12. “Why My Horse Doesn’t Smile”
Smile Always
Smile Always
Smile Always
Smile Always
Smile Always
“A smile is a curve that sets everything straight”
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13. “Why My Horse Doesn’t Smile”
Self Esteem
• Do we respect our self?
• Do we feel pride in what we are doing?
• Do we have faith in our self and our abilities?
• Do we feel confident of achieving all the goals we have
set for our self?
“Put all excuses aside and remember this:
YOU are capable”
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14. “Why My Horse Doesn’t Smile”
Positive Self Esteem
• Learn to welcome changes rather than fear them.
• Your self-image need not to be exaggerated.
• Positive self-esteem does not make you perfect.
• Failure is a stepping stone to success.
“Sooner or later, those who win are those
who think they can”
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15. “Why My Horse Doesn’t Smile”
Replacing Negative Thoughts with Positive Thoughts
Negative Thoughts Positive Thoughts
I have failed. I await success.
All my efforts have not given me My failure taught me how to succeed.
anything.
I have committed a mistake. I had the confidence to try it.
I could not fulfill my desire. I need to try it in another way.
I am not up to the mark. I need to work on improving myself.
I did not use the time effectively. The time spent today will pay
tomorrow.
I am down and out. Let me try it another way.
My idea is pathetic. Let me try a better approach.
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16. “Why My Horse Doesn’t Smile”
Communication
Verbal Communication
• Speech – Tone and Pitch of Voice
• Choice of Words
Non-Verbal Communication
• Body Language
• Eye Contact
• Hand Gestures
• Facial Expressions
“The ill and unfit choice of words wonderfully
obstructs the understanding”
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17. “Why My Horse Doesn’t Smile”
Communication
Tone of Voice
• Do I speak too fast or too slow?
• Do I have long pauses between two sentences?
• Do I get appropriate words or do I repeat words already spoken?
• How is my pronunciation?
Intonation
• The SUN rises in the east – The pitch rises while saying SUN
• The sun rises in the EAST – The pitch rises while saying EAST
“I speak two languages, Body and English”
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18. “Why My Horse Doesn’t Smile”
Communication - A few tips related to body language
• Distance from others
• Positioning of Head
• Communication through eyes
• Hand Gestures
“The language of the body is the key that can
unlock the soul”
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19. “Why My Horse Doesn’t Smile”
Communication – Listening versus Hearing
• Listening is a prerequisite for being an effective CSR.
• Listening helps in understanding the customer’s
complaint and point of view.
• Listening is a prerequisite to maintain good relationships.
”Most of us have been gifted with the ability to
hear, but few of us have taken hearing and refined
it into the art of listening”
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20. “Why My Horse Doesn’t Smile”
Communication – Choosing your response
Newton’s Third Law of Motion:
When two or more bodies interact with each other their
action and reaction act in the opposite direction. Human
beings are no different. To every action of ours, there is
a reaction from the other person. Most of the time, this
reaction is in the opposite direction. This is because
everyone believes in their own point of view.
“The first reaction to truth is hatred”
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21. “Why My Horse Doesn’t Smile”
Communication – Choosing your response
In ‘Mahabharata’ when Arjuna asked Lord Krishna,
“Keshav, aap itne stithipragya kaise rah lete hein”. This
means: How can you be so undeterred in every
situation, whether it is a moment of joy or sorrow.
Krishna replied, “Because I always act”. An action is
always controlled and appropriate whereas a reaction is
uncontrolled and in most of the cases it is in the
opposite direction, which may make it in appropriate.
“Most of the successful people I've known are the
ones who do more listening than talking”
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22. “Why My Horse Doesn’t Smile”
Communication – TIPs for Improving Listening
• Stop talking. (Don’t do two things, when listening, only listen)
• Always look at the customer speaking to you.
• Show interest in what the other person is saying.
• Imagine the other person’s view point.
• Speak only affirmatively while listening.
• Don’t Interrupt. (Listen first, and then be heard)
• Try to discover the meanings.
• Take notes.
• Use the other person’s words while answering or responding.
“Your most unhappy customers are your greatest
source of learning”
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23. “Why My Horse Doesn’t Smile”
Rephrasing
1. Rephrasing to clarify what you have said but could not be
understood as it was intended.
• "What I meant to say was…"
• "Let me rephrase that…"
• "Let me put it in this way...“
“Don’t try to tell the customer what he wants. If
you want to be smart, be smart in the shower.
Then get out, go to work and serve the customer”
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24. “Why My Horse Doesn’t Smile”
Rephrasing
2. Rephrasing to confirm that whatever you listened was the
message customer wanted to communicate.
• "You mean…"
• "It seems to me you feel . . .“
• "You seem to . . .“
• "In other words . . ."
“Isn’t it really ‘customer helping’ rather than
customer service? And wouldn’t you deliver
better service if you thought of it that way”
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25. “Why My Horse Doesn’t Smile”
Telephone Etiquette
• Speak clearly.
• Choose proper words.
• Use appropriate pitch of voice.
• Make use of pleasant tone of voice.
• Do not eat anything or chew while talking over phone.
“The telephone is a good way to talk to people
without having to offer them a drink”
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26. “Why My Horse Doesn’t Smile”
Telephone Etiquette - How to answer the Phone calls
• Pick-up all incoming calls before the third ring.
• Your voice should reflect warmth and enthusiasm.
• Pronounce the words clearly, be audible, speak slowly but clearly.
• Avoid using words, ‘OK’ or ‘No problem’, instead use words,
‘Certainly’ or ‘Sure’.
• Avoid using fillers, ‘uh huh’, ‘um’, or phrases ‘you know’.
• Instead of saying, "I don't know" say, "Let me find out what can
I do for you”.
“Greet all callers professionally
with a smile on your face”
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27. “Why My Horse Doesn’t Smile”
Telephone Etiquette - How to answer the Phone calls
• Listen attentively, instead of ignoring, must seek clarification.
• Return all calls received in your absence at the earliest.
• Avoid using speaker phone. Use it only when someone else is
required to respond to the customer’s query/complaint.
• Always keep a notepad, pen or pencil with you.
• Before hanging up the call, you must thank the customer.
“God gave you a gift of 86,400 seconds today.
Have you used one to say, thank you”
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28. “Why My Horse Doesn’t Smile”
Creating Rapport: Greeting
“Atithi Devo Bhavah” (A guest is equivalent to God)
TIPs for Developing Rapport
• Encourage the customer to talk.
• Disagree without being disagreeable.
• Have patience.
“A person without patience is a lamp without oil”
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29. “Why My Horse Doesn’t Smile”
Querying the customer
• Query versus Interrogation
• What and when to query a customer
• Courtesy in querying while asking customer any question, use
the word, ‘Please’.
• “Ma’am, can you ‘PLEASE’ tell me if you have…..”
• “Sir, ‘PLEASE’ tell me the date when this problem occurred.”
• “Ma’am, may I request you to ‘PLEASE’ inform me about…”
“If you mean to profit, learn to PLEASE”
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30. “Why My Horse Doesn’t Smile”
Handling Difficult Customers
• Uninformed
• Well-informed
• Anxious
• Friendly
• Egoistic or High-Headed
• Informal
“Customer complaints are the schoolbooks from
which we learn”
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31. “Why My Horse Doesn’t Smile”
Handling Complaints
• Always put yourself in the customer’s shoes.
• Accept that if a customer is angry with you or your organization,
there must be a problem.
• Acknowledge their problem, show genuine concern to resolve it.
• The customer may get angry or annoyed during conversation;
but you maintain your cool.
• When unable to resolve the issue; must refer it to the concerned
authorities.
“Courtesy is a small act but it packs a mighty wallop”
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32. “Why My Horse Doesn’t Smile”
Handling Stressful Situations
• Positive Stress
• What can stress do?
How to deal with stress?
• Prevent stress
• Share your stress
• Spend time with self
• Know your limits
• Have a sense of humor
• Make to – do list
• Cooperation versus Confrontation
• Cry sometimes
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33. “Why My Horse Doesn’t Smile”
Follow-up
• If we follow-up on the issues faced by customers, it gives them an
assurance that you are taking interest in resolving their problem.
• Follow-up makes a customer feel delighted rather than being just a
satisfied customer.
• We fail to follow up if we lose our sensitivity towards the customer’s
issue. Empathize with the customers.
• Whatever may be the outcome of the follow-up, it must get
communicated to the customer within the stipulated time.
“Customers don’t expect you to be perfect. They do
expect you to fix things when they go wrong”
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34. “Why My Horse Doesn’t Smile”
An ideal resource for people working in industries
• Insurance
• Banking
• Telecom
• Hospitality
• Airlines
• In-bound & Out-bound Call Centers
• Organized Retail Outlets
• e-Retail Organizations
• Utility Industry
“In the world of Internet Customer Service, it's
important to remember your competitor is
only one mouse click away”
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35. “Why My Horse Doesn’t Smile”
Published by: VIVA Books Pvt. Ltd.
(121 pages, ISBN 978-81-309-1263-9)
4737/23 Ansari Road, Daryaganj, New Delhi 110 002, India, (9111-42242200)
vivadelhi@vivagroupindia.net
215-216, New Apollo Estate, II Floor, Mogra Lane, Andheri (E), Mumbai 400 069
vivamumbai@vivagroupindia.net
Jamal Fazal Chambers, 26 Greams Road, Chennai 600 006
vivachennai@vivagroupindia.net
B 103 Jindal Towers, 21/1A/3 Darga Road, Kolkata
vivakolkata@vivagroupindia.net
7, Sovereign Park Apts. 56-58, K.K. Road, Basavanagudi, Bangalore 560 004
vivabangalore@vivagroupindia.net
101-102, Moghal Marc Apts. 3-4-637 to 641, Narayanguda, Hyderabad 500 029
vivahyderabad@vivagroupindia.net
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36. Vivek Mehrotra
www.vivekmehrotra.com
919998001326
Neelesh Kapoor
www.neelesh.webs.com
919919994030
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