Public relations in an Organization

1. TOM MBOYA UNIVERSITY
COLLEGE
A constituent College of
Maseno University
P.O Box 199 - 40300, Homa Bay.
Email: homabay@maseno.ac.ke

2. IN-HOUSE INDUCTION
SEMINAR for STAFF
of
TOM MBOYA UNIVERSITY
COLLEGE
26th -to- 27th Nov.2015

3. Workshop Theme:
CUSTOMER CARE
Ref: Workshop.sem/Staff/vol.3
Motto: Never tell customers; it’s wrong! before exacerbating the situation.
PART ONE

4. Authored by:
S O William
Academic Staff
TMUC
Approved by:
Prof. J Kobiero
Principal
TMUC

5. Specific Workshop
Objective:
Staff Interaction with Public,
before, during & after
Professional service delivery
within
TOM MBOYA UNIVERSITY.

6. What is
Customer
Care?

7. What is
Customer Care?
Customer care is the
provision of service to
customers before, during and
after the professional service
delivery to the satisfaction of
the customers.

8. The perception of success
of such interactions is
dependent on staffs "who
can adjust themselves to the
personality of the guest".

9. @S O William defines;
Customer care
as
"part of Top-down
Management Care focused on
ascertaining confidence to
Customers whose Needs &
Wants will be satisfied".

10. Customer service
Do Customer service have a non verbal
acclamation?

11. Yes!
Safaricom customer care services is
always available 24/7, providing
relentless service to public; without
a camouflage spirit . But no one
ever go-back to say thank you for
such service.
Why?
Participants to give their view!!!

12. The Customer
Experience
(CX)
Value Equation:

13. The Customer Experience
CX Value Equation:
Customer Experience (CX) is a
complex practice area that
requires clear vision, the right
tools, and great execution to
succeed.

14. According to Jeff Griebeler of
Oracle White Paper (2012),
Customer Experience-CX focuses on
three major areas:
1) Acquisition (A),
2) Retention (R), and
3) Efficiency (E).
These areas play a critical role in any
learning institute, government, business
(public or private) and non-profit
organizations.

15. CX VALUE EQUATION:
CX = A + R + E
Acquisition refers to the ability of an
Institution/organization to increase its
customer base;
TOM MBOYA UNIVERSITY
Through her staff’s customer care shall;
• Generate more economic opportunities e.g.
Business Incubation Program
• Increase TM University brand equity
• Increase TM University Academic Market Share

16. CX VALUE EQUATION:
CX = A + R + E
Retention is the ability of an
Institution/organization to keep & grow
the customers it already has;
TOM MBOYA UNIVERSITY
Through her staff’s customer care shall;
• Increase share of wallet-improved economies of scale
• Shall drive Loyalty of the public through high
admissions & Community development projects
• Shall also drive strong academic Advocacy to the
public and Job creation activities.

17. CX VALUE EQUATION:
CX = A + R + E
Efficiency allows an Institution to do
more with less.
TOM MBOYA UNIVERSITY
Through her staff’s customer care shall;
• Improve on return-on-investment/capital for TM
University, staff & public.
• Increase socio-economic productivity of every sector
of economy within TM University reach.
• Reduce cost of economic operations, and increase
revenue/income of stakeholders.

18. CX VALUE EQUATION:
CX = A + R + E
The CX Value Equation
effectively defines a mapping
or translation layer between a
Students/Public strategy and
Tom Mboya University
Mission line.

19. PLEASE REMEMBER!!!
The Customer Experience Value
Equation consists of three main
practice areas: Acquisition,
Retention, and Efficiency.
CX VALUE EQUATION:
CX = A + R + E

20. CX VALUE EQUATION:
CX = A + R + E
Summarized Cluster

21. CX VALUE EQUATION:
CX = A + R + E
#1 Acquisition (short-notes)
Acquisition focuses on how an
organization can increase its
customer base by gaining new or
additional customers; Acquisition
can be decomposed into above
three business challenges:

22. CX VALUE EQUATION:
CX = A + R + E
#2 Retention (short-notes)
Retention focuses on how
organizations keep their customers,
to reduce churn and to increase their
life-time value. Above are three
important business challenges
associated with Retention:

23. CX VALUE EQUATION:
CX = A + R + E
#3 Efficiency (short-notes)
Efficiency focuses on doing the right
operational activity to deliver the
desired results at a lower cost to the
organization. Listed above are also
three important business challenges
in this area:

24. When focusing on culture of the
organization Customer service comes
as a top priority, an organization that
values good customer service may
spend more money in training
employees, since Customer service
plays an important role in an
organization's ability to generate
income and revenue.

25. Customer Support
Customer support by TMUC
Staff to TMUC Customers
(Students) is a range of
academic services to assist
students in making cost
effective and correct use of
our career options.

26. This include assistance in;
• TMUC Academic Planning,
• Knowledge & Skills Installation,
• Academic & Professional Training,
• Business Trouble shooting for SME’s,
• Maintenance,
• Upgrading, and disposal
of our courses.

27. Customer Support at TMUC is all about;
Conviction, Trust, Satisfaction, Loyalty,
Goodwill, Commitment, Delight, &
Experience as pictured below;

28. Instant feedback
Recently, many organizations have
implemented feedback loops that
allow them to capture feedback at the
point of experience. For example,
National Express has invited
passengers to send text messages
whilst riding the bus.

29. Standardization:
ISO and The International Customer Service Institute (TICSI)
have published the following ones:
1. ISO 9004:2000, on performance improvement
2. ISO 10001:2007, on customer service conduct
3. ISO 10002:2004, on quality management in handling
customer complaints
4. ISO 10003:2007, on dispute resolution
5. The International Customer Service Standard (TICSS)
6. CCQA Customer Care Standard (Care Quality Alliance)
7. www.CCQA.org.uk
There is also an Information Technology service management
standard: ISO/IEC 20000:2005. Its first part concerns specifications
and its second part the code of practice.

30. Tom Mboya University
Therefore needs the right set of
skills when hiring staffs both
Academics and Non-academics for
an all-important team who will be
taking care of their customers
(students).

31. CUSTOMER
SERVICE
SKILLS

32. FIFTEEN
CUSTOMER SERVICE SKILLS
EVERY EMPLOYEE NEEDS
Below are customer service skills that all
employees of
TOM MBOYA UNIVERSITY COLLEGE
Must master if they are
forward-facing with students and public.

33. Without these skills;
Tom Mboya University College
run the risk of finding our
operations in an embarrassing
customer service train-wreck,
or we'll simply lose students and
public trust as our services continues
to let people down.

34. 1. Patience
Not only is patience important
to customers, who often reach
out to support when they are
confused and frustrated, but
it's also important to the
business at large:
N/B: great service beats fast service every single
time.

35. Yet patience shouldn't be used as
an excuse for slothful service
either!
Derek Sivers explained his view
on "slower" service as being an
interaction where the time spent
with the customer was used to
better understand their problems
and needs from the Organization.

36. If you deal with customers on a
daily basis, be sure to stay patient
when they come to you stumped
and frustrated, but also be sure to
take the time to truly figure out
what they want; they'd rather get
competent service than be rushed
out the door!

37. 2. Attentiveness
The ability to really listen to customers is
so crucial for providing great service for a
number of reasons.
Not only is it important to pay attention to
individual customer interactions (watching
the language/terms that they use to describe their
challenges’), but it's also important to be
mindful and attentive to the feedback that
you receive at large.
What are your customers telling you without saying it?

38. 3. Clear Communication Skills
Make sure you're getting to the problem
at hand quickly; customers don't need
your life story or to hear about how your
day is going.
More importantly, you need to be
cautious about how some of your
communication habits translate to
customers, and it's best to err on the side
of caution whenever you find yourself
questioning a situation.

39. An example under Clear Communication Skills;
The last time I went to get work done on my car, I
was told by an employee that if I wanted to get an oil
change, it would be "included" in my final bill.
I thought that meant I'd be getting it for free, yet as
it turns out, that wasn't the case. The employee
apologized and I truly believe it was an accident
(they just worked there), but I haven't been back to
that garage since because of the miscommunication.
When it comes to important points that you need to
relay clearly to customers, keep it simple and leave
nothing to doubt.

40. 4. Knowledge of TMUC
Academic & Professional
Programs
The best forward-facing staffs in TMUC
will work on having a deep knowledge of
how our University programs runs.
It's not that every staff to know all courses offered
in every school from scratch, but rather they
should know the ins and outs of University
programs, just like students and public who uses it
every day would.

41. Without knowing your running
programs from front-to-back, you
may not know how to assist students,
parents, and the public who comes to
you, when they run into any
challenge.

42. 5. Ability to Use "Positive
Language"
Sounds like fluffy nonsense, but your
ability to make minor changes in your
conversational patterns can truly go a
long way in creating happy customers.
Language is a very important part of
persuasion, and people (students) create
perceptions about you and your
University based of the language that you

43. Here's an example: Let's say a customer contacts
you with an interest in a particular product, but
that product happens to be backordered until next
month.
Small changes that utilize "positive language" can
greatly affect how the customer hears your
response...
•Without positive language: "I can't get you that
product until next month; it is back-ordered and
unavailable at this time."
•With positive language: "That product will be
available next month. I can place the order for you
right now and make sure that it is sent to you as soon
as it reaches our warehouse."

44. The first example isn't negative by any
means, but the tone that it conveys feels
abrupt and impersonal, and can be taken
the wrong way by customers.
Conversely,
The second example is stating the same
thing (the item is unavailable), but
instead focuses on when/how the
customer will get to their resolution
rather than focusing on the negative.

45. 6. Acting Skills
Sometimes you're going to come across
people that you'll never be able to make
happy.
Situations outside of your control (they
had a terrible day, or they are just a
natural-born complainer) will sometimes
creep into your usual support routine, and
you'll be greeted with those "barnacle"
customers that seem to want nothing else
but to pull you down.

46. Every great customer service
representative will have those basic
acting skills necessary to maintain
their usual cheery persona in spite of
dealing with people who may be just
plain grumpy.

47. 7. Time Management Skills
Hey!, despite my many research-backed
on why you should spend more time with
customers, the bottom line is that there is
a limit, and you need to be concerned
with getting customers what they want
in an efficient manner.
The trick here is that this should also be
applied when realizing when you
simply cannot help a customer.

48. If you don't know the solution to a
problem, please! please! the best kind of
support member will get a customer over
to someone who does.
Don't waste time trying to go above and
beyond for a customer in an area where
you will just end up wasting both of your
time , Organization and customer’s! time

49. 8. Ability to "Read" Customers
You won't always be able to see
customers face-to-face, and in many
instances (nowadays) you won't even
hear a customer's voice!
That doesn't exempt you from
understanding some basic principles of
behavioral psychology and being able to
"read" the customer's current emotional
state.

50. This is an important part of the
personalization process as well, because
it takes knowing your customers to
create a personal experience for them.
More importantly though, this skill
is essential because you don't want to
mis-read a customer and end up losing
them due to miscommunication.
Look and listen for subtle clues about their current
mood, patience level, personality, etc., and you'll go
far in keeping your customer interactions positive.

51. 9. A Calming Presence
There are a lot of metaphors for
this type of personality: "keeps their
cool," "staying cool under pressure,"
etc., but it all represents the same
thing: the ability that some people
have to stay calm and even
influence others when things get a
little hectic.

52. I've had my fair share of hairy hosting
situations, and I can tell you in all honesty that
the #1 reason I stick with certain hosting
companies is due to the ability of their
customer support team to keep me from
pulling my hair out.
The best customer service representative
know that they cannot let a heated customer
force them to lose their cool; in fact it is
their job to try to be the "rock" for a customer
who thinks the world is falling down due to
their current problem.

53. 10. Goal Oriented Focus
This may seem like a strange thing to list
as a customer service skill, but I assure
you that it is vitally important.
Relying on frameworks like the Net
Promoter Score can help businesses come
up with guidelines for their employees
that allow plenty of freedom to handle
customers on a case-to-case basis, but
also leave them priority solutions and
"go-to" fixes for common problems.

54. 11. Ability to Handle Surprises
Sometimes the customer support world
is going to throw you a curveball.
Maybe the problem you encounter isn't
specifically covered in the Organization’s
policy, or maybe the customer isn't
reacting how you thought they would.
Whatever the case, it's best to be able to
think on your feet, but it's even better to
create guidelines for yourself in these
sorts of situations.

55. •Who?
•One thing you can decide right off the
bat is who you should consider your "go-
to" person when you don't know what to
do. The CEO might be able to help you,
but you can't go to them with every
single question! Define a logical chain for
yourself to use, then you won't be left
wondering who you should forward the
problem too.

56. •What?
•When the problem is noticeably out of
your league, what are you going to send
to the people above? The full
conversation, just the important parts, or
maybe some highlights and an example
of a similar ticket?
•How?
•When it comes time to get someone
else involved, how are you going to
contact them?

57. 12. Persuasion Skills
To truly take your customer service
skills to the next level, you need to
have some mastery of persuasion so
that you can convince interested
customers that your services are right
for them.
It's not about making a sales pitch, but
it is about not letting potential customers slip away because
you couldn't create a compelling message that your
company's product is worth purchasing!

58. 13. Tenacity
A great work ethic and a willingness to do what
needs to be done (and not take shortcuts) is a key
skill when providing the kind of service that people
talk about.
Many memorable customer service stories out
there were created by a single employee who
refused to just do the "status quo" when it came to
helping someone out.
Remembering that your customers are people too,
and knowing that putting in the extra effort will
come back to you ten-fold should be your driving
motivation to never "cheat" your customers with
lazy service.

59. 14. Closing Ability
Being able to close with a customer means
being able to end the conversation with
confirmed satisfaction and with the customer
feeling that everything has been taken care of
(or will be).
Getting booted after a customer service call or
before all of their problems have been
addressed is the last thing that customers
want, so be sure to take the time to confirm
with customers that each and every issue
they had on deck has been entirely resolved.

60. Your willingness to do this show
the customer
Three very important things:
• That you care about getting it right
• That you're willing to keep going
until you get it right
• That the customer is the one
who determines what "right" is.
When you get a customer to,
"Yes, I'm all set!" is when you know the
conversation is over.

61. 15. Willingness to Learn
Those who don't seek to improve
what they do, whether it's building
products, marketing businesses, or
helping customers, will get left
behind by the people willing to
invest in their skills.

62. IMPROVING
CUSTOMER
SERVICE
SKILLS

63. Six keys to improving
Customer service skills
How to make sure your service team is
skilled, empathetic, and engaged
No matter how great your product is, or
how talented your staff is, one of the
things that customers are most likely to
remember is the direct interaction they
have with your Organization.

64. Bottom line:
Your customer service team is often the face
of your company, and customers’
experiences will be defined by the skills and
quality of the support they receive.
A strong company will always have great customer
relationships.
But
A smart company will always be asking “What is
good for customer service?”
If you are not constantly on the lookout for
opportunities to improve your customer
service, then your relationships will stagnate.

65. Here are six customer service tips for identifying
ways to better serve customers.
1.
STRENGTHEN YOUR
CUSTOMER SERVICE SKILLS
First, it’s important to make sure that your
customer service team has the right skills for
your managing customers’ needs.
Following are skills you should be looking for in a customer
service representative?
•Empathy, patience and consistency. Some customers
will be irate. Others will be full of questions. And others
will just be chatty. You must know how to handle all of
them and provide the same level of service every time.

66. • Adaptability. Every customer is different, and
some may even seem to change week-to-week. You
should be able to handle surprises, sense the
customer’s mood and adapt accordingly. This also
includes a willingness to learn– providing good
customer service is a continuous learning process.
•Work ethic. Customers appreciate a
representative who will see their problem through
to its resolution. At the same time, you must have
good time management skills and not spend too
much time handling one customer while others are
waiting.

67. • Knowledge. Ultimately your customers rely on
you for their knowledge of your product/services.
• Thick skin. The customer’s always right… right?
The ability to swallow one’s pride and accept
blame or negative feedback is crucial. Whether
your team works directly with customers or
looking for feedback on social media, they’ve
got to keep the customer’s happiness in mind.
• Clear communication. Ensure you convey to
customers exactly what you mean.

68. 2.
LOOK AT EVERY TOUCH POINT
A bad customer experience at any point in
the customer lifecycle can ruin your
relationship. In addition to making sure the
right skills are demonstrated, you need to be
sure they’re being demonstrated
consistently. Pay the most attention to key
touch points, but make sure you have a full
view of the customer experience, or you risk
lapses in service that can really hurt
business.

69. 3.
IMPROVE YOUR CUSTOMER
INTERACTIONS
If the staffs have the necessary skill set, that’s a good start.
But they still need to relate to customers.
Through;
• Identifying a common ground–like shared
interest–with the public.
• Practice active listening so your
customers feel heard. Clarify and rephrase what
the customers say to ensure you understand them.
Empathize with and reflect their feelings by saying
things like, “That must have upset you” or “I can see
why you feel slighted.”

70. •Admit your mistakes, even if you discover
them before your customers do. This builds
trust and restores confidence. It also allows you
to control the situation, re-focus the customer’s
attention and resolve the issue.
•Follow-up after a problem is solved. Make
sure the issue stays fixed and that your
customers were satisfied with the service.
Sending an email or even a feedback survey is
an excellent way to let the customer know
you’re still on their side.

71. •Admit your mistakes, even if you discover
them before your customers do.
This builds trust and restores confidence. It
also allows you to control the situation, re-
focus the customer’s attention and resolve the
issue.
•Follow-up after a problem is solved.
Make sure the issue stays fixed and that your
customers were satisfied with the service.
Sending an email or even a feedback survey is
an excellent way to let the customer know
you’re still on their side.

72. 4.
ENHANCE YOUR CUSTOMER SERVICE
STRATEGY
Your staff may have the skills and know-how to interact with your customers. But what
organizational strategies can you employ to please customers? Practice proactive
customer service by making your customers happy before they come to you with
problems. Here’s how:
•Get personal. Your customers want to feel like they have
access to real people, not bots and FAQs. Offer more than
just automated email responses, and do not let your
telephone prompts or website send them down a rabbit
hole. Take full advantage of social media (such as Face book,
Twitter and Yelp) and write responses when your customers
post on your page. Post photos and bios on your website.
This shows your customers that you are real people working
on their behalf.

73. •Be available: Part of the personal touch is
making sure your customers can reach you.
For example if your business is primarily
online, meet in person occasionally with local
customers and offer video calls (such as
Skype) for those farther away. Work early and
late when needed, especially if your
customers are in different time zones. Even
providing customers with your physical
address helps build their trust and reminds
them that your company exists off the
internet as well.

74. • Cater to your customers:
Make sure you are fully meeting your
customers’ needs. Consider assigning
reps to specific customers so they can
build a relationship. Offer VIP treatment
for your best customers to let them know
they are appreciated. What special
services might your customers like? Set
up focus groups, interview customers, or
run a survey to get ideas.

75. •Create communities.
Your customers will feel even more valued if
you treat them as important members of a
community. You can bring various customers
together in numerous ways, including
webinars, interactive websites, social media,
trade shows and conventions. And don’t
forget that while your customers come to
these forums to learn from you, you can learn
as much–if not more–from them.

76. 5.
MAKE SURE YOUR
REPRESENTATIVES ARE ENGAGED
You can have the best customer service
skills and the best training in the world,
but if your representatives are checked
out, it won’t matter at all. Improving
employee engagement is another way to
make sure customers have a great
experience.

77. Dissatisfied employees are unlikely to
come forward with their problems, so
consider an anonymous suggestion box
or an employee engagement survey to
see what makes your employees tick.
Since engagement can vary from
industry to industry, you may also want
to look at more specific data through a
service like;
Survey Monkey Benchmarks.

78. 6.
GIVE YOUR CUSTOMERS
A WAY TO PROVIDE FEEDBACK
No matter how proactive you are, you’ll
never be able to get in front of every
customer issue. To make sure you learn
about the good, the bad, and the ugly
experience your customers have, create
an easily accessible way for customers to
give feedback.

79. Whatever steps you choose to take,
remember feedback is
importance to customer satisfaction.
Unsure what your strengths and
weaknesses are?
Don’t know why the numbers are
dipping?
Make an effort to get closer both to your
customers and your representatives.

80. Factors to
Successful
Customer
Care

81. Factors to Successful
Customer Service Care
Customer Communication, Love, Loyalty &
Retention
Ask any consumer what their number one
reason for shying away from buying
through a mobile app is, and they will tell
you something along the lines of,
“If the purchase doesn’t go right, I’m not
going to have any help!”

82. Asking a person to part with their hard-earned
money is a struggle all businesses face, and
customers want to feel confident that if something
goes wrong in their transaction, your company or
Organization will be there to make it right.

83. -1-
LISTEN
Listening tops the list because it is the
most important thing your brand can do.
Let your customers talk and tell you what
happened, or
how you can make it right.
Your brand shouldn’t assume anything.
Are you making it easy to listen to your
customers?

84. Are you giving them obvious channels to
communicate with you, inside your apps?
If you’re not actively investing in
listening capabilities, you’re missing a lot
of easy wins with your best customers.
Listening to customers opens the door
for changes that must be made across all
parts of your marketing, product, and
business strategies.

85. -2-
GET FEEDBACK
Collecting feedback doesn’t just mean you
should send out surveys about your
service.
What getting feedback really involves is
encouraging suggestions from your
customers.
You have to be proactive about feedback; x

86. You must get feedback from customers by
starting more conversations.
e.g. simple fill-in questionnaire

87. -3-
ANTICIPATE NEEDS
Anticipating customer behavior is a skill
for all customer success teams to master.
Spend time learning what your customers
want and need before they tell you in
order to offer the best experience
possible.

88. Mobile is ripe for opportunity in allowing
brands to learn so much about what a
customer has done and what they’re
currently doing,

89. But it’s up to the brand
to use this data to build richer profiles
and understanding of its
customers.
Any opportunity
to demonstrate your brand actually
knows its customers is
an opportunity to impress them and
delight them.

90. -4-
BE FAIR WHEN SAYING NO
There are times when a customer wants
you to do the impossible, and in those
moments, it’s easy to lose your cool and
approach them in an unfair manner.
However, if you have been fair in your
response, the customer will be more
receptive to the things you can do for
them to make their experience better.

91. Brands lean on different ways to say no:
no with more detail, an explanation
around why the request isn’t possible at
the time, or even an apology is much
better than a flat out “no.”
When you involve the customer in the
process or the challenges you’re facing as
a brand, you invite them to see you as
someone with a complex job working at a
brand that cares, rather than as someone
who rejects them.

92. -5-
KNOW YOUR CUSTOMERS
If your customer base is not
technologically savvy, you can’t talk to
them like they are Steve Wozniak.
Alternatively, if you have a highly skilled
customer base, don’t talk to them like the
just bought their first Smartphone.

93. It’s crucial to work to understand your customers
by asking them more about their experience, what
their names are, and what they’re trying to do with
your app and your company to offer them the best
customer service experience possible.
When you deeply understand where people are
coming from, you can help them figure out how to
get where they need to go.
The first step to understanding your customers is
through implementing app analytics to understand
what they are doing, in addition to communicating
with individual customers to learn about why.

94. -6-
TRUST YOUR CUSTOMERS
It’s an unfortunate fact that there are
people out there trying to get something
for nothing, but if you assume this
behavior of everyone; especially your
customers; then you are sure to anger a
fair share of your customer base. If you’re
focused on the long-term, you know that
customer trust is hugely important to
loyalty.

95. Trust your customers and they will learn
to trust you, as well.

96. -7-
SAY “YES”
From a customer’s perspective, “yes” is the
ultimate favor a brand can do for them.
Whenever a customer has a reasonable request,
try as hard as possible to accommodate them.
Saying yes a couple of times will go a long way
with most people as it induces positive feelings
and a sense that the company is invested in
helping them out. Whenever you’re about to
give a quick “no,” take another look and
consider a simple “yes” an easy win.

97. -8-
VALIDATE CUSTOMER CONCERNS
Never argue with your customer or put them
on the defensive. When a disagreement arises,
do anything you can to understand their
frustration before you figure out a way to help
them. Validating their frustration and showing
that you see how they feel is the first start in
fixing the problem. How each person feels is
their own emotion, and as a customer service
provider, you can’t tell them that it’s wrong
without likely exacerbating the situation.

98. -9-
GIVE MORE THAN EXPECTED
Nordstrom Company in USA is a brand
who always gives more to its customers
than expected when a person returns a
purchase or complains about a product,
and they have lifelong customers as a
result. The ethos of the company gives
every employee the freedom to do what
is right for the customer rather than
providing just the bare minimum.

99. Oftentimes, this model completely
surprises and delights the
customer in a frustrated time,
opening the door to build loyalty
and trust.

100. -10-
MAKE YOUR CUSTOMER FEEL
APPRECIATED
Last but not least, making your customer
feel appreciated is a point that’s implicit
in much of this advice.
When you treat and every customer as a
person, and when you appreciate their
feedback, their time, and their business,
you’ll make different decisions.

101. If you truly focus on making your
customers feel appreciated, you’ll be well
on your way to delivering an experience
that is exceptional and, in mobile; we
know that the experience matters more
than anything.
Treat your customers with respect and
appreciation at every opportunity.

102. TIPS TO NOTE!!
from the Author
S O William

103. Establish a Consistent Style of Speech
No brand is complete until a brand-
appropriate style of speaking with
customers is in place at all levels of the
enterprise. You should therefore work to
achieve a consistent (although not stilted
or overly scripted-sounding) style of
service speech.

104. Here, for example, are some good/bad language
choices I use in my private Consultancy office.
I’ve prepared for my own businesses. It’s certainly not
surgical rocketry to be good to your client or
business partner(s).
Bad: ‘‘You owe . . .’’
Good: ‘‘Our records show a balance of . . .’’
Bad: ‘‘You need to . . .’’ (This makes some customers
think: ‘‘I don’t need to be your baby! - I’m your customer!’’)
Good: ‘‘We find it usually works best when . ..’’

105. Language is important not just to how
we communicate with our customers
but to how we communicate with
ourselves.
The right words can put an irritated
customer at ease and help you
approach difficult situations with
greater ease.

106. Effective customer service language can
take a long time to master.
Give your communication repertoire a
shot in the arm with these five quick
customer service language.
Use “We” sometimes and “I” sometimes
As explored below!!

107. Use the word
“we”
to let the customer know you are on
the same team and working towards
the same goal;
use the word
“I”
when you need to take accountability
for the situation or your company.

108. ‘We’ and ‘I’
send different signals to the listener,
and which signal you want to deliver
depends heavily on the message you want
them to receive.
Use “I Apologize” Instead Of “I’m Sorry”
There’s nothing wrong with “I’m sorry,”
but “I apologize” is softer. “I apologize”
sends a better message to your own head
as well.

109. Small business owner and Social
Media Manager at CTS, Tricia Keels
began using “I apologize” in her
customer interactions, and it made a large
impact. “It completely empowers me
and” she says. “I become more focused
on fixing the customer’s problem and less
on my mistake.”

110. Use “I Don’t” Instead Of “I Can’t”
This language hack is used to shape
your own mindset within a
conversation. “I don’t” empowers you
because it tells your brain that
you have made a choice. “I can’t”
registers as something that is being
forced on you.

111. Feeling empowered can keep you in
control during a tough customer
call. Remember, you can almost always
do something for a customer, even if it’s
finding someone else to resolve the issue.
Focus On “Value”
“Value” is an extremely powerful word in
customer-facing interactions.

112. Use phrases like the following:
• I value your opinion
• We want you to know we value you as a
customer, of course; don’t say it if you
can’t prove it; even the best words are
meaningless if they have no substance.

113. CUSTOMER SERVICE LANGUAGE
DON’T SAY DO SAY
1
She’s not in. She is away from her desk. May I take a message?
2
She already left. She is away from her desk. May I take a message?
3
I don’t know. May I call you back in 15 minutes with the answer?
4
We can’t do that. We can handle that. Here is the information I will need to help you.
5
Who is this? May I have your name?
6
Why do you want to talk to her? May I tell her who is calling?
7
She is not taking any calls.
She is away from her desk. May I take a message or give you her
voice mail?
8
You did not pay your bill on time. I do not see your payment.
9
You did not fill out the form right. I would be happy to help you complete the form.
10
I can’t help you. Here is what I can do for you.
11
It is against our policy. In order to be fair to everyone, our policy is…. The guidelines are …
12
You reached the wrong department. I
will transfer you; here is the number
in case you get disconnected.
You have reached XYZ. I need to connect you to ABC. For the future
the phone number is…..
13
That is not my job. I am not familiar with this but ____ is, let’s call him.

114. Words You Should Not Use
Can’t Against Not
Won’t Don’t Unable
Always Never *Sorry
But You have to….
*Do not ever say sorry to an irate
customer. If you say sorry it opens you up
to a personal attack.
You should say I apologize.

115. End of Session