CustomerServiceTrainingBlog.com

We all know the people who yell first and think later. Tell them they can’t get what they want or are not entitled to it and the obscenities fly and the threat come out like a tsunami!

I once had a person write me a letter telling me that they were going to complain to the following people and then proceeded to list roughly 50-75 people including the President of the United States because we would not honor a completely bogus warranty claim on their product. The claim was so outrageous and the demands so excessive it was obvious this person was just looking for trouble.

Yet he started off by yelling and screaming and threatening. It is amazing how many people think this actually gets results!

You see, the vast majority of people are not intimidated by over the top threats and abuse. Rather they are turned off and often angered by this approach. So much so that they dig in their heels and refuse to budge even when the customer calms down. Most often the customer will walk away with little or nothing because of this type of approach.

You see, there is a difference between complaining and abusing and a lot of people cross that line. Most effective is the approach where you voice your displeasure and try to work out a compromise situation and making rational and appropriate demands. When you start right off the bat with outrageous demands  or abusive threats, the lines of communication get closed off real quick!

When you find yourself in such a situation, you need to get the customer calmed down to the point where you can actually communicate with each other. If th4e customer will not allow that to happen then sometimes it is appropriate to just shut everything down until the customer calms down. Making statements such as “This type of treatment or language really does not want to make me help you so why don’t we all calm down and try to work this out?” might make things go a little more smoothly.

Sometimes, however, this type of statement just gets people madder because they feel they should get what they want just because they want it. That is not reality, however, and we should not give in to outrageous demands just because someone tries to bully us into doing so.

The Customer Service Training Institute
http://www.infowhse.com

My business is understanding people and most of the time I am pretty good at it. But sometimes things happen that leaves me scratching my head in disbelief. Or at least in wonder? But most of the time my mind just asks “What the heck made that person do that?”

Today I watched a softball game. No money on the line and one team had several “older” people while the other team was primarily in their 20’s. They were a good team but played the games for fun and enjoyment. No chest thumping or trash talk or anything like that.

They were playing in a best 2 out of 3 for the league championship and they had lost the first game by one run in the last inning. When that happened, one of the older players on the other team told our first baseman, “You’re my bitch, now!” on the way into the dugout.

First of all there was no call for that but what amazed me is that those words came out of a man in his late 40’4 or 50’s! Not a kid or someone immature for their age. This was a grown man! In credit to our first baseman, he said nothing and just left the field.

Twice more this man did some strange things to this player and the “bitch” term was repeated at least one other time. Our team won games 2 and 3 and were crowned the champions but the conversation revolved around this man and his total lack of sportsmanship.

There is a segment of our population that seems to think this type of activity and conduct is appropriate and some even take things up a notch and really get abusive. It shows disregard for others and also shows a complete lack of maturity or self esteem for the person behaving in that manner.

How often do we see this type of behavior from people each and every day? Think about the times we see someone call someone else a name or flip someone off because they cut us off or did some other thing in our presence? How many times have we seen the perfectly healthy person use the handicapped parking spot so they didn’t have to walk?

The examples are endless yet they occur every day. People have little regard, and sometimes total disregard for others. They talk on their cell phones and don’t pay attention to the road when they are driving. They drink and get behind the wheel only to cause an accident because they are in no shape to drive. These people care only about themselves and their lives and nothing else.

Sometimes these things go unnoticed because we are used to them. I say that has to stop and we must take responsibility for the way we act and treat others. We can’t mistreat others yet expect that others treat us with respect. Most important, we cannot raise our children and teach them how to treat people if we are not setting the proper example ourselves.

I hope this gentleman in the baseball game didn’t have any kids. Because if he did, then this conduct would continue for another generation and probably longer!

The Customer Service Training Institute
http://www.infowhse.com

You have a great product and you’ve built a killer website. You’ve set up your payment links and created some great bonuses as well. Alittle promotion here and some advertising there and you’re all set to watch the orders roll on in!

Then, nothing. Nada, zilcho, zip. Not a single order! You wonder what’s wrong and you try and figure out where the problem is. The first place to look is your ad copy.

If you have a great product and a great website, that does not guarantee you sales. In order to get people to buy your product, you have to write ad copy and product descriptions that make people NEED to buy your product. Not just want to buy it, but NEED to buy it! Great customer service means addressing the customers needs and providing the very best solutions. If you can create a pwerful need, you stand an excellent chance of closing the sale.

I may want a new tool or the latest CD by my favoriate band but I can wait until the next time it goes on sale. But if I feel that I really NEED that same product, I will have a strong motivation tp purchase NOW rather than later. Creating a need has an even larger role in Internet Business.

How many times have you searched for something on line and then forgot which site you saw it on for the lowest price? On-line we can go to 30 stores in a matter of minutes and it sometimes is hard to remember what you saw where. It’s not like to had to drive all over and might remember it better because of the effort. On line it is so easy to go from site to site to site it is easy to forget what site had which products and at what prices.

Which means you need to get your visitors to BUY NOW! Even at brick and mortar business you want people to buy  now because if they leave to check something out, they will likely buy it elsewhere if it is close to your price just because they are at that store. Conveninece is a powerful motivator!

Why do you think businesses have “low price guarantees”? They have it so people will but right then instead of looking all over to confirm the price is lower. They want to make sales and giving a price guarantee is one tool they can use to get people to buy NOW!

Detail like these are what converts people to buyers. Writing strong ad copy that creates a powerful need to buy now will increase your sales and your revenue. Writing copy is not the time to be shy. Don’t exaggerate what your product does but make sure you describe it in the most accurate and attractive fashion. Make sure to mention and tout each and every benefit. Use colorful language to spice up the vision of the product in the mind of the customer. Make it attractive. make it desireable. Make it a must have product that people must have NOW!

Sometimes changing a single word i a headline can double or triple orders so take your time when writing copy for your website. Try and capture the interest of your visitors with powerul ad copy that creates  NEED for the customer to buy NOW! When you can successfully create that impression you will create a better feeling in your customers mind and they will have a better sales experience.

the Customer Service Training Institute
http://www.infowhse.com

I dont like to use this blog for commercial purposes but…….

For those loyal followers of this blog we are offering a special on our Customer Service Training Certification Program.

It’s a time sensitive sale so the faster you get to the site the better price you will get!

Check it out at:

http://www.infowhse.com/dimesalecertificateprogram.php

Remember, the quicker you get to the site the lower the price will be!

The Customer Service Training Institute
http://www.infowhse.com

It is no surprise that everyone working in customer Service, or any business for that matter, deals with stress on a daily basis. Customer Service, by the very nature of the position, seems to get more than it’s fair share.

Stress comes in all shapes and sizes. It can come out of frustration, anger, or just from everything that goes on around us. Difficult customers, outrageous demands, or internal rules, policies, and other nonses that just frustrates us are just a few examples. No matter the source, we need to learn how to deal with it.

Customer Service Training teaches us one of the first and primary rules of customer service. “Don’t take it personally.” The customer is not yelling at you personally, they are yelling about their product or the business or at you because you happen to be the one standing there. It is not a personal attack against “Dan the salesperson”, it is an attack on the business or the product. If you are able to separate you from the problem, that is a great start.

Customer Service Training also teachs you that there is little difference between reality and percetption at times. No matter how fair or unfair, what a customer perceives is just as powerful as the reality of the situation. The same goes for stress. If you perceive the majority of your job as being stressful, it will be. If you feel that the majority of customers you deal with every day are nasty, you will believe that. That is your perception. But is it reality?

The fact is that we remember things that are diffierent or are memorable because of something that occurred. You may deal with 200 customers in a day but you will not remember the 198 who purchased something and left without incident. You will remember just those two who gave you a really hard time. The reality is that 99% of your customers were nice and friendly towards you. Your perception is that your customers are mean and nasty.

So now it is time to change your perception. It’s time to get analytical. Get a sheet of paper or a notebook and keep track  of the people you deal with each day. Have two columns, a “nice” column and a “nasty” column. Make little check marks throughout the day. At the end of the week, add them up. It is higly likely that you will be shocked or surprised at what you’ll see. At the very least you will have replaced your perception with some kind of actual reality.

Don’t let perception lead you to false impressions or higher stress. We all deal with reality a lot better than perception because reality we can see, touch, feel, and take steps to correct. It is very hard to change something that might not even exist in the first place.

The Customer Service Training Institute
http://www.infowhse.com

People tell me that the customer is always right. My reply to them is always; “No, the customer is not always right but the customer is always the customer.” There is an important distinction here.

Customers are not always right in their viewpoints or demands. Just because someone wants something does not mean they are right or justified in their expectations. Our products and our businesses both have policies and warranties that outline what customers are entitled to under specific circumstances. Hopefully these will coincide with legal requirements but that is another story for another time!

I heard two stories today that address this issue very clearly. In fact, those stories are the reason behind this post! The first was from a customer who purchased a product with what the customer considered were minor cosmetic flaws. In fact, the finish was considered normal but the customer was very demanding. The parts in question were very easy to order and replace and he was offerred that at no cost. The materials would be shipped right to his door so he didnt even have to pick them up.

No good. Not enough. The customer insisted on all brand new units worth over $15,000! Nothing anyone could say or do could convince this person that their demands were out of line and, or course, out of the warranty. It didn’t matter because the customer wanted what he wanted and that’s it.

The second was from a customer who called in and reported a service issue to a call center at 8 AM. She was promised a 72 hour response time which is standard. She called back an hour later screaming that no one had called her back yet and threatened legal action!

These two customers have unreasonable demands. In cases like these, it is clear that the demands are unreasonable and should not be granted unless there are very specific reasons to do so. (Customer is a huge customer who buys $$$$$ for you every month, etc.) In these cases, it is perfectly acceptable to deny the request and make a counter offer. make the offer fair and go a little beyond what you are required so you will look good if the matter turns legal.

Customer Service Training teaches us to be fair, not that it is OK to be abused or taken advantage of. Keep in mind that every solution is a balancing act between satisfying the customer and protecting the financial stability of the business. When demands are excessive, you need gather all the pertinant information and make what you feel is a fair decision and then stick to it.

The Customer Service Training Institute
http://www.infowhse.com

Value means different things to different people. Value might mean added conveninece, more support services, better selection, and other things. It is not always about price. But how do you provide a bterr value to more of your customers?

Processes such as Observation Selling show us how to uncover the hidden needs and desires of our customers to find out how to detail the perfect customer experience for that customer. Customer Service training teaches us how to place outselves in the shoes of the customer to determine not only what we say but how we should say it. Both of these skill sets are crucial to the continued success of any business.

It still shocks me to find so many businesses out there that still have this feeling of superiority towards their customers. This “we know best” attitiude is not well recevied these days and everyone should recognize this and adjust their approaches towards every customer. We need to partnet with our customers and not dictate to them how we feel business should be done.

If we continue to do the same things we have been doing for years, our customers will leave us but our competition will love us. Not a great place to be is it?

The Customer Service Training Institute
http://www.infowhse.com