In an ideal world, your customer service skills mean that there are no complaints. However, it’s important to be prepared to handle them if they should occur. Strong customer-oriented professionals have a positive attitude towards complaints. They see them as an opportunity for improvement and a chance to rebuild and strengthen the relationship with the customer. Research tells us that less than 5% of unhappy customers will make a complaint. Most of the 95% who will not complain, will stay away and will tell others of their problems. Apply these customer-orientated tips in dealing with complaints to create a positive outcome for all involved:

1. Listen actively

Allow the customer to explain the problem as they see it. Ask open questions to ensure you understand their concerns and that the whole problem is on the table. Allow the customer to let off steam if necessary and don’t take this personally. They will feel better and you may pick up valuable clues as to the real issue. Repeat back what you have heard to check you have heard it correctly. This also demonstrates that you are taking the complaint seriously.

2. Apologise and empathise

To the customer, you are the organisation. Apologise promptly and sincerely on its behalf. Even if you are not responsible for the problem, you are sorry that it has happened. Show that you recognise and understand the customer’s feelings. Use the customer’s name frequently to connect with them at a personal level and choose words that accurately reflect their mood. Don’t react emotionally, make excuses, blame the customer or others in the organisation, bureaucratic procedures or suppliers. Remain ‘Above the line’ at all times. The customer is not interested in your problems or excuses, just the solution. Recognise that through your attitude, you can affect the customer’s behaviour.

3. Take responsibility

Use positive language, focusing on what you can do rather than what you can’t. Take care not to over-promise. Involve others if you need more authority to solve the complaint. If possible, offer several solutions and involve the customer in choosing the right solution for them. Stay calm, positive and in control of the situation. Remember, always take a complaint professionally, not personally.

4. Thank the customer

Complaints are your opportunity to improve and to strengthen relationships. A sincere expression of appreciation to the customer will reassure them that you are taking the matter seriously, that you value their custom and that you welcome their feedback.

5. Follow it through

Set the action plan in place immediately and check that it is completed as promised. If you have agreed to a deadline, stick to it. Keep your customer informed along the way. Share the experience with others in your team so that they can learn and develop their own skills in dealing with complaints. Use the complaint as a catalyst to suggest or set in place systems, policies or actions that will prevent the problem occurring again.

6. Go the extra mile

Look for further opportunities to prove your interest in your customer by providing a little more than they expected, try to think outside of the box when coming to a solution for the customer. Follow up to check that they are happy with the resolution of the issue. Keep in touch through letters and emails to ensure the relationship continues. See complaints as an exciting opportunity to improve performance at all levels and to reduce complaints in the future.

Most organisations have a formal procedure for handling complaints. Ensure that you are aware of these procedures, or work with your team to prepare one if it does not exist. Whether you are the first point of contact, or become involved at a later stage, the most important ingredient to success is your attitude in handling the complaint. Bringing an ‘Above the line’ approach to the process, communicating with empathy and by applying the following steps, will ensure that a positive outcome can be achieved for all concerned.

Multiple research reports show that customers were willing to spend more with a company that they felt provided an outstanding customer experience and excellence in customer service. Good customer service will elevate your organisation, while bad customer service can really set back your company’s reputation and profits. There are certain attributes and qualities that set excellent customer service employees apart. Identifying and developing the following traits is the quickest way to becoming a customer service superstar:

Patience

Patience is a virtue. We have all heard that saying before. It is also an attribute that those highly skilled in customer service constantly demonstrate. Staying patient with an indecisive or difficult customer demonstrates very clearly that each and every customer interaction is important and valued. Take the time to truly figure out what your customer’s needs are and respond in a patient, friendly and efficient manner. Remember, customers prefer to receive competent service rather than feel like they have been rushed out the door or off the phone!

Attentiveness

Attentiveness is the ability to be observant and alert and to pay close attention to someone or something. Attentiveness in customer service means really listening to customers, being alert to buying signals and non-verbal cues and observing their actions and reactions to comments or products. To deliver and exceed expectations you need to pay attention. Attentiveness is providing the sense that the most important person in the room is your customer. It means being present and thinking about the real meaning behind their words. This helps to provide a relevant and informative response or solution. Showing care for every customer will provide a positive outcome every time.

Tenacity

Tenacity is the attribute of persistence, determination and perseverance. It is a quality displayed by people who just won’t quit. This attribute is important in every role and endeavour in your personal and working life. Being willing to do what needs to be done, to resolve any issues and not take shortcuts is a key attribute displayed by tenacious customer service professionals. Many memorable customer service stories tell of a single employee who was willing to go the extra mile to help someone out. Many of these stories are told in the context of the huge impact the individual effort had on the business and on the customer.

Willingness to learn

A genuine willingness to learn is another key attribute required by all client-facing employees. We are all working in a rapidly changing workplace that requires constant learning and upskilling. New learning could relate to new systems, technology, products and services. It could also relate to changed policies and procedures and updates to legislation and regulations that are relevant to your industry sector. Consider every learning and development opportunity as a way to increase your personal intellectual capital.

Development opportunities can also come from customers. Not only is it important to be attentive to individual customers, it’s also important to be attentive to the feedback that you receive. Rather than looking at this type of feedback as a negative, you should view it as an opportunity to find out what is not working, what you could do better or how you could improve the customer experience. Honestly reflect on their feedback and consider how you can apply it into improved personal performance.

Staying calm

There are a lot of metaphors about people who stay calm such as ‘keeps their cool’ and ‘staying cool under pressure’ but they all represent the same thing – developing the ability to stay calm and even influence others when things get a little hectic. The customer service professional knows that it is not helpful to get rattled during busy times or to let an angry customer force them to lose their cool. In fact it is their job to try to project efficiency and capability in the interest of achieving a desirable outcome for the customer.

When it comes to providing outstanding customer service, it’s the people who make all the difference. While it certainly takes time, training, practice and dedication to become a superstar in customer service, it doesn’t have to be that hard when you know where exactly to focus your efforts on. Check out LMA’s Exceptional Customer Service course to further develop you or your team’s to become customer service superstars.

“Customer Service is not a department. It is an Attitude.”

Multiple research reports show that customers were willing to spend more with a company that they felt provided an outstanding customer experience and excellence in customer service. Learning more about the skills, attributes and knowledge required to become customer service professionals is only one part of your development journey. This effort will only pay dividends when you also develop your genuine ‘be of service’ attitude. Excellence in customer service is actually 80% attitude and 20% skills and knowledge. The right attitude provides you with the approach you need to use your skills and knowledge to your full potential.

Further develop your ‘be of service’ attitude by applying the following strategies to customer interactions:

Have Confidence

Projecting confidence gives the impression that you are able and willing to help a customer. Confidence comes from ‘knowing your stuff’ and believing you will be able to tackle any challenge that comes your way. For customers, competence is a signal that lets them know that the person they’re working with has the requisite skills and abilities to complete their transaction or resolve their issue.

Think Positively

Our thought process and how we choose to think is reflected in our attitude. Every situation or moment has dual ways to look at it. It is up to you to choose how you would like to react to the particular scenario. Even if the situation is challenging and taking a toll on your patience, you will have to try and find out the tiniest positive aspect present in it. Setting the tone for a positive interaction can help to guide the way to a successful customer experience that will result in a favorable outcome for your customer.

Keep an Open mind

Being open-minded typically makes us more adaptable to a unique work environment or a challenging situation. It gives us the ability to consider alternative approaches to problem solving, to take risks and look for opportunities. Taking the time to consider all possible outcomes of a situation, the good, bad and in-between allows us to reframe the situation and think about it with an open mind resulting in a positive solution for the customer.

Take Ownership

Bring an ‘above the line’ attitude to all of your customer interactions. This approach means taking personal responsibility and ownership, being proactive and solution focused. Consider the difference between a customer service representative who takes no responsibility and one who acknowledges the concern and communicates a willingness to find a solution. We all know which person we would rather deal with and we also know which interaction will enhance the customer experience.

Remember, attitude is everything and whether your attitude is good or bad, it is this attitude that people are going to remember more than anything else. The good news is that you control what attitude your customers will remember. With a genuine ‘be of service’ attitude you are able to make full use of your skills, knowledge and attributes to meet the needs, wants and expectations of each one of your customers.

Can you can implement some of these strategies to develop the right attitude for business success and a ‘Be of Service’ attitude in the workplace?

Leadership roles vary considerably, with variances in titles, organisational structure, industry type, working environment and a myriad of other differences that exist in our workplace today.  However, even though the titles and position descriptions may vary widely, in reality there is one common denominator and responsibility for all leaders.  They all depend upon the fundamental need to work with and through other people.

Generally, leadership involves gaining commitment from those you lead so that they understand their part in the overall vision of the organisation and are committed to achieving its success.  Leadership involves the ability to communicate, to persuade, to encourage and to inspire people to take meaningful and productive actions.  Leadership involves developing trust through positive and open relationships.

Peter Drucker said, “Leadership is not rank, privilege, title or money.  It is responsibility”.  To achieve the best results with and through others, all leaders must be willing to take on the responsibility of developing effective communication and relationship development skills.  Leaders who develop these skills and work effectively with and through others, produce the most outstanding results.

The importance of effective communication across all levels and organisations has never been as profound as in today’s fast changing diverse and multicultural workplace.  Effective communication and relationship development is the lifeblood that flows through the organisation’s arteries keeping it functioning, healthy and alive.  The pace of modern business means that people are sending and receiving more messages, instructions and other types of communication than ever before.  People are also under greater pressure to understand and implement new processes and changes whilst being expected to fulfil higher standards.  At the same time team structures are changing frequently, requiring new team member to be brought up to speed as quickly as possible and new relations developed for optimum performance. Customer relationships can also be made or broken by communication.

You and other members of your team and organisation share a unique relationship based upon common goals for the organisation.  Effective communication binds all of the members of these complex relationships together enabling everyone in the team to achieve the desired outcomes.

Constructive communication and persuasion saves time and effort, encourages co-operation and reduces stress.  Developing these kills enables you as a leader to prevent difficult situations, communicate team goals, foster self-esteem, generate mutual respect and enrich the relations that underpin a positive working environment conducive to high performance.  In other words, good communication and relationships improve the productivity and performance of the team.

On a personal level, communication is the first interaction when meeting new people.  It builds and maintains relationships.  In fact, the quality of communication is typically the underlying reason for all relationships succeeding or failing.  Communication is the glue that binds friendships together and fosters caring family relationships.

The fact that organisations require effective communication skills from all leaders and managers cannot be over emphasised. 

Everything they do involves effective written and verbal communication with others at all levels within the organisation to achieve a number of primary objectives:

• To gather information
• To impart information
• To provide instruction
• To provide data throughout the various levels of the organisation
• To provide feedback
• To praise and discipline
• To train
• To control
• To enable emotional expression
• To engage, empower and motivate

As a leader consider the impact your communication has on the relationships within your team.  Engaging and motivating your people to perform at their best requires meaningful communication.  However, the first step in developing effective meaningful communication is to understand that it is a two-way street and, as the leader, you must be sensitive to and aware of other’s needs and perspectives.  Too often, average leaders adopt the approach that “people need to do what I say as that’s my role”.  In today’s world, where employees are volunteers, they choose to work within organisations where they are both wanted and appreciated, that old school attitude barely achieves average results.

Successful leaders of today are sensitive to the needs of their people, understand what motivates them and use their communication skills to align the needs to their team member’s goals with the goals of the team.  They know the value of building respectful and positive relationships.

During the September to December 2018 quarter, The Leading Edge will provide tips and ideas on how our readers can develop their leadership through improved communication and relationship development.

I encourage all leaders to set a goal to commit themselves to improve their communication skills and build stronger and more positive relationships at all levels.      

Grant Sexton
Founder and Chairman