BacalFM.qxp 11/10/2004 10:31 AM Page xvi Perfect Phrases for Customer Service BacalFM.qxp 11/10/2004 10:31 AM Page i Also available from McGraw-Hill Perfect Phrases for Performance Reviews by Douglas Max and Robert Bacal Perfect Phrases for Performance Goals by Douglas Max and Robert Bacal Perfect Solutions for Difficult Employee Situations by Sid Kemp BacalFM.qxp 11/10/2004 10:31 AM Page ii Hundreds of Tools, Techniques, and Scripts for Handling Any Situation Perfect Phrases for Customer Service McGraw-Hill New York Chicago San Francisco Lisbon London Madrid Mexico City Milan New Delhi San Juan Seoul Singapore Sydney Toronto Robert Bacal BacalFM.qxp 11/10/2004 10:31 AM Page iii BacalFM.qxp 11/10/2004 10:31 AM Page iv Copyright © 2005 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Manufactured in the United States of America. 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Under no circumstances shall McGraw-Hill and/or its licensors be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, punitive, consequential or similar damages that result from the use of or inability to use the work, even if any of them has been advised of the possibility of such damages. This limitation of liability shall apply to any claim or cause whatsoever whether such claim or cause arises in contract, tort or otherwise. DOI: 10.1036/0071465111 0-07-146511-1 BacalFM.qxp 11/10/2004 10:31 AM Page xvi  Want to learn more? We hope you enjoy this McGraw-Hill eBook! If you’d like more information about this book, its author, or related books and websites, please click here. v Preface xi About the Author xv Chapter 1. Basics of Customer Service 3 What's in It for Me? 4 Different Kinds of Customers 6 First Things First—Dispelling an Important Customer Service Myth 8 Understanding What Customers Want 9 About This Book 13 Chapter 2. Customer Service Tools and Techniques 16 Above and Beyond the Call of Duty 19 Acknowledge Customer’s Needs 19 Acknowledging Without Encouraging 20 Active Listening 20 Admitting Mistakes 21 Allowing Venting 21 Apologize 22 Contents Part One. Succeeding at Customer Service 1 BacalFM.qxp 11/10/2004 10:31 AM Page v For more information about this title, click here vi Contents Appropriate Nonverbals 22 Appropriate Smiles 22 Arranging Follow-Up 23 Assurances of Effort 23 Assurances of Results 24 Audience Removal 24 Bonus Buyoff 24 Broken Record 24 Closing Interactions Positively 25 Common Courtesy 25 Completing Follow-Up 26 Contact Security/Authorities/Management 26 Disengaging 27 Distraction 28 Empathy Statements 28 Expediting 29 Expert Recommendations 29 Explain Reasoning or Actions 29 Face-Saving Out 30 Finding Agreement Points 31 Finishing Off/Following Up 31 Isolate/Detach Customer 31 Leveling 31 Managing Height Differentials/Nonverbals 32 Managing Interpersonal Distance 32 Not Taking the Bait 34 Offering Choices/Empowering 34 Plain Language 35 Preemptive Strike 35 Privacy and Confidentiality 36 Probing Questions 36 BacalFM.qxp 11/10/2004 10:31 AM Page vi vii Contents Pros and Cons 37 Providing Alternatives 37 Providing a Customer Takeaway 38 Providing Explanations 38 Questioning Instead of Stating 39 Referral to Supervisor 39 Referral to Third Party 40 Refocus 41 Setting Limits 41 Some People Think That (Neutral Mode) 43 Stop Sign-Nonverbal 43 Suggest an Alternative to Waiting 44 Summarize the Conversation 44 Telephone Silence 45 Thank-Yous 46 Timeout 46 Use Customer's Name 46 Use of Timing with Angry Customers 47 Verbal Softeners 47 Voice Tone—Emphatic 48 When Question 48 You're Right! 49 1. When You Are Late or Know You Will Be Late 53 2. When a Customer Is in a Hurry 56 3. When a Customer Jumps Ahead in a Line of Waiting Customers 58 4. When a Customer Asks to Be Served Ahead of Other Waiting Customers 60 Part Two. Dealing with Specific Customer Situations 51 BacalFM.qxp 11/10/2004 10:31 AM Page vii viii Contents 5. When a Customer Interrupts a Discussion Between the Employee and Another Customer 62 6. When a Customer Has a Negative Attitude About Your Company Due to Past Experiences 64 7. When You Need to Explain a Company Policy or Procedure 67 8. When a Customer Might Be Mistrustful 70 9. When the Customer Has Been Through Voicemail Hell 73 10. When a Customer Is Experiencing a Language Barrier 76 11. When the Customer Has Been “Buck-Passed” 79 12. When a Customer Needs to Follow a Sequence of Actions 81 13. When the Customer Insults Your Competence 83 14. When a Customer Won't Stop Talking on the Phone 85 15. When the Customer Swears or Yells in Person #1 87 16. When the Customer Swears or Yells in Person #2 90 17. When a Customer Won't Stop Talking and Is Getting Abusive on the Phone #1 93 18. When a Customer Won't Stop Talking and Is Getting Abusive on the Phone #2 96 19. When a Customer Has Been Waiting in a Line 99 20. When You Don't Have the Answer 101 21. When Nobody Handy Has the Answer 105 22. When You Need to Place a Caller on Hold 108 23. When You Need to Route a Customer Phone Call 111 24. When You Lack the Authority to … 114 25. When a Customer Threatens to Go over Your Head 116 26. When a Customer Demands to Speak with Your Supervisor 118 27. When a Customer Demands to Speak with Your Supervisor,Who Isn't Available 121 BacalFM.qxp 11/10/2004 10:31 AM Page viii [...]... 143 35 When a Customer Makes a Sexist Remark 146 36 When a Customer Refuses to Leave 149 37 When a Customer Accuses You of Racism 152 38 When a Customer Plays One Employee off Another ("So-and-So Said") 155 39 When a Customer Might Be Stealing 159 40 When a Customer Is Playing to an Audience of Other Customers 161 41 When a Customer Exhibits Passive-Aggressive Behavior 164 42 When a Customer Uses Nonverbal... on customer service Use of the site is free of charge We have great plans for the site, including using it to add more customer service techniques, and more customer service dialogues you can learn from We may even have a forum where you can ask questions and share your customer service expertise To visit, go to www.customerservicezone.com By visiting, you can continue to learn and develop your customer. .. directly That tourist is a customer Another example is the parent who attends the parent-teacher meeting at the local public school: he or she receives outputs and services from the teacher, but does not pay the teacher directly That parent needs to be treated like a customer, too 7 Perfect Phrases for Customer Service That brings us to the fourth type of customer, regulated customers Government organizations... basics of customer service from the introduction, you’ll be able to choose the right tools for each customer service “job.” In this section, we are going to describe and explain each of the major customer service tools at your disposal Since customer service involves human interactions that are not always 16 Copyright © 2005 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc Click here for terms of use Customer Service... positive customer perception of you and the company you work for Whether you are a novice working with customers or a seasoned pro, what you do and say will affect how customers see you You can’t help it Customers will form opinions, so you might as well learn how to create positive opinions But you need to know how to do that 3 Copyright © 2005 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc Click here for terms... for terms of use Perfect Phrases for Customer Service That’s what this book is for to teach you about the dozens and dozens of techniques you can use when interacting with customers so they will walk away with positive feelings about the experience.You’ll learn about very specific things you can do or say in all kinds of customer interactions You’ll learn how to deal with difficult customers You’ll... with numerous examples so you can use customer service techniques effectively Let’s get started! What’s in It for Me? Why should you be concerned with providing excellent customer service? You don’t own the company You may not get paid more for providing excellent customer service So, what’s in it for you? There are three powerful reasons for learning to provide great customer service: greater job satisfaction,... and hassle When you learn and use customer service skills,you are far less likely to get into protracted,unpleasant, and upsetting interactions with a customer You make yourself less of a target for customer wrath That’s because customer service skills help keep customers from becoming angry and help reduce the length and intensity of the anger when and if difficult customer service situations occur... receives output from you Let’s be more specific.There are four basic types of customer Regardless of type, each customer deserves to receive top-quality customer service Also, regardless of the type of customer, you and your organization will benefit by providing top-quality customer service First, there are external paying customers These are the people who pay to eat in a restaurant, pay for health care... who maintains company computers is working for internal customers (the people who use the computers he or she maintains) Third, there are external nonpaying customers These customers receive services, goods, or other outputs but do not pay directly for them For example, the tourist who visits a traveler’s information kiosk by the highway may receive tourist information (outputs) and maps (goods), but . xvi Perfect Phrases for Customer Service BacalFM.qxp 11/10/2004 10:31 AM Page i Also available from McGraw-Hill Perfect Phrases for Performance Reviews by Douglas Max and Robert Bacal Perfect Phrases. offer customer service related seminars.He also hosts The Customer Service Zone on the Internet, at www.cus- tomerservicezone.com, where you can find free help and sug- gestions on customer service. basics of customer service, so you can increase your under- standing of what customers want from you, and the things that cause customers to hit the roof. We’ll also talk about various types of customers