101 Ways to Improve Customer Service: Training, Tools, Tips, and Techniques

Part One. Awareness

Awareness of the personal view he or she has of self, other people, and the environment creates a certain perspective that affects how a service representative performs a job, interacts with customers, and reacts to situations. Because these individuals often carry the weight of how a customer might evaluate the entire organization, it is imperative that they stay attuned to their capabilities and attitudes.

The service representative plays a major role as liaison between the customer and the company. The results of these interactions directly influence the perception that the customer has of the product or service and the company itself. Perception is an individual’s personal understanding or view of things in the world, and perception is a large part of how expectations are formed. Service providers base their impressions of customers on their interactions with them, and customers base their judgments about the company on the attitude and actions of service representatives.

A perceptual set is a person’s tendency to see things in a certain way, do things a certain way, and stick to the familiar because it’s more comfortable than changing. Service providers need to be aware of their own perceptual sets as well as those of coworkers and customers. This will help them accept other points of view and overcome assumptions that influence decisions. Service providers’ mind-sets play another critical role in customer service in that they affect customer expectations. ...