Award-Winning Customer Service: 101 Ways to Guarantee Great Performance

Award-Winning Customer Service: 101 Ways to Guarantee Great Performance

by Renee Evenson
Released September 2007
Publisher(s): AMACOM
ISBN: 9780814474549

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Book description

Delivering top-of-the-line customer service is Job #1 for most companies, an important factor in keeping profits high and customers coming back. Customer service problems can damage not just a company’s reputation but its bottom line, so for busy managers -- and business owners with little time to search for solutions -- some fast help is needed.

Award-Winning Customer Service offers scores of quick tips for readers looking to improve and then maintain their company’s level of customer service. The book is chock full of practical advice on important topics such as:

* planning and goal setting * effective communication * leadership * preparing for change * continual learning * coaching and development * effective feedback * motivational and problem-solving meetings * conflict resolution * follow-up and staying on top of the game * and more.

Containing 101 effective tips in all, unique "When this happens, try this" sections, and encouraging quotes, this is an essential reference for anyone who needs guidance or just a refresher on making customers feel truly valued.

Table of contents

  1. Copyright
  2. Acnowledgments
  3. Introduction
  4. CUSTOMERS: Delight Your Audience
    1. Pay Attention
    2. Listen Carefully to Your Customers
    3. Know Your Business
    4. Do What You Say You Will When You Say You Will
    5. Follow Up for Satisfaction
    6. Making Customers Happy Is Job #1
  5. PERFORMANCE: Your Role of a Lifetime
    1. Present Your Best Face Forward
    2. Maintain a Positive Attitude
    3. Exude Confidence
    4. Honesty Is Always Your Best Choice
    5. Energize Yourself
    6. Bounce Back with Resiliency
  6. PLANNING: A Good Script Begins with Thoughtful Consideration
    1. Create a Personal Mission Statement
    2. Write a Customer-Focused Plan
    3. Set Specific and Relevant Goals
    4. Measure Results to Stay on Track
  7. COMMUNICATION: Choose the Right Lines in the Script
    1. You Don’t Communicate Alone
    2. Stop When You See Communication Red Lights
    3. Go with Green Light Communication
    4. Listen, Listen, Listen
    5. Speak Your Best at All Times
    6. Pay Attention to Body Language: Yours and Others
    7. Give and Get Accurate Information
    8. Ask Good Questions
    9. Ask Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How
    10. Answer and Respond to Enhance Communication
    11. Assure to Make Others Feel Valued
    12. Zap Zapper Words from Your Vocabulary
    13. Charge Ahead with Charger Words
  8. LEADERSHIP: Great Performances Need Great Direction
    1. Positive Leadership Begins with Awareness
    2. Develop Positive Leadership Qualities
    3. Think Like a Leader
    4. Model Leadership Behavior
    5. Learn Critical Thinking Skills
    6. Make Solid Decisions
    7. Manage Your Time or Your Time Will Manage You
    8. Add Value to Everything You Do
  9. PREPARATION: Things Are Going to Change
    1. Get Ready: Things Will Not Stay the Same
    2. Become a Quick Change Artist
    3. Help Yourself and Others Work Through Change
    4. Remain Objective
    5. Maintain an Upbeat Attitude
    6. Stay Accountable for Outcomes
  10. TRAINING: Learn Your Lines
    1. Analyze Training Needs
    2. Learners Come in Different Styles
    3. Products, Services, and Company Policies
    4. General Steps to Exceptional Customer Service
    5. Specific Steps to Exceptional Customer Service
    6. Conduct Market Research
    7. Understand the Big Picture
    8. Handle Customer Complaints
    9. Learning Is a Continual Project
  11. TEAMWORK: The Actors Make the Cast
    1. Strong Teams = Success
    2. Establish a Team Identity
    3. Foster a Supportive Environment
    4. Form a Cohesive and United Team
    5. Strengthen Your Team by Being a Team Player
    6. Analyze What You Can Do to Improve
  12. MOTIVATION: Monitoring the Process
    1. Hands-On Customer Service
    2. Take Charge: Stop, Look, and Listen
    3. Document Your Observations
    4. Motivate Your Team
    5. Exemplify the Right Behavior
  13. FEEDBACK: Rave Reviews and Poor Reviews
    1. Meaningful Feedback Is Focused, Specific, and Timely
    2. The Wrong Way Demoralizes
    3. The Right Way Enthuses
    4. Quick Feedback Gets Positive Results
    5. Corrective Feedback Changes Performance
    6. Development Plans Set Goals for Improvement
    7. Periodic Appraisals Are the Most Specific Feedback
    8. Accept Feedback Graciously
  14. MEETINGS: On-the-Spot Rehearsals
    1. Plan Productive Meetings
    2. Lead Meetings Effectively and Efficiently
    3. Sound Questioning Techniques Keep You on Track
    4. Maintain Control During Your Meetings
    5. Strengthen Group Discussion by Understanding Group Dynamics
    6. Conclude Meetings by Energizing Your Team
    7. Customer Service Meetings Keep You Focused
    8. Contribute Positively When You Attend Meetings
  15. CONFLICT: Every Production Has Turmoil
    1. Conflict Is Good
    2. Communication Is Key to Resolving Conflict
    3. Anticipate Problems and Deal with Them Immediately
    4. Find Win-Win Solutions
    5. Turn Chronic Complaining into Contentment
    6. Turn Problem Performers into Peak Producers
    7. Remain Calm and in Control at All Times
  16. COMMITMENT: Take It from the Top
    1. Keep the Momentum Going
    2. Stay One Step Ahead of the Crowd
    3. Pro-Act, Don’t React
    4. Create Creative Coworkers
    5. Cultivate Contented Customers
    6. Develop an Attitude of Gratitude
    7. Make Fun Time a Daily Goal
  17. QUICK TIPS: Cue Cards
    1. CHARACTER Counts
    2. CHANGE for the Better
    3. LISTEN UP for Better Communication
    4. CARE About Your Customers
    5. Face-to-Face Customer Service
    6. Stop! Look! Listen! Act! for Outstanding Customer Service
    7. Customer Satisfaction Quiz
    8. Customer Quick Bytes
  18. Index

Product information

  • Title: Award-Winning Customer Service: 101 Ways to Guarantee Great Performance
  • Author(s): Renee Evenson
  • Release date: September 2007
  • Publisher(s): AMACOM
  • ISBN: 9780814474549