14Asking Intelligent Questions
“It is better to know some of the questions than to know all of the answers.”
—James Thurber
Customers are often less than articulate—or even clear in their own minds—about their wants and needs. The customer who says “I’m not quite sure,” in response to your “How may I help you?” is at least being frank, and represents the feelings of a lot of customers. And it’s your job to help them sort it all out.
To be successful with the unsure, unclear, or confused customer, you have to put on your detective hat. And like Sherlock Holmes, Columbo, or the criminalists on CSI, you have to go in search of clues. Armed with a supply of good questions, you are sure to succeed.
Three types of questions will help you in your search ...
Get Delivering Knock Your Socks Off Service, 5th Edition now with the O’Reilly learning platform.
O’Reilly members experience books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.
