Customized Engaging Online Customer Service Training
Author: myragolden
Myra is a favorite training partner to Fortune 500 companies with her customized, engaging, behavior-changing (and fun) customer service workshops, working with McDonald’s, Coca-Cola, Frito-Lay, Michelin, Vera Bradley and other brands.
I cuss. A lot. But never have I dared to cuss at a person in a customer service role. And I get rather upset about lousy customer service and still manage to talk nicely to people about any issues I encounter. Some people cuss, and yell and make threats when they are angry about customer service. This is not okay.
You have to draw the line on unacceptable behavior with customers, just as I hope you do in your interpersonal relationships when people disrespect you. You get the behavior you tolerate. So, don’t tolerate profane language.
Diplomatic comebacks to cussing set you up as professional and assertive, and they help you get the respect you deserve.
Here are seven comebacks for the customer who cusses at you. These responses are professional and will get the job done.
If you find it difficult to get your customer to stop telling you the story of just how inconvenienced they were, or are, and to stop rambling on about the problem, it’s likely because the customer is stuck in the past.
You’re going to have to reframe the issue in the customer’s mind. That is, you must strategically move your customer out of a past problem to a focus on the present so that you can offer a solution. Your job, in essence, is to get the customer to move on.
Reframing statements are fantastic in getting the customer to move forward. Reframing does two things for you. First, it acknowledges your customer’s biggest concern. You empathize. Secondly, it ushers in the solution phase of problem resolution.
Here are seven reframing statements that recognize customer concern and help customers move on.
Here’s what our current customers tell us are the three most fantastic things about our customer service eLearning. We show our three best features in this short video. 1. Custom website and branding. When your […]
So, my 14-year son old got contact lenses for the first time last week. He’s struggling to get the contacts in. Every morning Warren comes downstairs to my bathroom so I can help him with his technique.
More than once he’s said, “I freakin’ hate contacts!” He even asked me to hold his upper eyelid up and steady for him. I explained, “I could hold your eyelid for you, but that won’t help you. You have to be able to do this yourself.”
Watching him struggle has been difficult. So, last night I had the idea to coach my son using the same three-step method I tell my clients to use when they have to help an employee through a problem or to give someone constructive feedback. This technique is what I call Know, Feel, Do.
What is it I want Warren to Know about contact insertion? How do I want him to Feel? And, what do I want him to Do?
Know. I want my son to Know that it takes time to get a technique down and to feel comfortable, this is normal for all new contact lens wearers. I want my son to know what approach works for me.
Feel. I want my son to feel grateful that he doesn’t have to wear glasses, thankful that I was willing to pay $418 out of pocket for a year supply of daily lenses. I want my son to feel that he can do this!
Do. I want my son to stop the negative self-talk, be patient, listen to my instruction and to be able to insert his contacts by this time next week and to be able to do it quickly.
God is good! Using my focused and positive Know, Feel, Do, this morning Warren got his contacts in in less than 10 minutes. Yesterday it took around 30 minutes, so this is a big deal.
You can use Know, Feel, Do to coach employees on a process, attitude problem or any performance issue. Here’s precisely how to apply Know, Feel, Do to your talks with employees.
I spent this afternoon in my Strategic Block. My Strategic Block, the best idea I took from the book, 12 Week Year, by Brian P. Morgan and Michael Lennington, is for me to spend […]
Note:This is a rare post that is not about customer service. Scroll on down if my book list doesn’t interest you. My ego won’t be bruised. 🙂
I read voraciously, on planes, in between conference calls, while onions saute and in the spring and summer, on my patio. I read hardbacks, love nestling up with my Kindle, and I also listen to a lot of Audible books. During my holiday vacation, I did little more than reading, and oh, how I loved that! In fact, I had to slip a bookmark in my current read just to write this post for you.
As a Happy New Year gift to you, I’m sharing four of my favorite books from 2017. Maybe this short list will inspire someone. I’d love to hear some of your favorite books from 2017, or to just hear about what you’re reading right now. Share with me some great reads! Here’s my list.
“I really do love your webinars, Myra. They are very well done and extremely beneficial. I always find little helpful hints in your information.” Kristy L. Bolen, Project Manager Carlson Hotels Worldwide Learn more […]
I’ll never forget the day I saw a fight, literally a fist-fight, between a customer and an employee. It was at Kmart.
I was 16, and I worked at Kmart on Admiral in Tulsa. My 17-year old co-worker and good friend, Beverly, said to a customer who wanted to return some worn out clothing,
“We’re not taking that junk back!”
“Excuse me?” the customer said.
Beverly, serious as a heart attack, said again, “We’re not taking that junk back.”
“Little B$#&@, yes you will!” No, she didn’t!
Matching the customer word for word, Beverly spit out, “B$#&@, no we won’t!” I was glad Beverly got this customer and not me.
The customer punched Beverly! For real, she did!
What did my friend Beverly do then? Well, she knocked the crap out of the customer, and within 2 seconds, they were in an all-out brawl at the Service Desk.
My teenage friend Beverly saw the customer as getting away with something, and she took that personally. Her personalization caused her to be completely unwilling to work with the customer. She didn’t want to discuss things, and she certainly didn’t want to give the customer an in-store credit.
Taking things personally often is a demonstration of your loyalty to the company and your insistence on things being fair and right. But, sometimes, personalization can get in the way of serving the customer and moving things forward.
Last week I delivered a customer service training session where part of our focus was moving employees out of an attitude of personalization to an emphasis on finding a win-win solution for problems. One of the ways I tackled this issue was through small group discussion. Here’s one of the activities I led in that workshop (in small groups):
Today I delivered a customer service workshop in Chicago. When we broke for lunch, three of the attendees invited me to a vegan bistro. Of course, I was thrilled to join them!
Over lunch, one of the ladies told me, “I almost never take my vacation time. I prefer just to cash out and get a lump sum payment.” The mother in me couldn’t keep quiet. I had to offer this young lady advice.
There’s nothing wrong with a cash payout, for sure. I just wanted to make sure this young woman knew about all of her options and benefits with vacation time. What followed was an enlightening conversation between the four of us, and as we were getting up, the ladies said my remarks would help them make the best choices for their respective vacation benefits.
So, I thought, why not transcribe what I shared with the ladies. Perhaps, it might help some of you too, even though this is not my usual customer service focus.
De-escalation Training for Customer Service & Soft Skills Training 