Photo by Samuel Zeller on Unsplash

As a customer service trainer and training designer, I’ve determined
which fundamental principles customer service training needs to convey, whether
the setting is a workshop, half-day or all day training, or via a keynote speaking format. 
Here are the ten top principles that I suggest be part of most every
type of customer service training you engage in.

1.
The employee’s purpose in your organization: the purpose of your new employee’s employment; the
reason they will be asked in the course of their employment to undertake
various functions. This is essential. Without understanding the overall goal of
your company, employees can never give you the full effort of which they are
capable, and they won’t be fully happy as human beings.

For
example, the purpose of employment at Mayo Clinic is to serve the needs of the
patient, which is succinctly spelled out in the healthcare institution’s motto,

“The needs of the patient come first.”

If a newly
arriving Mayo employee understands this mantra, then their daily tasks will be
more meaningful and make more sense to them, and they’ll also begin to
understand when it may make sense to deviate from those tasks in favor of
something unexpected that patient care may call for.

Even more
succinctly, Lincoln Military Housing states its purpose as

“Every Mission Starts at Home.”

In just five words, this purpose, once it’s
conveyed to arriving employees, has the power to breathe life into the details
of what could otherwise feel like a checklist-driven day.  Employees
aren’t just workers going about their jobs; they are part of the
nation’s readiness mission.

2. The importance of 100%
customer retention, of never losing a customer. Every individual
customer is irreplaceable; once they’re gone, they leave a hole in our
company’s future, although, if an employee hears Marketing yammer on about
market share, they may get a different impression. The #1 directive that every
customer-facing employee needs to learn is to succeed with every customer–and
to call in reinforcements if the relationship seems, at any point, to be going
south.

3. The power of serving
even unexpressed needs and wishes, desires that a customer may not have voiced
for a variety of reasons. This principle, which I call anticipatory customer
service, is a key opportunity for an employee to elevate the customer
experience for the benefit of the customer, who may not have expressed what
they’re actually in need of, due to shyness, a fear of being a bother, or a
lack of understanding of your offerings.  Going beyond serving
what has been asked for to serving what the customer is truly looking
for is one of the quickest and most effective ways to convince a customer that
your company is their company.

4. The importance of
using your empowerment in the organization to creatively assist
customers.  Speaking to a new employee, let them know they’ve been
hired for more than their labor. Customers, and your company, will only get the
most out of an employee’s presence at the company if that employee knows to
rise to the occasion in creative ways that nobody sitting “backstage” in an
office or boardroom could really conceive of. As legendary hotelier Herve
Humler puts it,

“Empowerment isn’t an add-on; it’s your job to be empowered.”

5. The importance of
timeliness: A good job done late is defective. Furthermore, it’s the
customer who defines “late,” based on their expectations for your industry and
from what you have led them to believe.

6. Language essentials,
because how you say (or write) something is as important
as what you say. 

 Every new employee
needs to be trained on a variety of issues relating to language: 

 • Words and
phrases to avoid, and words and phrases to use in their place:

There are many words and
phrases that are likely to make a customer uncomfortable or to get their
hackles up.  In a complete customer service consulting initiative, I will
work with a client to create a “language lexicon” spelling these out. Even if
you don’t go to this extent, be sure to give new employees some guidance in
this area.

Here are just two
examples:

Avoid:

“You owe $_______,”

when letting someone know
what their bill is (because it sounds accusatory).

Instead, say it more
gently, along the lines of:

“Our records are showing a balance of $_____.”

Avoid:

“Just one?”

when seating someone in a
restaurant (because it sounds like you think they’re a friendless loser).

Instead, say,

“Will anyone be joining you?”

(Or, better, I’d argue,
just proceed to seat them. If they do have a friend coming, they’ll let you know.)

Avoid responding with

“No problem”

when a customer thanks
you for your efforts on their behalf.

Instead, try one of the
following responses:

“You’re welcome.”

“Thank YOU.”

“I’m happy I could help.”

“My pleasure.”

• Principles of language
use, including

Making sure to use a customer’s name (within reason).“Always having the last word” in a conversation with a customer,
whether on the phone or in person (Customer says, “thank you”; you say, “you’re
welcome,” they add on a “Have a great day”; you respond to that one as well.
And so forth.

7. How to perform service
recovery: how to work with an upset customer, a customer who feels
wronged. If your organization doesn’t already have a system in place for
this, I suggest you train them on my AWARE sequence (Acknowledge, Widen, Agree,
Resolve, Evaluate). To get you started, here’s an article about service
recovery and the AWARE method.

8. The importance of
matching a customer’s style and pacing 

Customers have different
styles – some are “all business,” some are leisurely, some are high-energy and
some are in a terrific hurry. To make this more complicated, behavior can
change from day to day and even from morning to afternoon. To give great
service requires you to adjust your customer service style and pacing to match
this, which you can only do if your antennae are constantly up for the clues
that let you know how a customer is oriented and what they are expecting.

9. The importance of warm
welcomes and fond farewells:

As humans, we have a
tendency to remember the beginning and ending of events So if an organization
can nail the very first and very last moments of its time with
a customer, it can disproportionately improve the overall impression
that a customer is left with of the encounter.

A few simple pointers
here on making sure this happens:

To provide a warm welcome
on phone, be ready to take the call before picking up; smile when you
answer, and use a greeting that includes the following four elements:

Your nameA company identificationThanks for callingAn offer of assistance

(One example of this
would be: “Thank you for calling Four Aces Inc., this is Micah; how may I help
you today?,” but there are various other types of phrasing that can cover these
four points equally well.)

A fond farewell, either
on the telephone or in person, should include a goodbye, thanks, and, if
appropriate, an invitation to return or a statement that you’re looking forward
to the customer’s return visit.

(One example of this
would be: “Thanks for coming in today, I hope the rest of your week is
wonderful; we’re looking forward to seeing you again [or, even better, “we’re
looking forward to seeing you when you come back in July.”])10.
The concept that every customer resides within their own protective bubble, and
you only enter that bubble with their permission. Here’s an article that covers the concept of
the customer’s protective bubble and my BUBL method for addressing this correctly.

Photo by Samuel Zeller on Unsplash