From the Author | p. xii |
About the Author | p. xviii |
Know Why Service Matters | p. 1 |
Introduction | p. 2 |
No One Succeeds without Loyal Customers | p. 3 |
"Customer" implies an exchange of value | p. 3 |
Customers Have Many Names | p. 4 |
Customer Relationships Can Become Partnerships | p. 4 |
Positive Word of Mouth Gets and Keeps Customers | p. 5 |
The impact of E-Commerce on word of mouth | p. 6 |
The Good and Bad News about Customer Service-The Cost of a Lost Customer | p. 7 |
Calculate the terrible cost of the lost customer | p. 7 |
Appreciate the cost of the lost | p. 8 |
How much will it cost to replace these customers? | p. 9 |
Understand how lost customers mean lost jobs | p. 9 |
Some Key Changes in the Diverse Nature of Customers | p. 9 |
Increasing customer diversity | p. 10 |
Age issues | p. 10 |
Globalization | p. 12 |
Work-life balance | p. 12 |
Translating Slogans and Good Intentions into a Strategy | p. 12 |
The Ultimate Goal: Developing Customer Loyalty for Life | p. 13 |
Customer loyalty | p. 14 |
A Final Thought | p. 17 |
Assignment Portfolio | p. 17 |
Summary of Key Ideas | p. 17 |
Key Concepts | p. 18 |
Reviewing the Facts | p. 18 |
Applying the Ideas: Interview Service Providers | p. 18 |
Notes | p. 20 |
Use Behaviors That Engage Your Customers | p. 23 |
Behavior and Personality Factors That Please Customers | p. 24 |
Fifteen Individual Behaviors Can Convey Personality | p. 25 |
Greet customers like guests | p. 25 |
Break the ice | p. 26 |
Compliment freely and sincerely | p. 26 |
Call people by name | p. 27 |
Talk to customers with your eyes | p. 27 |
Ask often "How am I doing?" | p. 28 |
Listen with more than your ears | p. 29 |
Say "please," "thank you," and "you're welcome" | p. 29 |
Reassure customers in their decision to do business with you | p. 29 |
Smile | p. 30 |
Use good telephone techniques | p. 30 |
Reach out and touch them | p. 31 |
Enjoy people and their diversity | p. 31 |
Maintain a positive attitude about selling | p. 32 |
Watch your dress, grooming, and workplace attractiveness | p. 33 |
Six Organizational Behaviors That Convey a Customer-Centered Culture | p. 33 |
Consider your company's appearance and grooming | p. 33 |
Get customers to interact with your organization | p. 37 |
Correspond regularly | p. 37 |
Use hoopla and fun | p. 38 |
Reward the right actions | p. 38 |
Stay close after the sale | p. 39 |
A Final Thought | p. 40 |
Assignment Portfolio | p. 40 |
Summary of Key Ideas | p. 40 |
Key Concepts | p. 41 |
Reviewing the Facts | p. 41 |
Applying the Ideas: Does Behavior Influence Customer Loyalty? | p. 41 |
Applying the Ideas: Hooray for Waffle House | p. 43 |
Notes | p. 45 |
Apply Your Best Listening Skills | p. 47 |
The Difference between Listening and Merely Hearing | p. 49 |
What Contributes to Listening? | p. 49 |
Internal elements affecting listening | p. 49 |
Environmental elements affecting listening | p. 49 |
Interactional elements affecting listening | p. 51 |
Listening Habits to Avoid | p. 54 |
Faking attention | p. 54 |
Changing channels | p. 55 |
Listening only for the facts | p. 55 |
Interrupting | p. 56 |
Positive Steps to Better Listening | p. 56 |
Solicit clarification | p. 57 |
Minimize the number of gatekeepers | p. 57 |
Try counter-attitudinal advocacy | p. 57 |
A Final Thought | p. 60 |
Assignment Portfolio | p. 60 |
Summary of Key Ideas | p. 60 |
Key Concepts | p. 61 |
Reviewing the Facts | p. 61 |
Applying the Ideas: Discover Your Listening Style | p. 61 |
Notes | p. 64 |
Use the Telephone Right for Good Service | p. 67 |
Know the Benefits and Drawbacks of Telephonic Communication | p. 68 |
Action Tips for Identifying Telephone Use Attitudes | p. 70 |
Check your phone use attitudes | p. 70 |
Contact a company | p. 70 |
Avoid unnecessary call screening | p. 71 |
Action Tips on What to Do and Say | p. 72 |
Answer promptly and be prepared to handle calls | p. 72 |
Use courtesy titles | p. 72 |
Thank people for calling | p. 73 |
Smile | p. 74 |
Be sure the conversation is finished before you hang up | p. 74 |
Handle the upset caller with tact and skill | p. 74 |
Action Tips on How to Express Yourself on the Phone | p. 75 |
Keep your conversation tactful and businesslike | p. 75 |
Speak clearly and distinctly | p. 76 |
Speak naturally and comfortably | p. 76 |
Do not let "dead air" happen | p. 77 |
Keep a constant flow of information | p. 77 |
Keep callers on track | p. 77 |
Action Tips for Efficient Use of the Phone | p. 78 |
When Calling others, asks "is this a convenient time to talk?" | p. 78 |
Take messages cheerfully and accurately | p. 79 |
Make your greeting message efficient | p. 80 |
Learn to use your phone's features | p. 80 |
Plan your outgoing calls for efficiency | p. 81 |
Don't let the telephone interrupt an important live conversation | p. 82 |
Consistently work to improve your telephone communications | p. 82 |
Call Centers: Building Relationships One Phone Call at a Time | p. 82 |
What a call center is | p. 83 |
How many call centers are there? | p. 83 |
A Final Thought | p. 84 |
Assignment Portfolio | p. 85 |
Summary of Key Ideas | p. 85 |
Key Concepts | p. 85 |
Reviewing the Facts | p. 85 |
Applying the Ideas: Try Rewording for a Better Tone | p. 86 |
Applying the Ideas: Hear the Difference | p. 86 |
Notes | p. 89 |
Use Friendly Web Sites and Electronic Communication | p. 91 |
What Is Web-Based Customer Service? | p. 92 |
Self-serve common answers | p. 92 |
Delayed answers | p. 93 |
Live answers | p. 93 |
Self-serve personalized answers | p. 94 |
Acknowledge Cost Advantages for "Webifying" Customer Service | p. 94 |
Recognize Disadvantages of Web-Based E-Service | p. 95 |
Apply Five Action Tips for Avoiding E-Service Problems | p. 96 |
Be there and be quick | p. 96 |
Make site navigation simple | p. 96 |
Respond quickly | p. 97 |
Provide communication alternatives | p. 97 |
Pay attention to form and function | p. 97 |
Utilize Five Action Tips for Evaluating and Growing E-Service Effectiveness | p. 99 |
Track customer traffic | p. 99 |
Benchmark service levels | p. 99 |
Teach your site to learn | p. 99 |
Build an ongoing E-relationship | p. 99 |
End high for better loyalty | p. 101 |
A Final Thought | p. 101 |
Assignment Portfolio | p. 101 |
Summary of Key Ideas | p. 101 |
Key Concepts | p. 102 |
Reviewing the Facts | p. 102 |
Applying the Ideas: Explore the World of E-Service | p. 103 |
Notes | p. 105 |
Recognize and Deal with Customer Turnoffs | p. 107 |
Be Aware. Be Very Aware-Recognize Pet Peeves about Customer Service | p. 108 |
Get a Picture of What Turns Customers Off | p. 109 |
Value turnoffs | p. 110 |
Systems turnoffs | p. 111 |
People turnoffs | p. 114 |
Know That Reducing Turnoffs Is the Best Advertising | p. 115 |
Create Loyal Customers | p. 116 |
The zone of indifference | p. 116 |
Value service recovery | p. 117 |
Loyalty comes from customers' awareness that service is your business | p. 117 |
Earn your customer's loyalty with two steps | p. 118 |
Listen with More Than Your Ears | p. 118 |
A Final Thought | p. 119 |
Assignment Portfolio | p. 120 |
Summary of Key Ideas | p. 120 |
Key Concepts | p. 120 |
Reviewing the Facts | p. 121 |
Applying the Ideas: Discovering Customer Turnoffs | p. 121 |
Notes | p. 124 |
Get Customer Feedback | p. 125 |
Why Feedback Is So Important | p. 126 |
Feedback is a form of coaching | p. 126 |
Complaints are valuable feedback | p. 126 |
Getting input at the point of contact | p. 127 |
Commitment to Feedback Varies | p. 128 |
What statistics reveal about feedback | p. 128 |
Reinforce, Don't Challenge the Customer | p. 129 |
Be sensitive to your first reactions | p. 129 |
Act on Complaints in Productive Ways | p. 130 |
Feel the customer's pain | p. 132 |
Do all you can to resolve the problem | p. 132 |
Other Proactive Ways to Get Feedback | p. 132 |
Try focus groups | p. 133 |
Use explorer groups | p. 135 |
Use customer surveys | p. 135 |
Use "mystery shoppers" | p. 138 |
A Final Thought | p. 139 |
Assignment Portfolio | p. 139 |
Summary of Key Ideas | p. 139 |
Key Concepts | p. 140 |
Reviewing the Facts | p. 140 |
Applying the Ideas: Getting Customer Feedback | p. 141 |
Notes | p. 143 |
Recover the Potentially Lost Customer | p. 145 |
Understand the Case for Customer Recovery | p. 146 |
Maintain Healthy Attitudes about Customer Recovery | p. 147 |
Develop Your Recovery Skills | p. 149 |
Feel their pain | p. 149 |
Do all you can to resolve the problem | p. 149 |
Go beyond: offer "symbolic atonement" | p. 149 |
Look back and learn from each situation | p. 150 |
Understand what happens if the customer is still not satisfied | p. 152 |
Handling the Occasional "Customer from Hell" | p. 152 |
Be sure this really is a chronic complainer | p. 152 |
Know what to do with this guy (or gal) | p. 153 |
Handing a Nasty Complaint Letter or Email | p. 153 |
Use Human Relations Skills to Convey Appropriate Tone | p. 155 |
People are strongly interested in themselves | p. 155 |
People prefer receiver-centered messages | p. 156 |
People want to be treated as individuals | p. 157 |
People want positive information | p. 157 |
People don't like abrasive people | p. 158 |
Understand the Distinction between Assertive and Aggressive Behavior | p. 160 |
A Final Thought | p. 162 |
Assignment Portfolio | p. 162 |
Summary of Key Ideas | p. 162 |
Key Concepts | p. 163 |
Reviewing the Facts | p. 163 |
Applying the Ideas: Recovering Lost Customers | p. 163 |
Notes | p. 166 |
Exceed Expectations with Value | p. 167 |
Define A-Plus Value: What It Is | p. 168 |
Recognize the cost of diminished perceptions of value | p. 168 |
Create an Enhanced Sense of Intrinsic and Associated Value | p. 170 |
Intrinsic value of the product itself | p. 170 |
Associated value | p. 171 |
Seven Ways to Enhance the Perception of Value | p. 171 |
Build A-plus value with packaging | p. 172 |
Build A-plus value with guarantees or warranties | p. 173 |
Build A-plus value with goodness of product fit | p. 173 |
Build A-plus value with memorable experiences | p. 175 |
Build A-plus value with uniqueness and shared values | p. 176 |
Build A-plus value with credibility | p. 177 |
Build A-plus value with add-ons | p. 178 |
A-plus value and your employees | p. 179 |
A Final Thought | p. 180 |
Assignment Portfolio | p. 180 |
Summary of Key Ideas | p. 180 |
Key Concepts | p. 181 |
Reviewing the Facts | p. 181 |
Applying the Ideas: Creating A-Plus Value | p. 182 |
Notes | p. 184 |
Give Customers A-Plus Information | p. 187 |
Understand What A-Plus Information Is | p. 188 |
Special informational demands of E-commerce | p. 189 |
Know How to Produce A-Plus Information | p. 190 |
Provide informational hand-holding | p. 191 |
Select informational media carefully | p. 191 |
Use Techniques That Enhance Message Clarity | p. 193 |
Audit of your company's writing | p. 193 |
Use some redundancy | p. 194 |
Make key information easily accessible with graphics and icons | p. 194 |
Create and Support Customer User Groups and Classes | p. 195 |
Pay Special Attention to A-Plus Information in E-Commerce | p. 196 |
Make customer support accessible | p. 196 |
Honor the customer feedback loop | p. 196 |
Evaluate Your A-Plus Information Efforts | p. 197 |
Logging common questions (FAQs) | p. 197 |
Audit your company's communication | p. 197 |
A Final Thought | p. 197 |
Assignment Portfolio | p. 198 |
Summary of Key Ideas | p. 198 |
Key Concepts | p. 198 |
Reviewing the Facts | p. 198 |
Applying the Ideas: Creating A-plus Information | p. 199 |
Notes | p. 201 |
Exceed Customer Expectation with Convenience | p. 203 |
Understand What Is Meant by A-Plus Convenience | p. 204 |
How to Produce A-Plus Convenience | p. 205 |
Give serious regard to customer time and convenience | p. 205 |
Consider the Use of Virtual Waiting Techniques | p. 207 |
Match capacity to demand | p. 208 |
Respond to how customers perceive the wait | p. 208 |
Use virtual queues | p. 208 |
Make Things Easier for Customers | p. 209 |
Create once-and-done service | p. 210 |
Make doing business easy | p. 210 |
Offer ancillary services | p. 211 |
Simplify the product | p. 211 |
A Final Thought | p. 211 |
Assignment Portfolio | p. 213 |
Summary of Key Ideas | p. 213 |
Key Concepts | p. 214 |
Reviewing the Facts | p. 214 |
Applying the Ideas: Giving A-plus Convenience | p. 215 |
Notes | p. 216 |
Managing Your Time and Tasks to Reduce Stress | p. 219 |
What Are the Causes of Job Stress? | p. 220 |
Unproductive job stress factors | p. 220 |
Working conditions that may lead to stress | p. 221 |
Five Key Skills for Better Time and Task Management | p. 222 |
Target your efforts on the most important tasks | p. 223 |
Be a goal-getter, not just a goal setter | p. 224 |
Do the constructive things first | p. 225 |
Foster teamwork | p. 226 |
Avoid time wasters | p. 227 |
Effectively Delegate (Even If You Are Not the Boss) | p. 230 |
How delegation can go wrong | p. 231 |
A Final Thought | p. 231 |
Assignment Portfolio | p. 232 |
Summary of Key Ideas | p. 232 |
Key Concepts | p. 232 |
Reviewing the Facts | p. 232 |
Applying the Ideas: Managing Time, Tasks, and Stress | p. 233 |
Notes | p. 235 |
Get Employees to Give Great Service | p. 237 |
Articulate a Vision: What Managers Should Do First | p. 238 |
Plan a Strategy for Customer Loyalty | p. 240 |
Organizing Processes, People, and Resources to Achieve the Vision | p. 240 |
Lead and Motivate Employees | p. 241 |
Create and Sustain an Effective Work Culture | p. 242 |
Continuously Harvest A-Plus Ideas | p. 244 |
Use brainstorming when you need creative ideas | p. 244 |
Use nominal group process when appropriate | p. 244 |
Control the Processes | p. 245 |
Help employees set contributing goals | p. 246 |
Empower and Engage Employees | p. 246 |
Tie the Reward System to Appropriate Actions | p. 247 |
A Final Thought | p. 248 |
Assignment Portfolio | p. 248 |
Summary of Key Ideas | p. 248 |
Key Concepts | p. 249 |
Reviewing the Facts | p. 249 |
Applying the Ideas: Getting Employees to Give Great Service | p. 250 |
Notes | p. 252 |
Recognize the Emerging Trends in Customer Service | p. 253 |
The Importance of "One-to-One" Personalization for Customer Service in the New Future | p. 255 |
One-to-one opportunities with internal customers | p. 256 |
Social and Economic Shifts Impacting Customer Service for the Future | p. 256 |
Recognize changing demographics | p. 257 |
New Interactivity Options for Creating Stronger Customer Relationships | p. 258 |
Understand That Some Things Remain Consistent | p. 259 |
Demand for fair value | p. 260 |
Satisfy individual customer needs and wants | p. 260 |
Create promoters | p. 261 |
Apply relationship marketing | p. 261 |
Gain customer share, not market share | p. 261 |
A Final Thought | p. 264 |
Assignment Portfolio | p. 264 |
Summary of Key Ideas | p. 264 |
Key Concepts | p. 265 |
Reviewing the Facts | p. 265 |
Applying the Ideas: Recognizing Emerging Trends | p. 266 |
Notes | p. 268 |
How to Lead or Participate in an A-Plus idea Generating Meeting | p. 269 |
Index | p. 277 |
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