{"id":23737,"date":"2017-05-04T11:19:50","date_gmt":"2017-05-04T18:19:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/?p=23737"},"modified":"2017-05-04T16:15:16","modified_gmt":"2017-05-04T23:15:16","slug":"got-business-manners-putting-your-best-foot-forward-for-better-customer-service","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/the-week-in-imaging-twii\/dealer-blogs\/2017\/05\/got-business-manners-putting-your-best-foot-forward-for-better-customer-service\/","title":{"rendered":"Got Business Manners? Putting Your Best Foot Forward for Better Customer Service"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"\u201cI sat there and watched the two of them completely engaged on Facebook. Never mind the fact that I\u2019m a customer, and they are supposed to be helping me. The sad thing is: I\u2019m not sure that they even realized how rude they were. Needless to say, I will never \u2018like\u2019 that place. I only go to that store when I\u2019m desperate.\u201d<\/em>
\n\u00a0<\/em>
\n\u201cI sent in a donation and never heard a word from those people. I guess they missed the gratitude lesson in Fundraising 101. The next time I think about contributing to a cause, you can bet I\u2019ll pick a charity that knows how to say \u2018thank you.\u2019\u201d<\/em>
\n\u00a0<\/em>
\n\u201cAfter speaking with that woman on the phone, I felt violated. I know she needed the answers to the financial questions in order to help me, but something just seemed wrong about the whole thing. I can\u2019t put my finger on it, but it wasn\u2019t a good feeling.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

At one time or another, most consumers\u2014including you\u2014have had the unpleasant experience of being treated rudely, ignored or abandoned altogether by people whose job it is to provide you with a given product or service. Amazing? Not really. Infuriating? You bet. Correctable? Absolutely.<\/p>\n

Sadly, genuine good manners are less and less common these days, and why is that? Do people believe they\u2019re simply too busy? Do they not know what they are supposed to do? Did no one ever teach them what is acceptable? Who knows? And frankly, the reason or reasons for failure are less important than the solution\u2014consistent application of some often overlooked fundamentals.<\/p>\n

Here are six suggestions for adding social niceties and common courtesy back into your customer service practices.<\/p>\n

Start your interaction on the right foot.<\/strong> By definition, you\u2019ve only one chance to make a first impression. Don\u2019t squander it by being indifferent. Begin with a simple display of common courtesy: smile, stand or sit up straight, and greet potential customers with \u201chello,\u201d \u201cgood morning,\u201d \u201cgood afternoon,\u201d or \u201cwelcome.\u201d You won\u2019t regret it.<\/p>\n

Say \u201cplease\u201d and \u201cthank you,\u201d and do it often.<\/strong> \u201cPlease\u201d and \u201cthank you\u201d are the WD-40 of solid customer service. Used with sincerity, those three words build rapport, demonstrate respect, and quiet the occasional squeaky wheel.<\/p>\n

Be mentally present when interacting with the people you serve.<\/strong> For starters, stop toying with pencils, rubber bands, paperclips, etc. that telegraph your boredom. But wait, there\u2019s more: put away your smart phone, close your tablet, mute your intercom, make and maintain eye contact, and listen to what is being said to you. You will step up your effectiveness and efficiency by giving your customers and clients your undivided attention. That doesn\u2019t mean your interactions will take more time; in fact, they might take less because your consumers will reward you for putting them first.<\/p>\n

Ask for permission.<\/strong> If you work in a business that deals with people\u2019s finances, health, or other personal matters, get in the habit of requesting permission to discuss sensitive information.<\/p>\n

You may or may not always get the answers you want, but you will give your customers and clients a sense of their control, and in the process of doing that you will affirm your own professionalism.<\/p>\n

Let the people you serve know what happens next.<\/strong> As a service provider, you must remember that you do what you do day in and day out, and you know how your business works. Those you serve may not. Eliminate uncertainty and reduce anxiety by taking time to familiarize people with processes. When you do, you\u2019ll find your customers are more likely to feel comfortable and confident in your abilities. For example, \u201cMrs. Jones, I\u2019m going to give you a few minutes to change. Please put on this gown so the opening is in the front. When you\u2019re ready, if you will flip this switch, a light will turn on in the hall to let me know to tell Dr. Black you are ready to see her. Before I leave, do you have any questions for me?\u201d<\/p>\n

Be genuine.<\/strong> \u201cYour call is very important to us. So important, in fact, that we are going respond to it in the order in which it was received by someone at a location on the other side of the international dateline.\u00a0 So very, very important that while you wait for that distant person to wake up, we\u2019ll entertain you with a medley of boy-band favorites interrupted every thirty seconds by a voiceover that says \u2018Your call is very important to us\u2019 even though…\u201d Convincing? Oh yeah, totally. \u2018Nuff said.<\/p>\n

In a world crowded with sincerely insincere messages, you can stand out from your competitors by taking the time to put yourself in the position of your customers. In short, that\u2019s what good manners are all about. Use them, and you can\u2019t lose.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cI sat there and watched the two of them completely engaged on Facebook. Never mind the fact that I\u2019m a customer, and they are supposed to be helping me. The sad thing is: I\u2019m not sure that they even realized how rude they were. Needless to say, I will never \u2018like\u2019 that place. I only go to that store when I\u2019m desperate.\u201d \u00a0 \u201cI sent in a donation and never heard a word from those people. I guess they missed the gratitude lesson in Fundraising 101. The next time I think about contributing to a cause, you can bet I\u2019ll pick a charity that knows how to say \u2018thank you.\u2019\u201d \u00a0 \u201cAfter speaking with that woman on the phone, I felt violated. I know she needed the answers to the financial questions in order to help me, but something just seemed wrong about the whole thing. I can\u2019t put my finger on it, but it wasn\u2019t a good feeling.\u201d At one time or another, most consumers\u2014including you\u2014have had the unpleasant experience of being treated rudely, ignored or abandoned altogether by people whose job it is to provide you with a given product or service. Amazing? Not really. Infuriating? You bet. Correctable? Absolutely. Sadly, genuine good manners are less and less common these days, and why is that? Do people believe they\u2019re simply too busy? Do they not know what they are supposed to do? Did no one ever teach them what is acceptable? Who knows? And frankly, the reason or reasons for failure are less important than the solution\u2014consistent application of some often overlooked fundamentals. Here are six suggestions for adding social niceties and common courtesy back into your customer service practices. Start your interaction on the right foot. By definition, you\u2019ve only one chance to make a first impression. Don\u2019t squander it by being indifferent. Begin with a simple display of common courtesy: smile, stand or sit up straight, and greet potential customers with \u201chello,\u201d \u201cgood morning,\u201d \u201cgood afternoon,\u201d or \u201cwelcome.\u201d You won\u2019t regret it. Say \u201cplease\u201d and \u201cthank you,\u201d and do it often. \u201cPlease\u201d and \u201cthank you\u201d are the WD-40 of solid customer service. Used with sincerity, those three words build rapport, demonstrate respect, and quiet the occasional squeaky wheel. Be mentally present when interacting with the people you serve. For starters, stop toying with pencils, rubber bands, paperclips, etc. that telegraph your boredom. But wait, there\u2019s more: put away your smart phone, close your tablet, mute your intercom, make and maintain eye contact, and listen to what is being said to you. You will step up your effectiveness and efficiency by giving your customers and clients your undivided attention. That doesn\u2019t mean your interactions will take more time; in fact, they might take less because your consumers will reward you for putting them first. Ask for permission. If you work in a business that deals with people\u2019s finances, health, or other personal matters, get in the habit of requesting permission to discuss sensitive information. You may or may not always get the answers you want, but you will give your customers and clients a sense of their control, and in the process of doing that you will affirm your own professionalism. Let the people you serve know what happens next. As a service provider, you must remember that you do what you do day in and day out, and you know how your business works. Those you serve may not. Eliminate uncertainty and reduce anxiety by taking time to familiarize people with processes. When you do, you\u2019ll find your customers are more likely to feel comfortable and confident in your abilities. For example, \u201cMrs. Jones, I\u2019m going to give you a few minutes to change. Please put on this gown so the opening is in the front. When you\u2019re ready, if you will flip this switch, a light will turn on in the hall to let me know to tell Dr. Black you are ready to see her. Before I leave, do you have any questions for me?\u201d Be genuine. \u201cYour call is very important to us. So important, in fact, that we are going respond to it in the order in which it was received by someone at a location on the other side of the international dateline.\u00a0 So very, very important that while you wait for that distant person to wake up, we\u2019ll entertain you with a medley of boy-band favorites interrupted every thirty seconds by a voiceover that says \u2018Your call is very important to us\u2019 even though…\u201d Convincing? Oh yeah, totally. \u2018Nuff said. In a world crowded with sincerely insincere messages, you can stand out from your competitors by taking the time to put yourself in the position of your customers. In short, that\u2019s what good manners are all about. Use them, and you can\u2019t lose.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":160,"featured_media":22522,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[79,1650,1638],"tags":[3114,3031,3115],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23737"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/160"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23737"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23737\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23739,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23737\/revisions\/23739"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22522"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23737"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23737"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23737"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}