Happy About Customer Service?: Creating a Culture of Customer Service Excellence

105 Pages·2008·0.42 MB·English

by  Ken Welsh

Happy About
Customer Service?
Creating a Culture of Customer
Service Excellence
By Ken Welsh
20660 Stevens Creek Blvd.
Suite 210
Cupertino, CA 95014
Happy About Customer Service?: Creating a Culture
of Customer Service Excellence
Copyright © 2008 by Ken Welsh
All rights reserved. No part of this book shall be reproduced, stored in
a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means electronic,
mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without written
permission from the publisher. No patent liability is assumed with
respect to the use of the information contained herein. Although every
precaution has been taken in the preparation of this book, the
publisher and author(s) assume no responsibility for errors or
omissions. Neither is any liability assumed for damages resulting from
the use of the information contained herein.
First Printing: September 2008
Paperback ISBN: 978-1-60005-093-0
Place of Publication: Silicon Valley, California, USA
Paperback Library of Congress Number: 2008921964
eBook ISBN: 978-1-60005-094-7
Trademarks
All terms mentioned in this book that are known to be trademarks or
service marks have been appropriately capitalized. Happy About®
cannot attest to the accuracy of this information. Use of a term in this
book should not be regarded as affecting the validity of any trademark
or service mark.
Warning and Disclaimer
Every effort has been made to make this book as complete and as
accurate as possible, but no warranty of fitness is implied. The
information provided is on an “as is” basis. The authors and the
publisher shall have neither liability nor responsibility to any person or
entity with respect to any loss or damages arising from the information
contained in this book.
Endorsements of ‘Happy About Customer Service’
"We've all witnessed excellent customer service in our lives. 'Happy
About Customer Service?' challenges leaders to bring out the best in
their companies and themselves. If you're looking for a book to inspire
you to do better, far better, in customer service, this is the book for
you."
Simon Nynens, Chairman and CEO, Wayside Technologies
Group, Inc.
"I just read this book and it is great. I love it! It will be a great tool for
us and any other company who has the good sense to read it and
apply."
Courtney Wight, Customer Service Manager, Headsets.com, Inc.
"Ken speaks directly to us in this book and provides us with all the
tools to make a difference in the lives of our customers, and thus
enhance our businesses, and consequently our own lives."
Michele Brandenburger, Class Act Productions, East London,
South Africa
"Ken Welsh was one of the key catalysts that turned me from a
terrified amateur at Toastmasters to a professional public speaker
and TV presenter on Channel 9. He helped me to develop my
message and then worked on how I could deliver it in a more
meaningful way"
Chris Gray, CEO of Red Wealth Creations, a Presenter on "My
Home" Channel 9 Sydney and author of 'Go for Your Life'
"Ken Welsh's approach to customer service focuses on getting back
to the basics of communication. Our business focuses on selling
technology products and services over the phone, so verbal
communication is key. Ken has worked with our sales organization for
nearly a year now and our sales reps have benefited by applying the
techniques and skills he's taught."
Shawn Giordano, Senior Director of Sales, Programmer's
Paradise
Author
• By Ken Welsh
http://www.letstalkcommunication.com
Publisher
• Mitchell Levy
http://www.happyabout.info
Teclarity
• Teclarity
http://www.teclarity.com
Dedication
Clichéd as it may sound and real as it is -
To my amazing partner Francesca and my parents, Don and Marcia,
for their tireless support, encouragement and faith.
Acknowledgement
This book could never have been written without the trust, support and
friendship of Mike Faith and his amazing team at Headsets.com.
To me, this company represents the absolute benchmark in Customer
Service—Mike calls it “Customer Love”—and that is exactly what it is.
I encourage every Customer-oriented company to aspire to achieve
what Headsets.com now takes as second nature.
Without the trust of my friends, for they are much more than mere
clients, at Headsets.com, many of my techniques would have gone
untested.
Here's to the incredible Customer Service standards set by one of the
world's leaders in Service Excellence.
Thank you, Mike & Headsets.com.
And of course, without the amazing assistance, foresight, and
tolerance of Mitchell Levy, Tom Pencek and their team at “Happy
About”, I could never have succeeded at writing this thank you for
making this book possible.
A Message from Happy About®
Thank you for your purchase of this Happy About book. It is available
online at http://www.happyabout.info/customerservice.php or at other
online and physical bookstores.
• Please contact us for quantity discounts at [email protected]
• If you want to be informed by e-mail of upcoming Happy About®
books, please e-mail [email protected]
Happy About is interested in you if you are an author who would like
to submit a non-fiction book proposal or a corporation that would like
to have a book written for you. Please contact us by e-mail
[email protected] or phone [phone]).
Other Happy About books available include:
• They Made It:
http://happyabout.info/theymadeit.php
• Happy About Online Networking:
http://happyabout.info/onlinenetworking.php
• I’m on LinkedIn — Now What???:
http://happyabout.info/linkedinhelp.php
• Tales From the Networking Community:
http://happyabout.info/networking-community.php
• Scrappy Project Management:
http://happyabout.info/scrappyabout/project-management.php
• 42 Rules of Marketing:
http://happyabout.info/42rules/marketing.php
• Foolosophy:
http://happyabout.info/foolosophy.php
• The Home Run Hitter's Guide to Fundraising:
http://happyabout.info/homerun-fundraising.php
• Confessions of a Resilient Entrepreneur:
http://happyabout.info/confessions-entrepreneur.php
• Memoirs of the Money Lady:
http://happyabout.info/memoirs-money-lady.php
• 30-Day Bootcamp: Your Ultimate Life Makeover:
http://happyabout.info/30daybootcamp/life-makeover.php
• The Business Rule Revolution:
http://happyabout.info/business-rule-revolution.php
• Happy About Joint Venturing:
http://happyabout.info/jointventuring.php
CC oo nn tt ee nn tt ss
Foreword Foreword by Mike Faith . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1
Chapter 1 Using This Book to Create a Culture of
Customer Service Excellence. . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Now It’s Your Turn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5
Chapter 2 Start with Your Customers in Mind & Be a
Customer Yourself. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Consistently Lead from the Top . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12
Do Little Things Early—Rather than
Big Things Late. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12
Our Customers Know What They Want—so
Let's Make Sure that We Do, Too. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13
Choose the Best—and Be Prepared to Pay for It. .15
Measure, Monitor, and Measure Again . . . . . . . . . .15
Catch and Reward . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16
Mind Your Language!. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17
Role Playing—Overt and Covert. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18
Communicate, Communicate, Communicate. . . . . .19
Chapter 3 Our Customer Family. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Our Customer Family Tree. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23
Strangers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24
Acquaintances . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25
Friends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26
Family. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27
Blindly Proud Grandparents—How Fantastic
are They?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28
Nurturing Our Customer Family . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29
Assisting Evolution. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32
Strangers to Acquaintances. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33
Acquaintances to Friends. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35
Friends to Family . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .37
Family to Blindly Proud Grandparents . . . . . . . . . . .39
Happy About Customer Service? vii
Chapter 4 In the Beginning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .47
What is a Customer? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .47
Who are Our Customers? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .48
Incoming Customers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .49
Internal Customers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .50
Inverse Customers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .50
Interpersonal Customers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .51
(The) In-You Customer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .51
What is Customer Service? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .52
Chapter 5 Why Customer Satisfaction Isn't Enough. .57
99% Customer Satisfaction—Not Bad? . . . . . . . .57
The Three Customer Service Prompts. . . . . . . . . . .59
The First Prompt: What Do They Want? . . . . . . . .60
The Second Prompt: What Do I Want? . . . . . . . . .62
The Third Prompt: How Do I Help Both of
Us ENJOY Getting There?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .62
Chapter 6 Customer Service Excellence—a Piece of
Cake . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .67
The Basic Ingredients . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .68
Adding Icing and Filling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .69
Chapter 7 Mind Your Language. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .75
Epilogue Customer Service Excellence: It's Up to You! . . . . .87
Author About the Author . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .91
Your Book Create Thought Leadership for Your Company. . . .93
Why Wait to Write Your Book?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .94
Books Other Happy About® Books. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .95
viii Contents