Donna
Siegel

The Underlying Customer Service Process

There are two key components to providing excellent customer service. One of them, of course, is addressing the customer's service need. The other, less well understood, is the process through which that need is satisfied. Here is a four-step process for ensuring customer satisfaction in every customer service transaction: The Underlying Customer Service Process.

The View From The Customer's Perspective

There are some companies whose services I tend to use more than others. That’s because I feel good when I call their 800 number. They are pleasant and helpful. Most of all, they are organized. I don’t have to spend lots of extra time on the phone to get what I need, and at the end of the call I know exactly what to expect and when. They make my life easy. So I’ll just sit right here in my living room and pick out the items in my next order.

What This Means To Customer Service Reps

If you’re going to be effective in providing customer service to people (who call you to order items from a catalog, get answers to their questions or to resolve issues with products or accounts), you need to have a well-defined structure for handling the conversation. Into this structure, you have to build:

• Rapport, so the customer feels comfortable with you and your company.
• Results, so the customer ends the call having accomplished his or her purpose.
• Efficiency, so you can get the customer what he or she needs and continue on to the next call.

A Structure Made Up Of Milestones

Each customer service interaction seems to require its own unique set of steps. Sometimes, it takes a while for you to find out what the customer needs or get enough information about the customer to be in a position to help. Other times, the customer needs to be helped to calm down before you can begin to help them. Still other times, you may need to talk with others in your company or elsewhere before you can resolve the question.

Since the number of steps may vary, there seemed to be a need for a larger structure that can stay in place. That’s where the concept of "milestones" came from. A milestone is a stage in the conversation where you have the information you need to move to the next one, and the customer is ready to move to the next step. A milestone might be accomplished in one or two steps; other times they might require a dozen.

The four milestones of the customer service process are:

• Greet.
• Define.
• Respond.
• Conclude.

Milestone # 1 - Greet
The initial milestone is to greet the customer. It’s important that we give customers a complete greeting, so they know that they have reached the right place. Furthermore, our greeting informs customers that we’re ready to help them, thereby making them comfortable enough to begin the conversation.

The content of an effective greeting includes:

• A welcome, such as, "Good morning."

• A statement of your name, so they know who they are talking with. (And if they haven’t already heard it, also identify the name of your company.)

• Your offer of assistance, with a phrase such as, "How can I help you today?"

• A pause, which lets the customer tell you why they decided to call you and your company today.

Milestone # 2 - Define
The goal of this milestone is to determine, in detail, the nature of the customer’s request or requirement. It’s likely that customers will provide you with much of the information you need to help them. After all, they are the ones who have the request or requirement to be addressed, and while waiting to talk with you, they probably rehearsed the highlights of what they have to say.

However, most customers don’t know all of the details we may need in order to help. They may also be confused about some facts. Thus, they may need our help through questions before they can give us a complete description of their goal for this call.

The primary tools we use to complete this milestone are:

• Active listening, to hear the details of the customer’s request or requirement.
• Note taking, to capture significant details that we can use later in the conversation.
• Open-ended questioning to encourage the customer to give us more of the details we need.

The Define milestone is probably the most crucial part of the conversation, since we are so dependent on getting good information from the customer before we can help. We reduce our chances of being able to help by making quick assumptions about what the customer really needs, by forcing the customer into areas of discussion that are irrelevant from their objective or by rushing the customer through their description of their need.

Milestone # 3 - Respond
When we have a complete picture of the nature of the request or requirement, it is now time to respond. During this phase we use all our resources to make sure we give the customers what they need. We may need computer systems, people in other departments or resources outside the company.

Our goal is to try to accomplish as much as we can while talking with the customers. In most cases, we should be able to satisfy their needs immediately. Other times it may take more steps. But in any case, customers should feel like they accomplished something through their conversation with you.

Milestone #4 - Conclude
When the task is completed, we are ready to end the conversation. The goal of milestone 4 is for the customer to recognize that the process is done, all that can be accomplished has been done and, if needed, what to expect next.

The contents of an effective conclusion are:

• Verification of the major points covered in the conversation, including the steps you have taken to complete their request or requirement.
• A list of further steps that remain to be accomplished, including a time frame in which you expect these steps to be accomplished.
• A thanks to the customer for the contact.
• An offer of future assistance.

How Do You Know When The Process Is Working?

If you follow the four milestones, you should notice the following:

1. The customer feels comfortable throughout the conversation.
2. The customer is ready to move to the next milestone when you are.
3. At the end, the customer informs you that their goal has been accomplished either through body language or verbal clues.

SeaBird Associates Inc
3011 NE 7th Drive
Boca Raton, FL 33431
Phone: 561-750-9233
E-mail: Donna Siegel

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