This is one of the first areas to be cut as budgets decrease.  Don’t let this happen to you.  Use a “drip irrigation” technique for employee training…just a little at a time.  Use frequent huddles, book reviews, short training sessions, and mentoring to accomplish your employee training.

The only thing worse is if you don't train them, and they stay.
- Bob Shaff, in response to this statement by the head of HR in a client company who said: "If we spend all this money to train our people, they will just leave!"
You can't assume that just because an employee has an education that they understand the value of customer service and that they know how to provide Remarkable Service to their customers in their role in your company.  We all need training.  We all can learn new and better ways to serve customers.  It's the responsibility of the Company to provide these tools, specific to the jobs in their company.

topics

answering the phone

“Hello, ABC Company. How may I direct your call?”….is NOT the way to answer your phone. How your phone is answered is one of the most critical “touchpoints” for your company. Learn how a simple change in your phone answering technique can dramatically improve your company’s image and perception.

engaging customer

Far too often, companies fail to FREQUENTLY CONNECT with their customers…passing up opportunity after opportunity to CONNECT and add value to their relationships with their customers. Relationships are built on frequent connections, and by engaging the customer in dialogues. From customer engagement comes the relationship, and from the relationship comes TRUST. When TRUST exists, customers BUY.

handling complaints

Customer complaints are GIFTS!! When a customer complains, it gives you an opportunity to both fix the customer’s problem AND to improve the process that caused the problem. Only 1 in every 25 customers takes the time to complain because they don’t think it will make a difference. Surprise them!! Fix their problem, improve your process, and you will have prevented 24 other problems from ever occurring. Welcome complaints.

correcting mistakes

When you fix a customer’s problem, you enhance the customer’s confidence in your company. Customers know that mistakes happen, but if you fix a problem, the customer’s trust in your company increases significantly. To magnify this impact, be sure to add something extra for the customer to compensate for the problem occuring.

eliminating the un-wows

If you intend to WOW your customers, be sure to eliminate the “un-WOWS” that exist before your start to deliver WOWS. “un-WOWS” are the things that all your employees know are stupid, and that you should stop doing. Ask your employees to identify those “un-WOWS”. Kill them. Hold a public funeral for them, and watch employee morale soar. Then, start delivering some WOWS.