The first full week in October is Customer Service Week. It’s a time to celebrate the contributions made by frontline reps throughout the year. And what a year it’s been. For many, this year meant moving from working in an office to working remotely. It meant learning to navigate a workspace shared with children, parents,…Continue reading
Transitioning from work to home, when you work at home, can be a challenge. Many remote workers, especially newly remote workers, experience difficulty creating physical and emotional distance from their jobs at the end of the day. Rituals can help you close the work portion of your day and move into the personal time. When…Continue reading
In an effort to keep calls brief, many reps are tempted to use short one word questions and answers. But that can come across as unfriendly and curt. See the difference that simple rephrasing makes in the examples below: Weak: “Yes”Strong: “Yes, I’d be happy to help you with that,” or “Yes we do offer…Continue reading
Just as TMI, or Too Much Information, can be a problem in one's personal life, it can also be a problem in the service center. In The Customer Service Revolution, author John DiJulius reminds readers to avoid "oversharing" with customers. He notes that all frontline reps are guilty of oversharing at one time or another,…Continue reading
That's an important tip for many people who work at home. It's easy to grab a second cup of coffee and maybe add a cookie or two. And then to linger over a full lunch when you're used to having a yogurt and fruit at the office. During the pandemic, lots of reps have shared…Continue reading
When you were working in the office you may have had regularly scheduled breaks or the flexibility to take a break when you needed one. Working from home, you may find yourself tempted to skip a break or take a break at your desk. Frontline rep Sherry Maurrasse shares this week's tip. She tells us…Continue reading
How many times have you heard about the value of empathy in customer interactions? Probably a lot. And it’s good advice. Empathy is the ability to sense other people’s emotions and to imagine what they may be thinking and feeling. Some people are naturally more empathetic than others, but researchers at Greater Good Science Center…Continue reading
When you email a customer or coworker you want that email to be read and acted on. But with the volume of email flowing across the web it can be hard to get a customer’s attention.Ben Decker, CEO of Decker Communications, offers four no-nonsense steps to ensure that customers read your email:1. BLUF. This well known…Continue reading
When customers experience a problem they want to be heard. So keep in mind the Disney Institute’s five-step process for service recovery. They call this the H.E.A.R.D technique. Hear: Let the customer tell their entire story without interruption. Empathize: Show that you understand how the customer feels. Use phrases like "I’d be frustrated, too." Apologize: Even if you…Continue reading
Whether you’re using a makeshift workspace at home or you’re in the office, it’s time for some spring cleaning. According to Jeffrey Meyer, an efficiency expert and author of Time Management for Dummies, people should focus on clearing the clutter even if they don’t enjoy it. "Nobody wants to clean their desk, and nobody wants to…Continue reading
