Inner Game of Customer Service
Let’s address the elephant in the room.
As we emerge into a post-pandemic world, you will notice that your valued customers have changed, and not necessarily for the better.
In fact, you may notice that the world has gotten a little edgier and more combative. Through no fault of their own, they have become aggressive and are feeling vulnerable and it will take a certain skillset to address this change.
Whether it is your best managers or your floor sweeper, they will eventually run into a rude or angry customer who chooses your team member as a punching bag.
Here is what Bruce Thurston, general manager at Legacy Co-op in Yorkton Saskatchewan said about this training
“There is lots of stuff that you are sharing in the modules that our staff (and I’m suspecting most retail staff in all businesses) never ever get taught. I have many years of experience and they are life experiences and I have learned a lot of “lessons” as I moved through my career. I wish we had this training when I first started out as a clerk, because although my parents brought me up respecting people and treating them nicely, they couldn’t prepare me for the unexpected jerk or unpleasant customer that I would be dealing with. In fact, not one person prepared me for that, even when I think of all the mentors and people who I dealt with throughout my career. I applaud you for this valuable training!”
Here is the solution…
Module 5 of the 7module series offers a series of tactics and strategies to diffuse arguments and create an environment where the customer can be gently brought back into the fold.
INTRODUCING
The "Inner Game" of Customer Service
Module 1: The Mindset of a Professional
This module speaks to your sense of caring and your willingness to create the highest standard on your path to becoming the ultimate professional. These are the mental and emotional benchmarks that help you develop your mindset
Inside this module
- The definition of a professional
- The power of words
- Choose your attitude
- Do you enjoy what you do?
- What are your core values?
- What is your emotional intelligence level?
- Your job is bigger than you think
- What brilliance do you bring to the workplace?
Module 2: Caring for Colleagues and Co-workers
Before you begin serving your customers, you will require a willingness to care for and serve your colleagues and co-workers. This creates a magical workplace and team culture.
Inside this module
- Believe in KARMA
- The 2 levels of service
- Your connection to your co-workers
- The “Lone Ranger” Mentality
- Treat others as you would want to be treated
Module 3: Caring for Your Customers
As per the cliché, “This is where the rubber meets the road”. Your caring and serving attitude will allow you the opportunity to make a difference in your community and in the world.
Inside this Module:
- Your customers do not buy products and services alone
- What do your guests look for?
- What is one customer worth?
- The 12 principles of customer care success
- Beyond serving the customer
- Help! I am the customer
Module 4: The 8 Customer Care Scenarios
In this module, I present 8 different customer care scenarios to spark your creativity and show you that with a little ingenuity, you can do likewise at minimal costs
Inside this Module
- Scenario one- when you do not know the answer
- Scenario two – when a product or service is not available
- Scenario three – when transferring a customer to another team member
- Scenario four – when you can’t bend the rules
- Scenario five - The “Choices” experience
- Scenario six- The “Food Store” experience
- Scenario seven – The “Hilton” experience
- Scenario eight- The “Avis” experience
Module 5: Dealing with Unhappy or Angry Customers
During these turbulent times, you will be required to deal more frequently with unhappy and angry customers and having a set of tools is invaluable at this time. This not a reflection on your customers in general, however, they are feeling vulnerable and scared and you might be the recipient of that emotion.
Inside this Module:
- The six steps to conflict resolution
- Time to adjust your mindset
- Time to exercise your emotional intelligence
- Customer service is a conversation, not a script
- Do not ‘pass the buck’
- Find some common ground
- Saying NO is a NO-NO
- Empathize and express regret
- Make the customer feel like a winner
- Stay “in the moment”
- Use “I” rather than “We”
- Use the ASAP method for severely angry customers
Module 6: Dealing with Complaints
In this module, we do a deep dive into the psychology of complaints and how they can be a gift in your business.
Inside this Module:
- A complaint is a gift and an opportunity
- Unresolved complaints= angry customers
- The most damaging part of an unresolved complaint
- How to handle complaints
- Use common sense!
- Thank the customer for complaining
- Why do businesses lose customers?
Module 7: Course Overview and Call to Action
This module is an overview of the 6 previous modules and elaborates on the need to elevate your emotional intelligence and self awareness.
Inside this Module:
- How to become a professional
- Elevating your emotional intelligence and self awareness
- Serving your co-workers and the amazing payback
- How to think laterally through customer care scenarios
- How to maintain your equilibrium when dealing with unhappy or angry customers
- The value of complaints
The investment in our program is $47.77 + tax per person.
WHAT CLIENTS ARE SAYING!
There is lots of stuff that you are sharing in the modules that our staff (and I’m suspecting most retail staff in all businesses) never ever get taught. I have many years of experience and they are life experiences and I have learned a lot of “lessons” as I moved through my career. I wish we had this training when I first started out as a clerk, because although my parents brought me up respecting people and treating them nicely, they couldn’t prepare me for the unexpected jerk or unpleasant customer that I would be dealing with. In fact, not one person prepared me for that, even when I think of all the mentors and people who I dealt with throughout my career. I applaud you for this valuable training!
Bruce Thurston
General Manager of the Legacy Co-op in Yorkton Saskatchewan
Recently, I was introduced to Roy Prevost’s training program “The Inner Game of Customer Service”.
After reviewing the seven modules, I found:
1. The content was factual and to the point.
2. The modules contained no ‘fluff’, and the content was very timely.
3. The modules were very motivational and inspiring.
It covered all the “Hot Points” in customer service including how to be a professional.
I highly recommend it to all your managers and employees who want to enhance their “Customer Service” skills.
Teresa Polegi
Food Division Manager Legacy Coop Yorkton Saskatchewan
Roy is an excellent speaker, coach and business visionary. In my dealings with Roy, I have found him to be creative, knowledgeable and he offers tremendous business experience. He is a definite asset for any organization looking for ways to improve and move forward.
Doug Muldoon
President, Retail Marketing Group
Roy, I was impressed by your preparation taken for the two meetings with our management and supervisors before having the main meeting. We were able to discuss our focus and the core values we wanted to attain for our company. Thank you.
Don Corothers
Home Hardware, Fort McMurray, AB
We invited Roy to speak at a function attended by local small and medium business entrepreneurs. We found his address to be informative, inspiring and motivational. We had overwhelming favorable comments from those attending the event.
Rick Prior
Executive Director, Northwestern Ontario Innovation Center
Frequently Asked Questions!
I am an international speaker and bestselling author and you can view more details about my work at http://www.royprevost.com.
I have been asked recently to create an online webinar series to deliver Customer service training to customer service teams.
I am proud to present the “Service Excellence” online webinar series
If your workers have never taken formal customer service training in dealing with irate and unruly customers, they typically fall into the realm of “they don’t know what they don’t know”. This is not a putdown and in no way demeans the great work they do, however, they will have a transformational experience by receiving valuables tips and strategies as well as an uplifting motivational message in this webinar series
Typically, most customer service training programs deal with the ‘mechanics’ of customer service such as, greeting, listening to the client, being helpful, answering questions, making sure the client gets what they want and offering a graceful good bye. These mechanics are very important and necessary, however, they are diminished if the team member does not have a customer service MINDSET aligned with your team. My customer service MINDSET training is a precursor to the ‘mechanics’ training and are the foundational piece of the service provider training.
Any employee who engages with the public on any level within your company. From the seasoned professional to the new part time person who is hired for seasonal work. Everyone can glean some valuable tips on how to be better service providers. This is of particular value for folks at the (often trying) customer service desk where a very robust customer service MINDSET is required when serving customers who may not arrive in the friendliest mood.
The focus of the MINDSET customer service training includes:
- Developing the sense of empathy, compassion, personal pride and the right professional attitude among your service team
- Understanding the concept of being an ambassador for the company
- Realizing that ‘internal’ service (fellow workers) is more important than ‘external’ service (customers)
- Realizing that developing an “Attitude of Gratitude” in their personal lives can reflect on their work life
- How to deal with unruly or irate customers in an empathetic manner while maintaining the dignity and respect for both parties
This is intentional and the repetition serves to reinforce critical points that help the attendee to enhance their attitude, empathy, compassion and professionalism.
- They will acquire a better understanding of their responsibilities as service providers and ambassadors of their community
- They will be better equipped to handle unruly and irate customers
- They will realize that serving their co-workers is a higher priority than serving customers
- They will be inspired and motivated to be more professional and empathetic as a result of their attendance at the webinars
Contact me at roy@royprevost.com or 604-519-0035 and I will help you set up the process to begin the training as well as answer any questions.
No, this training is valuable to all team members, receptionists, inside sales clerks, truck drivers, in other words, anyone who engages with customers. From module 2 (Serving colleagues and fellow workers) to module 5 (dealing with unhappy or angry customers), this is transformational training that gives them the language and confidence to handle these challenges.
HELLO
I'm Roy Prevost
I am a “customer service activist,” showing businesses how to compete in a hyper-competitive world through relationship building and going the extra mile with customers. I developed my approach over more than 25 years of experience in all facets of marketing, wholesale, retail, and manufacturing in the giftware industry.
We live in unpredictable times and the focus is now on customer care rather than customer service.
I teach your team how to become customer care professionals by tapping into their sense of empathy and upbeat attitude.
Senior Instructior & Business Consultant
Roy Prevost