Excerpt

Introduction

Why do customers take their business elsewhere? Some move away.

Some are not satisfi ed with the product. Some go for competitive reasons.

But the majority of customers take their business elsewhere because the

business owner, manager, or frontline employee is indifferent toward them.

Most of these customers will not even complain; they just won’t come back.

Great customer service isn’t doing what you think your customers

want; it’s doing what your customers want. One of the biggest mistakes

businesses make is assuming they know what their customers want

without getting to know their customers and their needs. Managers who

ensure that they and their teams are clued in to their customers are in the

best position to give exceptional service.

To understand customers, you need to get close to them, stay tuned

in to them, and think like them. Frontline employees are the key. They

present the face of the business, so it is crucial that managers train them

to interact successfully with customers. Customer service managers who

know how to train effectively, follow up with observation, and provide

meaningful feedback are in a great position to develop customer loyalty.

Every customer service manager wants to develop strong teams in

which coworkers interact well with each other and take responsibility for

providing exceptional customer service. But although they understand

how important customer service is, many acknowledge that their employees

often do not appreciate its importance. In addition, managers

often ignore employee behavior problems because they do not know how

to deal with them. The sad news, for managers, is that ignoring problems

will not make them go away. Ignoring problems will make customers go

away.

Managers interested in learning how to motivate employees to provide

top-notch service will fi nd their answers by reading Customer Service

Management Training 101. This book teaches managers how to be

effective leaders and how to develop the necessary skills to communicate,

train, and inspire their frontline employees who are responsible for

customer satisfaction. It is also a good teaching tool for personal skills

development.

Customer Service Management Training 101 utilizes the successful

format of Customer Service Training 101, providing step-by-step lessons

to help new managers become effective leaders and veteran managers

improve their skills. It is divided into three parts: managing yourself,

managing others, and managing for results.

Each chapter includes a skills checklist, a “real world” practice lesson,

and a goal planner. Chapter topics include understanding your personal

management style; developing solid leadership qualities; planning and

organizing; communicating up, down, across, inside, and outside; training

for excellence; building a strong team; monitoring performance; providing

meaningful feedback; and fi nally, focusing on self-development

and making yourself the best you can be.

Customer Service Management Training 101 will endure because it

focuses on managing and leading frontline employees to provide exceptional

customer service. While other aspects of a business undergo

continual change, the fundamentals of customer service management

remain the same.

The most important benefit of being an effective customer service

manager is increased productivity, effi ciency, and job satisfaction. It is

always cheaper and faster when frontline employees do the job right the

fi rst time. Satisfying an unhappy customer costs a lot more, both in dollars

and time, than satisfying a customer on the fi rst try.

As a manager, your success depends not only on how well you perform,

but on how well your employees perform. Your success depends

on your mastery of leadership and management skills. Whether you are

a new manager or a veteran, Customer Service Management Training 101

will help you get to the top of your game—and stay there.