1. Customer Service At Southern Crescent Technical College – Define It Your Way! Jodie C. Vangrov, Ed.D.

2. You are One College with Several Campuses and Centers!  Are all customers of the college served the same way across all your campuses?  Is there room for improvement in customer service?  If you said no, then you are looking through rose colored glasses.  If you said yes, then you know that as an institution of higher education you are constantly thriving to “improve” in all areas of the college. This is one of the most important concepts to understand. It is part of every college’s strategic plan. Continual improvement pushes your college towards excellence.  At the level of each employee, it should be an important part of your yearly goals and objectives. How can I improve my own performance and personal growth.

3. Customer Service at SCTC – How Do You Define It?  Everyone can describe Customer Service in their own way, but what does it mean at Southern Crescent Technical College?  Quick Exercise – Gather around five of the people sitting next to you and come up with a few words each on how you describe what customer service is?  This exercise was modified from customer service activities manual found online.  ( Doane. D. and Sloat, R. (2003, 50 Activit6ies for Achieving Excellent Customer Service. Massachusetts,: HRD Press.)  Let’s get that definition out there. Let’s look at it in Wordle:

4. What is Customer Service Defined by Others in the Literature……  Customer service is an integral part of our job and should not be seen as an extension of it. A company’s most vital asset is its customers. Without them, we would not and could not exist in business. When you satisfy our customers, they not only help us grow by continuing to do business with you, but recommend you to friends and associates. (online source: Susan Friedmann)

5. The Ten Commandments of Great Customer Service By Susan Friedmann 1. Know who is boss. You are in business to service customer needs, and you can only do that if you know what it is your customers want. When you truly listen to your customers, they let you know what they want and how you can provide good service. Never forget that the customer pays our salary and makes your job possible. 2. Be a good listener. Take the time to identify customer needs by asking questions and concentrating on what the customer is really saying. Listen to their words, tone of voice, body language, and most importantly, how they feel. Beware of making assumptions - thinking you intuitively know what the customer wants. Do you know what three things are most important to your customer? 1. Effective listening and undivided attention are particularly important in our front offices like Student Services, Testing Centers, Academic Affairs, etc. where there is a great danger of preoccupation - looking around to see to whom else we could be selling to.

6. The Ten Commandments of Great Customer Service By Susan Friedmann 3. Identify and anticipate needs. Customers don't buy products or services. They buy good feelings and solutions to problems. Most customer needs are emotional rather than logical. The more you know your customers, the better you become at anticipating their needs. Communicate regularly so that you are aware of problems or upcoming needs. 4. Make customers feel important and appreciated. Treat them as individuals. Always use their name and find ways to compliment them, but be sincere. People value sincerity. It creates good feeling and trust. Think about ways to generate good feelings about doing business with you. Customers are very sensitive and know whether or not you really care about them. Thank them every time you get a chance. On the show floor be sure that your body language conveys sincerity. Your words and actions should be congruent.

7. The Ten Commandments of Great Customer Service By Susan Friedmann 5. Help customers understand your systems (like Banner Web, Student email, ANGEL, Web and Technology Support, Libraries, etc.) Your organization may have the world's best systems for getting things done, but if customers don't understand them, they can get confused, impatient and angry. Take time to explain how your systems work and how they simplify transactions. Be careful that your systems don't reduce the human element of your organization. 6. Appreciate the power of "Yes". Always look for ways to help your customers. When they have a request (as long as it is reasonable) tell them that you can do it. Figure out how afterwards. Look for ways to make doing business with you easy. Always do what you say you are going to do.

8. The Ten Commandments of Great Customer Service By Susan Friedmann 7. Know how to apologize. When something goes wrong, apologize (we do this in academics when students are misadvised. We own up to our mistakes). It's easy and customers like it. The customer may not always be right, but the customer must always win. Deal with problems immediately and let customers know what you have done (and follow through). Make it simple for customers to complain. Value their complaints. As much as we dislike it, it gives us an opportunity to improve. Even if customers are having a bad day, go out of your way to make them feel comfortable. 8. Give more than expected. Since the future of all companies lies in keeping customers happy, think of ways to elevate yourself above the competition. Consider the following:  What can you give customers that they cannot get elsewhere?  What can you do to follow-up and thank people even when they don't buy?  What can you give customers that is totally unexpected?

9. The Ten Commandments of Great Customer Service By Susan Friedmann 9. Get regular feedback. Encourage and welcome suggestions about how you could improve. There are several ways in which you can find out what customers think and feel about your services.  Listen carefully to what they say.  Check back regularly to see how things are going.  Provide a method that invites constructive criticism, comments and suggestions. 10. Treat employees well (Not just administration acknowledging you but you acknowledging your co-workers). Employees are your internal customers and need a regular dose of appreciation. Thank them and find ways to let them know how important they are. Treat your employees with respect and chances are they will have a higher regard for customers. Appreciation stems from the top. Treating customers and employees well is equally important.

10. Now Some Fun For You!  Avoid Saying No  The goal of this game is to rephrase words, comments or phrases that may evoke a negative mental picture. Start by dividing the group into smaller teams. Ask them to list, within a time limit, as many possible scenarios where the use of the word "no" is needed, then have them write responses without using the word "no." After the time runs out, have the teams present their lists, and remove any phrases, words or sentences that can still leave a bad impression. The team with the highest number of positive responses wins a prize. To make it more meaningful, post the list of the winning team to remind employees to apply what they learned  Read more: http://www.ehow.com/info_8245327_customer-service-games- activities.html#ixzz2xpsfiQ43http://www.ehow.com/info_8245327_customer-service-games- activities.html#ixzz2xpsfiQ43

11. Now Some More Fun For You!  Active Listening  This activity will require a play script and two volunteers. One volunteer reads a part of a character in the script, while the other listens carefully. After reading, the second volunteer paraphrases the concern and responds appropriately, providing answers to the inquiries or concerns. This game not only helps improve active listening skills, but also helps develop spontaneous communication abilities.  I need two volunteers to come up and read the following script and respond. I need a volunteer from Student Affairs (One who is a front line employee) and another employee from the audience.  Read more: http://www.ehow.com/info_8245327_customer-service-games- activities.html#ixzz2xptoaCUO

12. Even More Fun!  One-Up  Have the entire customer service team play a game of one-up, where the group sits in a circle. Starting with the first member, the facilitator calls out a common situation that may occur when an employee interacts with a customer. The first team member must say what he would do as soon as the person walks in; The next team member must then attempt to do a One-up by going one more step toward making the customer’s experience satisfying; As you go around the circle, challenge each team member to increase the possibilities of service. The last member may say something ridiculous like they will come over to their house and help them do everything online.  The ideas may turn a little unrealistic towards the end of the game; however, they may spark innovative ideas that can be done in a more scaled-back way.  Read more: http://www.ehow.com/list_6748793_customer-service- games.html#ixzz2xpzIKdTPhttp://www.ehow.com/list_6748793_customer-service- games.html#ixzz2xpzIKdTP

13. The Purpose Was….  For us to get a fresh look at how we interact with our customers/consumers  For us to take a fresh look at how we interact with our own employees and colleagues  To see if our reactions and responses are still up to the standard required  For us to remember that even though many of us have been doing our jobs for years, and maybe decades, we need to look at our ever changing clientele:  Has technology improved to assist us with these situations?  Have our new millennials come to us with new and different needs?  Are all our merged campuses using the same policies and procedures in the same ways?  Finally, can we recognize we are one big happy SCTC family?

14. Sometimes no matter what we do…. we can’t win….

15. Questions? Concerns? Comments? Jodie Vangrov, Ed.D. Dean of General Education Georgia Northwestern Technical College Gordon County Campus 1151 Hwy. 53 Spur Calhoun, Georgia 30701 Email: jvangrov@gntc.edujvangrov@gntc.edu Phone: 706-378-1753