“Why My Horse Doesn’t Smile?” A presentation by: Neelesh Kapoor

Why My Horse Doesn’t Smile? Presentation Coverage: The issues and concerns that restrict us to offer good customer service Different ideas and better ways and means to deliver world class customer service What do we need to do in order to make customer service a priority How can we exceed customer’s expectations to make them remain loyal to our organization

Why My Horse Doesn’t Smile? ‘Customer Service’ is the ONLY differentiator in today’s biz world If we don’t take care of our customers, someone else will Good quality customer service is a necessity to reinforce the earlier positive experience of customer Our greatest asset is the customer! Treat each customer as if they are the only ones Customers don’t expect you to be perfect. They do expect you to fix things when they go wrong

Why My Horse Doesn’t Smile? Let your customer do selling for your organization Good customer service builds great experience; customers tell each other about that. Word of mouth is really powerful One customer, well taken care of, could be more valuable than $10,000 worth of advertising Single most important thing to remember is that the result of a business is a satisfied customer There is place in the world for any business that takes care of its customers – After the Sale

Why My Horse Doesn’t Smile? Customer – A few Definitions A customer is someone who purchases or rents something from an individual or organization. Any person, who defines needs or wants, justifies or pays for part or entire project, or evaluates or uses the results. The person or business that buys from a business; a purchaser of goods or services. “Customer service is awareness of needs, problems, fears and aspirations”

Why My Horse Doesn’t Smile? Characteristics of a Customer A customer is someone: Who has a ‘need’ or ‘want’ of a particular article. Who can afford it, means who has enough ‘money’ to buy it. Who has the ‘authority’ to decide the purchase. “A company without customer service will be a company without customers”

Why My Horse Doesn’t Smile? Service – Some Definitions Work done by a person or group that benefits another. An act of help or assistance. The act of managing the expectations of others. “One customer, well taken care of, could be more valuable than $10,000 worth of advertising”

Why My Horse Doesn’t Smile? Customer Service – A few Definitions Customer service is your ability to cater to the needs and the wants of your customers. Customer service is your ability to constantly and consistently exceed the customer's expectations. “The goal as a company is to have customer service that is not just the best, but legendary advertising”

Why My Horse Doesn’t Smile? Customer Service – Few simple rules Always give people more than what they expect to get I may not have the answer of all questions, but for my customer I will find the answer he or she is looking for. I may not have the time, but I will make it. “Care stands for Customer Are Really Everything”

Why My Horse Doesn’t Smile? Customer Service – Pre-requisite I know you have an impressive wardrobe. But of all the things you wear, your expression is the most important. It is true, if someone remembers your suit and not your smile, you didn’t smile enough. If you work just for money, you will never make it, but if you love what you are doing and you always put customer first, success will be yours “Everyone smiles in the same language”

Why My Horse Doesn’t Smile? Smile Always “A smile is a curve that sets everything straight”

Why My Horse Doesn’t Smile? Self Esteem Do we respect our self? Do we feel pride in what we are doing? Do we have faith in our self and our abilities? Do we feel confident of achieving all the goals we have set for our self? “Put all excuses aside and remember this: YOU are capable”

Why My Horse Doesn’t Smile? Positive Self Esteem Learn to welcome changes rather than fear them Your self-image need not to be exaggerated Positive self-esteem does not make you perfect Failure is a stepping stone to success. Instead of blaming or repenting, you must try to find out alternative course of action. “Sooner or later, those who win are those who think they can”

Why My Horse Doesn’t Smile? Communication Verbal Communication Speech – Tone and Pitch of Voice Choice of Words Non-Verbal Communication Body Language Eye Contact Hand Gestures Facial Expressions “The ill and unfit choice of words wonderfully obstructs the understanding”

Why My Horse Doesn’t Smile? Communication Tone of Voice Do I speak too fast or too slow? Do I have long pauses between two sentences? Do I get appropriate words or do I repeat words already spoken? How is my pronunciation? Intonation The SUN rises in the east – The pitch rises while saying SUN The sun rises in the EAST – The pitch rises while saying EAST “I speak two languages, Body and English”

Why My Horse Doesn’t Smile? Communication - A few tips related to body language Distance from others Positioning of Head Communication through eyes Hand Gestures “The language of the body is the key that can unlock the soul”

Why My Horse Doesn’t Smile? Communication – Listening versus Hearing Listening is a prerequisite for being an effective Customer Service Representative. Listening helps in understanding the customer’s complaint and point of view Listening is a prerequisite to maintain good relationships ”Most of us have been gifted with the ability to hear, but few of us have taken hearing and refined it into the art of listening”

Why My Horse Doesn’t Smile? Communication – Choosing your response Newton’s Third Law of Motion: “When two or more bodies interact with each other their action and reaction act in the opposite direction.” Human beings are no different. To every action of ours, there is a reaction from the other person. Most of the time, this reaction is in the opposite direction. This is because everyone believes in their own point of view. “The first reaction to truth is hatred”

Why My Horse Doesn’t Smile? Communication – Choosing your response In ‘Mahabharata’ when Arjuna asked Lord Krishna, “Keshav, aap itne stithipragya kaise rah lete hein”. It means: How can you be so undeterred in every situation, whether it is a moment of joy or sorrow. Krishna replied, “Because I always act”. An action is always controlled and appropriate whereas a reaction is uncontrolled and in most of the cases it is in the opposite direction, which may make it in appropriate. “Most of the successful people I've known are the ones who do more listening than talking”

Why My Horse Doesn’t Smile? Rephrasing Rephrasing to clarify what you have said but could not be understood as it was intended "What I meant to say was…“ "Let me rephrase that…“ "Let me put it in this way...“ “Don’t try to tell the customer what he wants. If you want to be smart, be smart in the shower. Then get out, go to work and serve the customer”

Why My Horse Doesn’t Smile? Rephrasing Rephrasing to confirm that whatever you listened was the message customer wanted to communicate "You mean…" "It seems to me you feel . . .“ “You seem to . . .“ "In other words . . ." “Isn’t it really ‘customer helping’ rather than customer service? And wouldn’t you deliver better service if you thought of it that way”

Why My Horse Doesn’t Smile? Telephone Etiquette Speak clearly Proper choice of words Appropriate pitch of voice Pleasant tone of voice Do not eat anything or chew while talking over phone “The telephone is a good way to talk to people without having to offer them a drink”

Why My Horse Doesn’t Smile? Telephone Etiquette - How to answer the Phone calls Pick-up all incoming calls before the third ring Your voice should reflect warmth and enthusiasm Pronounce the words clearly, be audible, speak slowly but clearly Avoid using words, ‘OK’ or ‘No problem’, instead use words, ‘Certainly’ or ‘Sure’ Avoid using fillers, ‘uh huh’, ‘um’, or phrases ‘you know’ Instead of saying, "I don't know" say, "Let me find out what can I do for you.“ “Greet all callers professionally with a smile on your face”

Why My Horse Doesn’t Smile? Telephone Etiquette - How to answer the Phone calls Listen attentively, instead of ignoring, must seek clarification Return all calls received in your absence at the earliest Avoid using speaker phone. Use it only when someone else is required to respond to the customer’s query/complaint Always keep a notepad, pen or pencil with you Before hanging up the call, you must thank the customer “God gave you a gift of 86,400 seconds today. Have you used one to say, thank you”

Why My Horse Doesn’t Smile? Creating Rapport: Greeting “Atithi Devo Bhavah” (A guest is equivalent to God) Tips for Developing Rapport Encourage the customer to talk Disagree without being disagreeable Have patience “A person without patience is a lamp without oil”

Why My Horse Doesn’t Smile? Querying the customer Query versus Interrogation What and when to query a customer Courtesy in querying while asking customer any question, use the word, ‘Please’. “Ma’am, can you ‘PLEASE’ tell me if you have…..” “Sir, ‘PLEASE’ tell me the date when this problem occurred.” “Ma’am, may I request you to ‘PLEASE’ inform me about…” “If you mean to profit, learn to PLEASE”

Why My Horse Doesn’t Smile? Handling Difficult Customers Uninformed Well-informed Anxious Friendly Egoistic or High-Headed Informal “Customer complaints are the schoolbooks from which we learn”

Why My Horse Doesn’t Smile? Handling Complaints Always put yourself in the customer’s shoes Accept that if a customer is angry with you or your organization, there must be a problem Acknowledge their problem, show genuine concern to resolve it. The customer may get angry or annoyed during conversation; but you maintain your cool. When unable to resolve the issue; must refer it to the concerned authorities “Courtesy is a small act but it packs a mighty wallop”

Why My Horse Doesn’t Smile? Handling Stressful Situations Positive Stress What can stress do? How to deal with stress? Prevent stress Share your stress Spend time with self Know your limits Have a sense of humor Make to – do list Cooperation versus Confrontation Cry sometimes

Why My Horse Doesn’t Smile? Follow-up If we follow-up on the issues faced by customers, it gives them an assurance that you are taking interest in resolving their problem Follow-up makes a customer feel delighted rather than being just a satisfied customer. We fail to follow up if we lose our sensitivity towards the customer’s issue. Empathize with the customers. Whatever may be the outcome of the follow-up, it must get communicated to the customer within the stipulated time. “Customers don’t expect you to be perfect. They do expect you to fix things when they go wrong”

Why My Horse Doesn’t Smile? Published by: VIVA Books Pvt. Ltd. (121 pages, ISBN 978-81-309-1263-9) 101-102, Moghal Marc Apts. 3-4-637 to 641, Narayanguda, Hyderabad 500 029 vivahyderabad@vivagroupindia.net 4737/23 Ansari Road, Daryaganj, New Delhi - 02, India, (9111-42242200) vivadelhi@vivagroupindia.net Jamal Fazal Chambers, 26 Greams Road, Chennai - 06 vivachennai@vivagroupindia.net B 103 Jindal Towers, 21/1A/3 Darga Road, Kolkata vivakolkata@vivagroupindia.net 215-216, New Apollo Estate, II Floor, Mogra Lane, Andheri (E), Mumbai 400 069 vivamumbai@vivagroupindia.net 7, Sovereign Park Apts. 56-58, K.K. Road, Basavanagudi, Bangalore 560 004 vivabangalore@vivagroupindia.net

Thank You Neelesh Kapoor Vivek Mehrotra www.neelesh.webs.com 91-9919994030 Vivek Mehrotra www.vivekmehrotra.com 91-9998001326