15/01/2024

Who are Customers?

Definition of a customer
Customer service & (Internal/external customers)

communication Customers are people who need your assistance. They

are not an interruption to your job, they are the
reason you have a job..
Dr. Mustafa Amimul Ehsan Siddique PhD Dr. Md. Ehsanul Haque
Sr. Manager Medical Officer
Labaid Healthcare Labaid Healthcare

A Positive Organisational Image Planning Good Customer Service

• Recording procedures (when are your busy times)
• Reporting procedures (meeting organisational/ funding/ legislative requirements)
First impressions count and will affect the interaction. People make judgements in the first 30 • Observe and report customer needs
seconds. • Be proactive in improving service
• Market your organisation
Golden Rule – Customer is king.You only have one chance to make a • Have processes and procedures for dealing with difficult situations BEFORE they
first impression! happen and make sure staff are trained.

CUSTOMER SERVICE
Service Standards
How can you contribute to the development and maintenance of • Rewards for Excellent Customer Service
service standards in your volunteering organisation?
• Read and understand your organisation’s policies and procedures on • Increased customer loyalty
customer service • Positive word-of-mouth
• Be prompt and efficient promotion
• Ensure services are delivered in accordance with legislative or statutory • Happier customers
requirements • More productive and happier employees
• Maintain accurate records • Smoother working operations
• Ensure any special needs of customers are taken into account

1
 15/01/2024

Attitude Checklist
Effective Communication Skills What attitudes assist in providing good service?
Eye contact & visible mouth • Enjoy helping people
Body language
Some questions
• Handle people well
• Care for your customers
• Give fair and equal treatment to all
Effective
Encouragement
Communication skills
silence to continue
• Be understanding of people with special needs

Summarizing Checking for understanding

what has been said Smiling face

Greeting Customers
Skills for Customer Service
The purpose is to create and maintain a welcoming environment - how can we achieve
• Know about your organization this?
• Learn the technical parts of the job
• Be attentive, acknowledge a person as soon as they appear,
even if you’re busy
• Communicate well
• Be consistent • SMILE!

• Be organised • Establish eye contact

• Tell them your name
• Know your place in the team and be a team player
• Ask how you can help
• Give the customer your full attention
• Be polite and courteous……………

Find out how You can Help Communication is a 2-way Process

sender
Communication skills involve:
• Listening to others (Receiving)
• How can you find out what people want? message
• Asserting/ Expressing (Sending) receiver
• If you can’t help, what should you do?
• Offer alternatives if possible
• If they have to wait, how would you handle it? sender

Barriers
receiver

2
 15/01/2024

The Communication Equation

What you hear
Barriers to Effective Communication
• Tone of voice
• Vocal clarity Language Noise

• Verbal expressiveness 40% of the message

Time Distractions

What you see or feel

• Facial expression
Other people Put downs
• Dress and grooming
Barriers to
• Posture/ Body Language effective communication
• Eye contact
Too many Lack of interest
• Touch
Questions
• Gesture 50% of the message
Distance Disability

WORDS…….. ONLY 10% of the message!

Discomfort
with the topic

Using Your Voice

How to Listen to Customers
Do you
• Become loud when angry or upset
Active listening = Attending skills (being ready) • Speak faster when nervous
• Speak slowly when tired or bored
Attend to immediate needs (if you need to finish something before giving • Have a cheerful voice
your full attention) • My tone of voice is warm and understanding
Being available • Find it easy to talk to people you don’t know
Eye contact • Control your tone in most situations
Attentive posture • Sound bossy, weak or unsure
Concentration • Have a clear and easy-to-hear voice
• Speak in a very formal or very trendy manner?

Think about how you might modify your voice in certain

situations

Body Language for a Positive Result Presentation and Manner

Brainstorm some examples of good body language Does your Organisation have a policy on presentation?
• Uniforms, badges, etc
 Smile
• Personal hygiene
 Introduce yourself (if appropriate) or wear a name badge
• Clothing – appropriate to the situation
 Shake hands if appropriate
• Hair – cleanliness and style
 Lean forward
 Be aware of cultural differences • Accessories – jewellery, earrings, watches, tattoos,
• Expression – facial expressions
• Tone of voice
• Body language
• Surroundings (Can they see a messy desk? Dead flowers in the vase?
Eating your lunch?...)

3
 15/01/2024

Telephone Skills Written Communication

• Write clearly and concisely
• Know how to use the phones
• Refer to their letter, date and query
• Speak clearly and slowly
• Be friendly without being too informal (Dear Aunt writing style)
• Smile (you can hear it in your voice!)
• Check your spelling and grammar
• State your name and organisation
• Make sure you’ve answered their query or request or explained
• Write down the caller’s name and use it why you can’t
• Don’t say rude things while someone’s on hold • Be timely or apologise for any delay in replying
• If they’re explaining something use words to show you’re listening (umm,
yes …)
• Have pad and pencil ready to take notes or messages (check spelling and
message content)
• Don’t eat or drink while on the phone

A Positive First Impression What to Avoid

• Be confident • Saying ‘I don’t know’ without offering an option

• Knowledge - know your organisation and the services you provide • Saying you don’t know where a colleague is or saying they’re at lunch/ toilet/
• Confidentiality gone for coffee etc
• Follow up (don’t just say you’ll do something, do it) • Leaving people on hold for a long time
• Strengthen the customer’s commitment to your organisation • Ignoring people if you’re busy
• Treating people unequally

Factors Affecting the Quality of Service Customers with Special Needs

• Reliability
• Confidence • People for whom English is not their first language
• People with disabilities
• Responsiveness
• People from other areas who may not be familiar with the way things are done
• Efficiency here
• Consistency • People with limited mobility
• Organisation • Unaccompanied children
• Acceptance of and adherence to policies and procedures

4
 15/01/2024

Dealing with Difficult Behaviour The Talkative Customer

• Label the behaviour, not the customer • Ask closed questions

• Listen • Limit the time available for them to interrupt (don’t have long pauses)
• Don’t get defensive • Provide minimal response
• Don’t take it personally • Smile and be pleasant, but don’t encourage them
• Find out what the customer wants • Wind up – thank them for coming, walk them to the door but don’t be rude or
• Discuss alternatives dismissive
• Take responsibility for what you CAN do
• Agree on action

The Angry Customer

The ‘know it all’ Customer
• Listen carefully without interrupting so you understand the
problem
• Empathize, Stay calm and remain polite • Acknowledge what they say
• Don’t escalate the problem • Compliment them on their research
• Don’t take it personally, be defensive • Be generous with praise
or blame others. • Don’t put them in their place no matter how tempting
• Propose an action plan and follow it • Don’t try to be smart – you can’t win!
• Seek support if you are scared, if you can’t agree on a solution • Ask them questions and use them to improve your knowledge
or if the customer asks to see “whoever’s in charge”

The Indecisive Customer The Suspicious Customer

• Find out what they really want • Establish your credibility

• Ask them for the options • Ensure you know your product or service
• Reflect back to them what they’ve said • They will try and catch you out so don’t guess or tell them something you’re not
• Assume control gently and point out the best course of action from what they’ve sure of
told you they need • Be careful what you say
• Be logical • Be polite
• Confirm a plan of action with them • Don’t take it personally, they don’t trust anyone!
• Maybe even put it in writing

5
 15/01/2024

Case study:
Open discussion: Thank you