CUSTOMER LOYALT Y
“WE WANT OUR TEAM MEMBERS TO HAVE THE AWARENESS TO
ACT ON CUSTOMER NEEDS BY OFFERING SUGGESTIONS BEFORE
THEY ARE ASKED.”
With this understanding, we must invest
in their education to ensure they are
equipped with the knowledge to deliver an
experience our customers have never had
before. Let’s consider these statistics:
•
40 percent of employees who
receive poor job training leave their
positions within the fi rst year.
•
In 2016, six percent of workers said
training and development is the
most important workplace policy.
This gives us even more evidence that we
must recruit and train our employees with
premium education.
The fi rst skill your customer service
employees must have is what I call service
endurance.
1. SERVICE ENDURANCE
With service endurance employees can
deliver the same amazing customer service
to the 100th customer of the day as they
did to the first.
We should all have empathy for what
our frontline team members go through.
Speaking to customers all day can be
exhausting, regardless of how great your
team member might be; we should fi nd
ways to help them break through even when
it’s been a long day.
When I was a call center agent in my early
20s I would take 100 calls a day and even
though I was good, there were times when
I didn’t want to take another call. I would
combat exhaustion by:
•
Having a stress ball at my desk that
I would squeeze during tough times
because it helps to release a bit of
stress.
•
I would post a motivational quote
•
to help me keep going even when I
didn’t want to take another call. In
fact, I still do this; I have a quote by
Kobe Bryan on a shelf in my offi ce.
Going for a brief walk outside is
the best way to disconnect for a
moment. Leaders of companies
must acknowledge that the extra
break won’t be a cost, it will be an
investment. The break will help
your team members be physically
and mentally prepared to deliver
amazing service to every customer,
every time.
2. FORESIGHT
The second skill your team members
will need a high chair. Our guests shouldn’t
have to ask for this; we should anticipate
this to create an eff ortless experience for
our guests.
When it comes to employees, do your
team members have the foresight to
recognize that Sally, your offi ce manager,
who just received three phone calls at
once and has a FedEx employee waiting
for a package to be signed for, needs help?
Without her having to ask?
Team members with foresight not
only earn higher customer loyalty by
delivering a bett er experience but they
create comradery with their peers. If this
comradery is created they are more likely
“WITH SERVICE ENDURANCE EMPLOYEES CAN
DELIVER THE SAME AMAZING CUSTOMER SERVICE TO
THE TH CUSTOMER OF THE DAY AS THEY DID TO
THE FIRST.”
must have is foresight. This skill is vital
because you want to ensure that your
employees have the foresight to anticipate
customers’ needs and to assist their peers
and colleagues when they are inundated
with too many tasks.
At Baro, one of my restaurants, one of our
core values is foresight. We want our team
members to have the awareness to act on
customer needs by offering suggestions
before they are asked – this helps create
an experience customers have never had
before. In my business, an example of this
could be a waitress recognizing that the
family of four who has a toddler with them
10
to work together to deliver a seamless
customer experience which also increases
customer loyalty.
3. EMPATHY
The third customer service skill was fi rst
introduced to me when I worked
at 1-800-GOT-JUNK?’s corporate
offi ce. Their core values are
Passion, Integrity, Professionalism
and Empathy, or PIPE for short.
Do your team members
show genuine empathy for your
customers? If your customer
happens to mention that there
was a death in their family or