The Global Phoenix - Issue 4 The Global Phoenix - Issue 4 | Page 12

While customers may be
quick to pick up the phone for
assisted service, sometimes
their patience in waiting on
hold runs thin. For consumers
in Brazil, Japan and the UK,
more than half say one to five
minutes is the maximum time
they’ll wait on hold.
(Global State of Multi-channel Customer Service
Report, 2015)
• Formality vs. Friendliness: From “Yes,
sir” to “How’s it going?”
The level of formality vs. friendliness
varies from country to country and
culture to culture. For example:
In the U.S., it is not unusual for a
customer service representative or
sales person in a store to ask “How
are you? Are you finding everything
ok? Or “Did you find what you were
looking for?”
This may not play as well in England
or Scotland where consumers do not
expect to be approached without
prompting.
In Asia, representatives would
greet customers and then back off.
There is a certain “distance” in some
cultures which others may perceive as
“stiffness”.
Northern Europeans are more formal
and the transaction itself is important,
not service with a smile. Just providing
the service is enough.
Asians tend to treat their customers
with more formality.
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• Directness vs. indirectness: “The problem
is operator error” or “Many people have
experienced this”
Many countries such as Germany, Russia,
Israel and Northern European countries
use a much more direct approach to help
customers. Language used may include “This
is where you went wrong,” or “Your idea is off
track.”
North Americans may be much less direct and
package their responses with temperance
and words that validate the other person.
Examples include “Let’s try this solution,” or
“Let’s try it this way.”
Issues are resolved differently in cultures
where there is individual accountability vs.
where there is group accountability such as
in Japan. In Japan an issue may be resolved
by going to a supervisor, consulting peers, or
even bringing in a third party as all parties are
involved together.