{"id":429,"date":"2015-04-28T11:31:54","date_gmt":"2015-04-28T11:31:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.customerservicemanager.com\/csm210469\/?p=429"},"modified":"2022-10-21T14:57:25","modified_gmt":"2022-10-21T14:57:25","slug":"the-5-ws-of-customer-service-training","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.customerservicemanager.com\/the-5-ws-of-customer-service-training\/","title":{"rendered":"The 5 W\u2019s of World Class Customer Service Training"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>The interaction anyone has at any level with your employees gives a customer an opportunity to make a judgment about you and your company.<\/strong><\/p>\n<img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-8067\" src=\"http:\/\/www.customerservicemanager.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/5ws.jpg\" alt=\"5 W's\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.customerservicemanager.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/5ws.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.customerservicemanager.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/5ws-300x169.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/>\n<p>I\u2019m not just talking about call centers here. All technical support or help desk personnel are included as well. As a matter of fact, anyone who is in the customer service business period.<\/p>\n<p>With continued focus on customer satisfaction, customer retention, and lifetime value of the customer, it is no surprise that contact center operations continue to increase in importance as the primary hub of a customer\u2019s experience.<\/p>\n<p>For the customer, the person on the other end of the phone is the company. The contact center is still the most common way that customers get in touch with businesses. In fact, Gartner reports 92% of all contact is through the center. And it\u2019s been reported that 70% to 90% of what happens with customers is driven by human nature, having nothing to do with technology. State of the art technology is a necessity today, but it is meant to enable human endeavors, not to disable them.<\/p>\n<p>I often talk about taking customer service and \u2018kicking it up a notch.\u2019 In the food industry, the word \u2018lagniappe\u2019 is often used. Its definition is \u201ca small present given to a customer with a purchase. For example, when you go to the bakery and buy a dozen donuts or bagels, you oftentimes get a \u2018free\u2019 one or a baker\u2019s dozen. That\u2019s what customer service should be about&#8211;giving the customer more than they expected! Let\u2019s bring lagniappe into the contact center industry.<\/p>\n<p>If we\u2019re going to speak about world class customer service, let\u2019s have a working definition it so we\u2019re all on the same page. Customer service is those activities provided by a company\u2019s employees that enhance the ability of a customer to realize the full potential value of a product or service before and after the sale is made, thereby leading to satisfaction and repurchase.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Let\u2019s look at the first W which is Why?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The state of customer service today is not good, be it over the phone or self service. Because 92% of people feel their call experience is important in shaping the image of a company, this reinforces the importance of centers in branding the image of their companies.<\/p>\n<p>In a Mobius Management Systems Survey, here\u2019s what happened because of poor customer service:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>60% cancelled accounts with banks<\/li>\n<li>36% changed insurance providers<\/li>\n<li>40% changed telephone companies<\/li>\n<li>35% changed credit card providers<\/li>\n<li>375 changed Internet service providers<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Are you one of these statistics? I certainly am.<\/p>\n<p>In a study done by Purdue University and BenchmarkPortal.com, in answer to (1) how did agents satisfy your needs and handle the call, and (2) based on any negative experience, would you stop using this company in the future? the findings reveal a strong correlation between the participant\u2019s age and the tendency to stop using the company after a bad experience.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Bad Customer Service Experience by Age Group<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>What does this mean? Younger participants were less tolerant and more likely to move to the competition. People over 65 were found to be more demanding than those in middle age.<\/p>\n<p>What can you do? Give younger callers a \u2018wow\u2019 experience&#8211;maintain their loyalty. People over 36 probably have more of an \u2018emotional bank account\u2019 with the company they are dealing with\u2013maybe had some good experience and therefore are more willing to \u2018forgive.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>In a study (CRM Magazine\/PeopleSoft), the number of applications required for agents to access customer inquiries were:<\/p>\n<p>3.7% just 1<br \/>\n81.5% 2 \u2013 5<br \/>\n7.4% 5 \u2013 10<br \/>\n7.4% more than 10<\/p>\n<p>As you can see, the majority of applications are 2 &#8211; 5. The goal, of course, is to link every point of contact to one central location for a customer-centric, synchronized approach satisfying customer experiences with every interaction.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Strategies for success for world class service should include:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Respond promptly<\/li>\n<li>Handle requests through the customers\u2019 choice of medium<\/li>\n<li>Be brief and clear<\/li>\n<li>Reduce back and forth communications (especially in writing, i.e., email, kick it up to a phone call if it goes beyond two)<\/li>\n<li>Personalized service<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Delight the customer<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>What do we mean by delighting the customer?<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Inform and educate them<\/li>\n<li>Establish your expertise and professionalism<\/li>\n<li>Offer options<\/li>\n<li>Diffuse upset, anger, when and if necessary<\/li>\n<li>Escalate, if required<\/li>\n<li>Take Ownership of the call<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Remember we\u2019re still on the first W \u2013 the Why.<\/strong> Today\u2019s pressures on agents are different than in the past. They are asked to handle more customer, more volume, more complex and\/or complicated calls. After all if we could handle our issues with self service, we probably would not call. But if we tried self service and it didn\u2019t work, now we\u2019re upset and it\u2019s an escalated call from the get go.<\/p>\n<p>They\u2019re asked to provide more information, do it faster and be available and accessible. But they are to lower costs, generate revenue, incorporate new technologies, ensure closure and commitment, deliver \u2018great\u2019 service and when? Yesterday, of course.<\/p>\n<p>As a matter of fact the CDC (Center for Disease Control) has said that the causes of death for people under 65 are:<\/p>\n<p>21% &#8211; environment \u2013 war, accidents, crimes<br \/>\n9% &#8211; health care system \u2013 doctors, hospitals, medications<br \/>\n17% &#8211; human biology \u2013 not because of lifestyle<br \/>\n53% &#8211; because of the way people choose to live their lives!!!<\/p>\n<p>This is the good news and the bad news. It\u2019s bad news because it\u2019s more than half. However, the good news is that this is something we can do something about, it\u2019s about choice.<\/p>\n<p><strong>The #2 W is Who should be trained?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>We suggest front line agents\/representatives, supervisors, team lads, managers, assistant managers, internal customers and other departments \u2013 anyone who is a touch point so that they can learn to speak the same language, and more importantly, not be in an adversarial position, but rather, together they are serving the external customer or end user.<\/p>\n<p><strong>The #3 W is Where should the training take place?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Offsite vs. onsite, and there are advantages and disadvantages for both.<\/p>\n<p>Certainly it is most cost effective to have training on site. However, distractions are rampant as is the participant\u2019s availability to a person or problem.<\/p>\n<p>Offsite is more costly. However, there are no distractions and the participants are unavailable to other departments, their managers, or any issues. I believe there is psychic value in taking people away from their work stations and off site to acknowledge the touch jobs they have.<\/p>\n<p><strong>The #4 W is What should be included in any training?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>We believe the following modules provide a robust, powerful, and succinct training curriculum:<\/p>\n<p>Quality Customer Service<br \/>\nRapport Building<br \/>\nCustomer Expectations<br \/>\nPerception Shifting<br \/>\nConflict Resolution<br \/>\nLanguage Skills<br \/>\nAnger Management<br \/>\nE-Mail Protocol<br \/>\nStress Reduction<br \/>\nEmpathetic Responsiveness<br \/>\nChange Management<br \/>\nCommunication\/Listening Skills<br \/>\nInteraction\/Role Play Service with a Smile<\/p>\n<p>Further suggested is university certification to up the ante. The more professionally you treat your employees, the more professionally they will treat your customers.<\/p>\n<p><strong>The #5 W is When<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>We say for new hires, monthly, ongoing, consistently, whenever change occurs, when stressors increase, and as needed.<\/p>\n<p>We further suggest that each employee get a minimum of 24 hours per year of ongoing training, spread out over time for the most absorption. We divide our trainings into two four hour sessions per day and deliver 6 days per employee. Therefore, 30 people can participate in the training per day. If there has been no ongoing training, we do four days once a month for four months and then a session three months later, and then another three months later. In this manner, training is customized, in real time, and can address whatever challenges are presented when they occur.<\/p>\n<p><strong>About the Author<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Rosanne D&#8217;Ausilio, Ph.D., industrial psychologist, President of <a href=\"http:\/\/www.human-technologies.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Human Technologies Global<\/a>, \u2018champion for the human\u2019 is an expert in customer service. She authors 3 best sellers, Wake Up Your Call Center: Humanize Your Interaction Hub, Customer Service and the Human Experience, and Lay Your Cards on the Table: 52 Ways to Stack Your Personal Deck.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The interaction anyone has at any level with your employees gives a customer an opportunity to make a judgment about you and your company. Find out why world-class customer service training is critical.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":184,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[2],"tags":[52],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.customerservicemanager.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/429"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.customerservicemanager.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.customerservicemanager.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.customerservicemanager.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/184"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.customerservicemanager.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=429"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.customerservicemanager.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/429\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":36007,"href":"https:\/\/www.customerservicemanager.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/429\/revisions\/36007"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.customerservicemanager.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=429"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.customerservicemanager.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=429"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.customerservicemanager.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=429"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}