Writing the Book(s) on Customer Service
Renee Evenson is on a mission. A customer-service mission, that is.
Evenson has worked in the customer service management field for three decades, and has published several books on the subject. Her latest, Award-Winning Customer Service: 101 Ways to Guarantee Great Performance (AMACOM Books), closely examines why customers might take their business elsewhere – often without even complaining – and offers up some timely and sometimes eye-opening solutions.
Evenson’s last book, 2005’s Customer Service Training 101, was an instant classic of its kind, presented in an easy-to-use format that encourages trainers to effectively illustrate for their employees how to develop the customer care concepts necessary to close the deal (or at least retain the customer). The new tome takes a similar approach, with each of her 101 message points backed up by performance prompts, sample techniques, and real-life situations in which a CSR might find himself in the situation described.
“Leading customer service employees to perform their best is like directing actors in a play,” she writes. “First, you find a good script. Second, you cast the correct actors for the roles. Third, you ensure everyone learns the lines. Fourth, you rehearse. Finally, you are ready for opening night….Do everything to delight your audience, and you will receive rave reviews.”
While some of the new work’s lessons seem self-evident – “Know Your Business,” “Maintain a Positive Attitude” – Evenson demonstrates how even the most efficient CSR can sometimes become flustered and go off-message.
Other messages may not be so intuitive. “Pay Attention to Body Language: Yours and Others’,” “Turn Chronic Complaining into Contentment,” and “Make Fun Time a Daily Goal” are more complex considerations, but Evenson’s breezy, easy-to-digest style gets her points across effectively.
Those working in customer care doubtless grow tired of hearing allegedly new ideas guaranteed to “get great results.” Award-Winning Customer Service isn’t about re-inventing the wheel, but about reminding CSRs about some of their job’s basic tenets – and how to use them to establish lasting relationships with their customers.
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