Discover the hidden ways to raise your organizations’ customer service experiences from ordinary to extraordinary.
If you want to know how strong your company’s customer service is, ask your employees to describe what their work entails. Then pay attention to whether they simply list their duties and tasks or if they speak to the true essence of their job--to create delighted customers who will be less price sensitive, have higher repurchase rates, and enthusiastically recommend the company or brand to others.
The latter should be every employee’s highest priority, because when it’s not, your customers are merely the recipients of a transaction, not an experience, and transactions do not make for a lasting impression or inspire loyalty. In Delight Your Customers, customer service expert Steve Curtin makes a compelling case that customer service managers need to shift from monitoring service activities to modeling, recognizing, and reinforcing the behaviors that create happy and returning customers. Things such as:
- Expressing genuine interest
- Offering sincere compliments
- Sharing unique knowledge
- Conveying authentic enthusiasm
- Providing pleasant surprises
- Delivering service heroics when needed
Simply based on their own personal experiences, everyone knows that great customer service is rare. So why wouldn’t you want to provide a unique, caring, and beneficial experience for all your customers to rave about with others With the real-world stories, examples, and strategies shared in Delight Your Customers, you can take the customer service experience you offer from ordinary to extraordinary.
Table of Contents:
Contents
Introduction 3
Part One: Function Vs. Essence
Chapter 1—Three Truths of Exceptional Customer Service 9
Exceptional Customer Service Reflects the Essence of
Every Service Industry Employee’s Job Role 11
Exceptional Customer Service Is Always Voluntary 17
Exceptional Customer Service Typically Costs
No More to Deliver than Poor Customer Service 20
Getting from Ordinary to Extraordinary 24
Applying Three Truths of Exceptional Customer Service 26
Contents
Part Two: Seven Simple Ways To
Raise Customer Service
Chapter 2—Express Genuine Interest 29
How to Express Genuine Interest 32
Getting from Ordinary to Extraordinary 49
Applying Genuine Interest 52
Chapter 3—Offer Sincere and Specific Compliments 53
Be Attentive to Opportunities to Offer Compliments 54
Factors Influencing the Offering of Compliments 57
How to Offer Sincere and Specific Compliments 59
Recognize Coworkers 64
Getting from Ordinary to Extraordinary 69
Applying Sincere and Specific Compliments 71
Chapter 4—Share Unique Knowledge 73
Unique Knowledge Brings More Value
to the Customer Experience 74
The Benefits of Unique Knowledge 75
How to Share Unique Knowledge 82
Getting from Ordinary to Extraordinary 88
Applying Unique Knowledge 91
Chapter 5—Convey Authentic Enthusiasm 93
The Role of Leadership in Fostering Authentic Enthusiasm 95
How to Convey Authentic Enthusiasm 99
Getting from Ordinary to Extraordinary 108
Applying Authentic Enthusiasm 110
Chapter 6—Use Appropriate Humor 111
When to Use Appropriate Humor 113
When the Use of Humor May Be Inappropriate 123
Getting from Ordinary to Extraordinary 125
Applying Appropriate Humor 126
Chapter 7—Provide Pleasant Surprises 127
How to Provide Pleasant Surprises 129
Getting from Ordinary to Extraordinary 142
Applying Pleasant Surprises 144
Chapter 8—Deliver Service Heroics 145
Two Types of Service Heroics 146
How to Deliver Heroic Service to Solve Customers’ Problems 152
Getting from Ordinary to Extraordinary 161
Applying Service Heroics 163
Part Three: Incorporating Job Essence
Into Job Function
Chapter 9—From Ordinary to Extraordinary 167
Why Ordinary Customer Service Is Common
and Extraordinary Customer Service Is Rare 170
How to Raise Customer Service Quality
from Ordinary to Extraordinary 173
Getting from Ordinary to Extraordinary 186
Incorporating Job Essence into Job Function 188
Index 189
About the Author :
Steve Curtin spent 20 years with Marriott International. He now runs his own customer service consulting firm, Steve Curtin, Customer Enthusiast!
Review :
"If you want to delight your customers, then the new book Delight Your Customers is a must-read for you and your employees." --Eric Jacobson On Management And Leadership
..". written from a fresh point of view..packed with a lot of details and comparisons to help you understand what is ordinary and what is extraordinary." --CXJourney
..".great new book called Delight Your Customers.The author talks about great customer service, how important it is, and how to deliver it. You really should pick it up." --PCB007
..".must-read for small or mega-businesses who want to offer such amazing service to their customers or clients that they will be more than delighted to come back again..." --BookPleasures.com
Customer Service Newsletter Best Customer Service Books of 2013
"If you are serious about elevating the level of service in your organization, this is your book...Read it and begin your journey from ordinary to extraordinary." --9InchMarketing
"The age of service enlightenment has arrived with Steve Curtin's Delight Your Customers." --Ken Shelton, Sales and Service Excellence
"This is a book that every customer service professional should read and every manager should model." --Portland Book Review
