FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Tom Ellis
August 10, 2004 Ellis Communications, Inc.
Phone: (417) 881-5635
Email: tom@elliscomm.com
PHOENIX, Ariz. – What is a service sin? Simply put, it’s behavior
that drives customers away.“These sins are
committed by utility employees and are a result of their attitudes and
habits,” says David Saxby, president of Phoenix-based Measure-X, a
company that specializes in helping utilities improve their customer
service and sales. “Oftentimes, people don’t even realize they’re
committing these sins. They’re so ingrained, they’re the basis of the
way employees treat customers. No utility can afford that.”
Saxby explains the
following eight most-common sins of customer service.
Sin No. 1. Apathy: The "I don't give a
rip about you or my job attitude" sin. “Many employees get this way
when they're bored with their job or if they’ve lost sight that the
reason for their job is to serve the needs of the customer,” Saxby
says. “Sometimes, they just need a reminder of such.”
Sin No. 2. Brush-off: Get rid of
customers by transferring their calls. “This causes the customer to
tell their story over and over until they become so frustrated they
want to scream,” Saxby notes. “The only thing that can save this
situation is if the customer finds another person in the company who
will take the time to help them.”
Sin No. 3. Coldness: Much like apathy,
only worse. “Impatience, curtness, hostility toward customers or
co-workers – that’s coldness,” Saxby explains. “The body language of
this person shouts out, ‘You're a nuisance; go away!’”
Sin No. 4. Condescension: A patronizing
attitude. “Common examples are using a customer's first name without
their permission; using industry jargon or acronyms rather than
communicating in clear, understandable language; and communicating at
a different level than that of the customer,” Saxby says.
Sin No. 5. Robotism: "Thank you, have a
nice day, NEXT!” treatment in which customers feel like they’re
nothing more than a number. “While it can be frustrating answering
similar questions and providing similar information for hours on end,
customers should feel as if they are the employee’s first caller of
the day,” Saxby points out. “Employees need to stay away from a stock
set of motions and make certain they connect with each customer.”
Sin No. 6. Rule Book: Use company
guidelines as excuses for not providing service even when an employee
knows the rules are flexible. “When the rule book is used, customers
hear negative phrases such as, ‘That’s our company policy,’” Saxby
says.
Sin No. 7. Runaround: Send the customer
on a wild goose chase because no one is willing to take ownership of
his or her problem.
Sin No. 8. Tune Out: Failure to focus
100 percent on the person who is speaking. “This sin creates a number
of problems, such as judging before you've heard the person out and
not asking questions to verify that you understand what was said,”
Saxby notes. “Other problems include not giving appropriate responses
and interrupting with your answer before the customer has completed
his or her question.”
So what can utilities do to eliminate these sins?
Make everyone part of the customer service
improvement team by involving them in finding ways to eliminate your
company's service sins, Saxby suggests. Managers should ask each
member of their team to make a list of the sins they observe during a
one-week period, omitting names of the people who committed the sins,
Saxby says.
“Bring everyone's list to a staff meeting and, as
a team, rank the service sins, with
No. 1 being the most frequently observed,” Saxby
says. “Then brainstorm ways service can be improved to eliminate the
sins. The sins will begin to disappear by merely raising everyone’s
level of awareness.”
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Measure-X is a measurement, training and recognition company that specializes
in customer service and sales skills. For more information on Measure-X,
call 888-644-5499 or visit its Web site at www.measure-x.com.
