Turn Angry Customers Into Your Brands Biggest Fans

Do some customers seem like they are just spoiling for a fight? Do you find that no matter what you say it doesn’t solve their grievance?

In these circumstances you need a special set of skills.  The good news is that they can be learned.

These skills are ones that are more likely to be tested with practical exercises. At an assessment center it might be one of the competencies that are tested when you are working on a group exercise. For example, you may be asked to solve a theoretical problem with a client. By incorporating customer care into your plan you will be able to show the assessors that you are thinking of the long-term, not just the immediate challenge.

Alternatively, it might be measured in an interview. For example you might be asked to sell something – like a paperclip – to the assessor. In such tests you have to identify a reason why the other person needs a particular product. You are also likely to be asked what you would do if a client has a complaint, or returns goods, claiming they are faulty.

Clear communication is essential in customer service – you need to know what the customer wants, and be able to articulate what you can do for the customer. Enunciating, speaking loudly enough, and employing an upbeat tone, will help you communicate clearly and positively with your customers. These skills are essential in phone communication as well. If you write or email with customers, be sure to use proper grammar and spelling, and choose words and phrases that convey a similarly upbeat attitude.

People that work in customer service need to be able to calmly handle all customers, even the most negative ones. You must strive to remain calm and cool, even when your customer is not. Patience and self-control will keep you from getting upset and saying something inappropriate.

In customer service, you deal with many customers who have a problem that needs to be solved. It is important for you to be a creative problem solver. Always make sure you understand the problem clearly, and offer them possible solutions. Think creatively; often you will need to think of solutions that fit the needs of a specific customer. If you cannot find a solution that works for the customer, help them locate additional help. Follow up with the customer to make sure the issue has been resolved. Customers will appreciate your interest in their problem, and your willingness to help, in whatever way possible.

When dealing with a customer, you want to be able to take control of the situation and do what you need to do in an efficient manner. If you are meek or passive, the customer may not have faith in you. However, you also don’t want to be aggressive or demanding, which can offend customers. By speaking in a strong, steady voice, asking direct questions of the customers, and keeping track of what you need to do, you will convey confidence without being aggressive.

SMART Service Desk IT Service Management Software is a great start to creating your very own customer service legends. We know that your satisfied customers will return again and again. Let us help you increase productivity, reduce operations cost and improve customer experience with our ITIL compliant solutions. No matter the size of your business we have your customer retention solutions.

SMART Service Desk
600 West Ray Road
Suite D-3
Chandler Arizona 85225
602-235-0975
info@smartservicedesk.com
http://smartservicedesk.com

SMART Service Desk Wishes You Happy Mother’s Day

We pray to the Lord

That God will bless your day

And that you'd find happiness

When to Him, you come to pray

I pray you'd know how much you've meant

To us through all these years,

For you have been there on your knees,

Sometimes with bitter tears

God has seen your Mother's heart

And answered your heart pleas

And Mom, because of your strong faith,

We also now believe.

This very special holiday is honored on the second Sunday in May and goes back more than 100 years as a U.S. celebration.

SMART Service Desk IT Service Management Software is a great start to creating your very own customer service legends. We know that your satisfied customers will return again and again. Let us help you increase productivity, reduce operations cost and improve customer experience with our ITIL compliant solutions. No matter the size of your business we have your customer retention solutions.

SMART Service Desk
600 West Ray Road
Suite D-3
Chandler Arizona 85225
602-235-0975
info@smartservicedesk.com
http://smartservicedesk.com

4 Questions To Ask About IT Service Desk Software

What types of on-site services are included in the purchase? Many programs that are higher in price should include some amount of on-site services or support. If it does not, ensure that both (service & support) are built into your contract before purchasing. But, beware that this is the area where companies make most of their profit. Some companies count on you returning with requests for customizations of the software. Now that you have the software and have spent significant time purchasing hardware and dedicating resources, they know you are already, “half way in the pool”; they also know that you will have trouble refusing to pay extra money to get what you want. These services can include anything from training classes, customizations, or help with installation issues. In the case of local software companies, keep in mind, they should automatically provide some sort of on-site services (at a minimum) before purchasing. This can only help to streamline your implementation process and increase the likelihood of your success, with the added benefit of a higher return on investment (ROI), who wouldn’t like to have that.

What is the turnaround time for getting “bugs” fixed? Some companies will say that they will fix software issues as soon as you find one. There are others that will compile the list of “bug” fixes and release it on a scheduled basis convenient for them. This can happen either monthly, bi-monthly, quarterly or yearly. Neither path is better or worse, as long as you are dealing with a reputable software company that stays true to their word. Knowing this before purchasing the software allows you to better handle your software end-users and enables you to provide a more accurate time frame of when your users will see changes or have their issues resolved.

How often do program updates go out and do they notify customers? This is another widely overlooked key item. There are two lines of thought that companies can use for updating customers. The company might decide not to notify its customers at all when updates rollout. They may think that if the customer has a problem they will contact them. At that time would they inform the user of an available update? Beware of this method of service, or lack there-of. Steer clear of companies that do not provide this as an option to their clients. The second line of thought would be for the company to notify its customers regularly about updates. They may also offer and option of including the customer on a mailing list. In this case be sure that they have multiple contacts that are on the email distribution list so that everyone who should know will not be left out of communications loop. If the software company does not offer either one of this options, you might want to reconsider your decision.

Is the proposed software scalable in design? Software that is scalable in design simply means that it can easily grow with your business, at minimal cost to you. Factors include end user customizations, current database structure, and inputs and outputs like reports, and connectivity to your other database systems. Scalability is very important for small businesses, because they are dynamic in growth. No one wants to jump through hoops of testing, development, customizations, and training, to purchase software only to find out a year later that you have outgrown it and you need to replace it. With proper planning at the time of purchase only you can increase your chances for a successful software experience.

SMART Service Desk IT Service Management Software is a great start to creating your very own customer service legends. We know that your satisfied customers will return again and again. Let us help you increase productivity, reduce operations cost and improve customer experience with our ITIL compliant solutions. No matter the size of your business we have your customer retention solutions.

SMART Service Desk
600 West Ray Road
Suite D-3
Chandler Arizona 85225
602-235-0975
info@smartservicedesk.com
http://smartservicedesk.com

SMART Service Desk IT Service Desk Best Practices Part 2

As the title indicates this is Part Two of SMART Service Desk IT Service Desk Best Practices and we continue with the list of areas that your staff can focus on to help customers and users reach their goals.

Know When To Escalate A Case
All too often, pride and ego keep staff from sending a case up the escalation chain when they should; we tend to be too proud to admit that we are stumped and pass it along to someone who knows better than us. This doesn't help anyone. The customer isn't getting the problem fixed, you look resistant to trying to get a fix, and the organization as a whole comes off as incompetent. While there might not be strict guidelines for when to escalate a case in your organization, it's as they say: "Know when to hold 'em and know when to fold 'em."

Know Your Market
Callers will sometimes be looking to get technical information to help them decide whether the item they are thinking about buying is right for them. It is helpful to be familiar not only with your own product line, but that of competitors as well. Then, if someone calls in to get this kind of pre-sales information, you can be fully informed to help them -- so long as your policy isn't to redirect those questions to a different department.

Open Direct Lines Of Communications
Do you keep stumbling across help desks that can't directly work with the next level of support? At best, they can leave a note in a ticket begging the next level to call the customer. To me, this is patently absurd. When a situation is blowing up for a customer, do they really want to hear, "I've left a note in the ticket requesting a callback" when the previous three notes haven't produced the needed call? Of course not.

Take Ownership Of Cases
There are two major reasons why you have angry customers: Either your product has made them absolutely miserable or your organization has bungled the response to their problems. In the case of the latter, the best strategy I have found is to reaffirm that while other technicians may have made mistakes or that the product in question is giving them problems, you are personally going to try your best to find a resolution. If you can't, you need to take ownership of the case and ensure that a resolution will be found. Then you need to actually deliver on that promise.

Understand Current Policies
It is hard to stay on top of policies in any organization. But it can really frustrate a caller to get inconsistent service from the help desk. For example, if Bob is willing to RMA a unit after one failure, but Pam insists on three failures, a caller can get pretty upset when Pam doesn't give the same quick fix that Bob will. The problem is that people are usually taught policies once during their training and rarely brought up to speed after that. This isn't the technicians' fault. But if they see that different policies are being applied to the same situation, they should ask a supervisor for clarification and alert them that there seem to be different understandings of the policy within the department.

SMART Service Desk IT Service Management Software is a great start to creating your very own customer service legends. We know that your satisfied customers will return again and again. Let us help you increase productivity, reduce operations cost and improve customer experience with our ITIL compliant solutions. No matter the size of your business we have your customer retention solutions.

SMART Service Desk
600 West Ray Road
Suite D-3
Chandler Arizona 85225
602-235-0975
info@smartservicedesk.com
http://smartservicedesk.com

SMART Service Desk IT Service Desk Best Practices

Some of the best practices can make a world of difference in the eternal struggle between the help desk and its callers. This blog is our introduction into these best proiactices.

I've spent a good part of my career working on (or closely with) help desks and the rest of my career having to call them on a regular basis. Over that time, I've seen a lot of bad help desk habits that make a call go bad in a hurry. Here are 10 things all help desk workers should do to make sure that their customers are as well served and satisfied as possible.

Proper Phone Etiquette
It is amazing how the first few words out of your mouth when you pick up the phone can set the pace for the remainder of the call. Unfortunately, too many help desk organizations assume that their employees know how to answer a phone, while too many employees don't. Think: "Hello, thank you for calling Company Name Technical Support, my name is _______, how may I help you today?" This lets callers know that they have reached the right company and the right phone number, tells them who they are speaking with, and shows them you are there to help. 

Keep The Customer In The Loop
When I call the help desk, it is really frustrating to have a technician insist that we follow a particular troubleshooting route when I am certain that it will not lead to anything useful -- and I am usually right. It is even worse when it is a direction I have already explored and told the technician about. At the same time, I recognize that many help desks insist that a problem be worked through according to a standard script or flowchart. Other times, the technician really knows something I don't.

Either way, I have found that it is best for the tech to explain exactly why we are taking the steps we are taking. For example: "Sir, I understand that you may have already tried this, but our policy requires me to try it anyway" or perhaps, "Ma'am, I have a knowledge base article here that is internal-only, which says that this setting may indeed be the problem after all." When you state things like this, callers understand that you aren't just trying to give them the runaround or that you are ignoring them. They see that you really do need to take those steps.

Use The Online Notes
If you want to make callers mad, ask them to do something a previous technician already did or ask them for information they gave on the last call. The real troulemaker? Asking them to tell you what the problem is. This kind of aggravation can usually be avoided by reading the ticket notes. If the notes are unclear or incomplete, you need to have a talk with the person who wrote them, and if that does not do the trick, you need to speak with his or her supervisor.

Investigate Previous Cases For That Customer
Many times, when a caller has an issue, the clues can be found in previous cases for that customer or perhaps that unit. For example, I once worked for a help desk organization that would take old units on RMA, refurbish them, and send them out again, but the refurbishing process sometimes did not resolve the actual problem. By looking at the past tickets for the unit, we could determine whether it was a perpetual lemon and let the RMA department know that it should be discarded. Other times, I saw certain customers with an issue in their environment that just didn't work with what we had. So by looking at previous tickets, it was possible to know when to start looking at their environment.

Follow-up with us tomorrow and see Part Two of SMART Service Desk IT Service Desk Best Practices

SMART Service Desk IT Service Management Software is a great start to creating your very own customer service legends. We know that your satisfied customers will return again and again. Let us help you increase productivity, reduce operations cost and improve customer experience with our ITIL compliant solutions. No matter the size of your business we have your customer retention solutions.

SMART Service Desk
600 West Ray Road
Suite D-3
Chandler Arizona 85225
602-235-0975
info@smartservicedesk.com
http://smartservicedesk.com

SMART Service Desk Presents The Know-Like-Trust Sales Secrets

The more someone trusts you, the more they share their pain points and needs with you. It is at this point that you can make a realistic judgment call to determine if the product or service you're selling is, in fact, a good fit. When you're honest enough to turn down a potential sale, you're actually building a customer for life.

Often we spend so much time thinking about our business, that we overlook the simple, almost painfully obvious things that can help our business grow. Sales, for example, are the lifeblood of any business. To increase the growth of your business, you need to be able to sell your products or services. For fast-growth companies, the challenge with product sales comes along when trying to build their sales team. The focus often shifts from what got you started in the business to thinking about scale. When it comes to driving sales, do you know that people buy on emotion and back-fill with logic?

And that people like to buy, but none like to be sold. Finally, people do business with the people they know, like and trust.

Think about the car buying experience. Before you ever check out the window sticker for the details, you first need that "wow" moment; those few seconds you actually imagine yourself driving around inside that car. That emotional "desire" is the moment that draws you into the sales process. You have to want something before you can buy it.

Buying can be fun. The best companies in the world know this and give you the space to enjoy the buying experience. But no one wants to be sold, and there is a difference. In keeping with the car buying analogy, we've all been pounced by an aggressive salesperson looking to make a quick close. Being sold feels terrible because, you are not confident that you're making the right buying decision when you can spot every sales tactic being thrown at you.

Know, Like & Trust is why the best salespeople go through a simple, but powerful, process of getting to know their prospects, increasing their "likability" factor and building trust. 

Getting to know potential buyers may feel a bit daunting at first as it requires putting yourself out there. The simplest way to get to know people is to find ways to add value first before you ever try to sell them something. Using this model, you immediately remove the "sales" barrier and instead focus on where you can add value while getting to know the person you'd like to do business with.

As you're getting to know your prospective buyer and finding ways to add value, you're increasing your likability factor.  The more someone likes you, the more they begin to trust you. This transforms the relationship from one of "buyer and seller" to the preferred position of "subject matter expert and interested party".

The more someone trusts you, the more they share their buying wants and needs with you. It is at this point that you can make a realistic judgment call to determine if the product or service you're selling is, in fact, a good fit. When you're honest enough to turn down a potential sale that doesn't fit, you're actually securing a customer for life.

SMART Service Desk IT Service Management Software is a great start to creating your very own customer service legends. We know that your satisfied customers will return again and again. Let us help you increase productivity, reduce operations cost and improve customer experience with our ITIL compliant solutions. No matter the size of your business we have your customer retention solutions.

SMART Service Desk
600 West Ray Road
Suite D-3
Chandler Arizona 85225
602-235-0975
info@smartservicedesk.com
http://smartservicedesk.com

How Well Is Your Business Doing?

If you own a small to medium sized business it may seem that it is too early to be asking this on the first day of May. Is just beginning the fifth month of the year too early to know how well 2015 is doing.

I’m sure that the adage of the lowest selling price is the key factor in a buying decision. A small store doesn't have the buying power that a mass retailer does.  The manufactures don’t come to you with special models and very special prices.

Yes, some customers are motivated by the lowest price.  They don’t look at the real features that the model has or the features that set apart the different brands. All they see is the PRICE. Take the time to educate your customers.

Many business don’t really want that customer. I know that means giving up on some sales.  But in order to stay in business there must be an overall profitability. You may have heard the old saying “We lose money on everyone we sell but we make up for it in volume.” If that isn’t the scariest thing you have ever heard, I don’t know what would be.

Getting a customer through your door is one thing. Keeping that customer coming back is something else entirely. Is customer retention top of the list for your new year’s plans? Existing customer are the real goldmine of all businesses.

The closest you can get to anticipating the future is taking a look back and using last year's numbers as benchmarks you can add or subtract from. Analytics can provide retailers with everything from what deals and discounts worked last year to predicting how much inventory to have in stock this year. Looking at dollars and sense can be quite clear using your accounting software.

So many businesses do an excellent job of making the initial sale, then drop the ball and get complacent, ignoring the customer, while they chase more business. Your selling has actually only just begun when someone makes that initial purchase decision because virtually everyone is susceptible to buyer’s remorse. 

To lock in that sale, and all of the referrals and repeat business that will flow from it, you need to strike while the iron is hot to allay your customers’ fears and demonstrate by your actions that you really care. You should thank them and remind them again why they’ve made the right decision to deal with you … and put a system in place to sell to them again, and again, constantly proving that they made the right decision. Learning how to keep in touch is what SMART Service Desk can help your company accomplish.

Looking at your customer’s experience requires a completely different metric and software tool.  Today that tool can even be cloud based and sharable by different business stores and locations across town or even worldwide. 

The last thing you want is for your business to be “growing broke.” Beside the need for accounting software is the need for SMART Service Desk software. Consider it the accounting for your customer interaction.  Are you running in the black when it comes to how your customer feel about your business? Don’t wait for the silence in sales to be your first indication that you have inadvertently let your customers down.

Remember that it is difficult to make your customers retroactively happy. Don’t learn that lesson the hard way.

SMART Service Desk IT Service Management Software is a great start to creating your very own customer service legends. We know that your satisfied customers will return again and again. Let us help you increase productivity, reduce operations cost and improve customer experience with our ITIL compliant solutions. No matter the size of your business we have your customer retention solutions.

SMART Service Desk
600 West Ray Road
Suite D-3
Chandler Arizona 85225
602-235-0975
info@smartservicedesk.com
http://smartservicedesk.com