Contents
To Serve and to Please—The Service Difference
Special Thanks from the Publisher to the Technical Reviewer
Part 1 What Exactly Is Customer Service?
Chapter 1 Customer Service: A Many Splendored Thing
Service: Far Beyond “May I Help You?”
From Their Mouths to Your Wallet
Chapter 2 Service: It’s a Mission
Beyond Greed: Why Service Gets Bad
Not Just a Department, a Way of Life
Chapter 3 Just Who Serves the Customer Around Here?
Make Customer Service Everyone’s Job
Make Customer Service Part of Pay
Creating a Culture of Cooperation
Chapter 4 Standardized—Spelling Out Good Performance
The “Instant of Absolute Judgment”
Implementing Standardized Service
Can You Standardize “Niceness”?
Chapter 5 Who’s Your Valued Customer?
Part 2 Service Is Communication
Chapter 6 The Pleasure of Your Business . . .
Chapter 7 What’s the Customer’s Style?
Different Strokes for Different Folks
The Demanding Customer (D Style)
The Influential Customer (I Style)
The Compliant Customer (C Style)
Chapter 8 So What’s the Problem?
Why Aren’t You Asking Questions?
What Types of Questions Are You Using?
Taking the Bite Out of Your Questions
Let’s Play Win-Win Customer Service
Three Steps to Resolve Conflicts
Fine Arts: Conflict Resolution, Problem Solving
Chapter 10 Writing for Service
What’s in It for the Customer?
Writing for World Class Service
Elements of a Good “Bad News” Letter
Chapter 11 Look! It’s an Instruction Manual
Hello from Everyone in the Box
Benefits of Clear Instructions
Elements of Good Instruction Manuals
Chapter 12 Complain, Complain, Complain
Complaining Customers Are the Best
Transform Your Complainers into Referral Champions
It’s Your Time—How Do You Want to Spend It?
Excessive Directive: Exceed Customer Expectations
Getting at True Customer Value
Sample Customer Satisfaction Survey
Get Better or Get Out of the Game
Part 4 Build It and They Will Come: Creating a Customer Service Organization
Chapter 16 Structuring the Service Function for Success
Cross-Functional Not Dysfunctional
Chapter 17 Finding and Hiring Service Winners
What Personality Do You Need to Hire?
How Do You Assess Personality?
Chapter 18 Enable Your Winners to Win
Chapter 19 Who’s Sitting Where?
To Outsource, or Not to Outsource!
Chapter 20 It’s an Internal Organ
Chapter 21 It’s a Worldly Thing
Set Policies for International Customers
Communication and Cultural Issues
How Can I Offend Thee? Let Me Count the Ways . . .
Part 5 The Gizmos & Gadgets of Great Service
Oh Dear, Which Phone Do I Need?
Look Who’s Talking . . . Video Conferencing
Chapter 23 Help Is on the Line
Chapter 24 ZAP! E-Mail Coming at You
The Ten Commandments of E-Mail
Chapter 25 Next Stop: Information Superhighway
Creating an Effective Web Site
Customer Service Training, Conference Keynotes, and Suppliers of Behavioral Assessment Tools
Internet and World Wide Web Services
Telecommunications Equipment and Customer Service Software Systems Vendors
Workplace Injury Prevention Consultants
Afterword Do You Get a Second Chance to Be Your Customer’s First Choice?