Reviewing this checklist will help you continuously improve your customer service skills and keep you focused on the only think you can control - your own behavior.
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Did you...?
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Or did you...?
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Put yourself in your client's shoes.
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Become stuck in your own point of view.
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Reserve judgment about your client and his/her problem and listen with an open mind.
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Rush to judgment before hearing from your client first-hand.
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Let your client "blow off steam" before attempting to problem-solve.
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Move quickly to solve the problem without allowing your clients full expression.
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Listen attentively to everything your customer had to say with genuine interest.
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Become fixated on your own concerns or miss what was really being said.
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Spend as much time listening as talking, allowing your client to finish speaking before responding.
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Focus on your next response instead of hearing, interrupt frequently or dominate the conversation.
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Ask questions to clarify your understanding.
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Jump to conclusions.
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Seek your client's ideas or offer options to resolve the problem.
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Offer only one course of action: take it or leave it.
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Tell the client what you can do and why.
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Focus on what you cannot do and why.
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Admit mistakes and oversights; apologize for your client's inconvenience.
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Avoid responsibility, get defensive, focus on your own inconvenience.
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Agree on the time and the manner for follow-up.
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Leave follow-up to chance.
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Follow-up with client to check on their satisfaction.
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Neglect to check out results and hope that no news is good news.
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