Customer Service Improvement Checklist

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.

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