Top Eleven NO-COST Customer Service Tips
From the Customer Service in the Library Workshop
Presented by Steve Wishnack on April 14 and 15, 2009
1. Customer service is all about M & M’s: making service meaningful and measurable.
2. Making A Good Impression Counts! There’s never a second chance at making a first impression.
3. Say thank you at every opportunity. A sincere thank you tells customers you respect them, you appreciate them and you value them. Some examples: Thank you for....
· Calling
· Asking
· Waiting
· Bringing that to my attention
· Noticing
· Telling me
· Your cooperation
· Your help
· Your support
· Reminding me
· The suggestion
4. A 
costs nothing and expresses a friendly, inviting attitude. A smile reduces stress and tension; it’s healthy for you; it’s a gift you give yourself; and it’s universally understood and accepted.
5. The words we use have impact!
Words to use include
· I’d be happy to
· I’ll do my best
· Certainly
· My pleasure
· I understand
· Sure
Words not to use include:
· No, I’m busy
· You’ll have to wait
· You should...
· You need to....
· That’s our policy
· That’s the rule
6. Choose your attitude. Attitudes are our emotional response to a situation. Attitudes can be healthy or deadly. Attitudes are expressed in our words, actions, body language and dress, etc.
7. Make it easy for customers to do business with us.
8. 82% of customers stop coming back because of the attitude of the service provider and/or dissatisfaction with the product, people or process. You may never know that a customer has chosen not to return.
9. Customers (i.e. people) need the following: a feeling of safety/security, to be liked, listened to, accepted, appreciated, respected, acknowledged, understood, trusted, connected and valued.
10. Customers (i.e. people) want the following: to get assistance at the first point of contact, friendly service, politeness, kindness, respect, fairness, patience, empathy and understanding.
11. The best service has an element of surprise... when something magical happens (see number two above), or when he/she receives something they didn’t expect.