All posts in Customer Services

Using customer service role-plays in a training module is very effective both for new staff and for existing customer service staff. New staff get an opportunity to practice your typical interactions and scenarios in an environment where they can try again to perfect their approach and skills. Existing staff can move back from running on automatic, to heighten awareness and refresh their core customer service skills. They gain great benefit from sharing tips and techniques for handling problem calls or challenging callers.

It is important to structure your training module to gain maximum benefit from the customer service role-plays. Each role-play should generate potential learning points for the person playing the part of the Customer, for the other team member playing the role of your member of staff and for other members of the group who are observing. However, the learning will only take place if –

1.They are all open to finding the learning points

2.They have a good de-brief at the end of the module.

Beginning the Customer Service Training Module

In any training module, introducing the activity by identifying clear objectives is critical. If you state your objectives clearly, the group will be focussed on the learning goals, and you will have a much higher percentage chance of success. In each customer service role-play, identify an area of focus for the group, perhaps the beginning of the call on one, positive confident language on another or how a particular issue is handled on another.

If you need ideas for focus areas, go on to YouTube and search for customer service role-plays. There are some very good examples there, with guidelines for different sections of call.

Identify Clear Goals for each Role-play

Introduce the scenario to the group, with details of the Customer, their emotional state, their situation and their query. Identifying clear goals for each interaction is essential to success. Ask the group what a SUCCESSFUL outcome would be for the Company, and for the Customer. It is important that the outcome goals cover both the task to be achieved on the call, the query resolved or information given, and the emotional state we want the Customer to be in at the end of the call.

Ask the group to prepare for the customer service role-play, to work through each phase of the call from the greeting to successful close. This is a talk through, where they simply tell us how they will carry out the call, what they will say at each phase and how they will say it.

Running the Customer Service Role-plays

It is often tempting to use really difficult situations or challenging Customer types for role-play practice. This is not a good place to begin, even with very experienced staff. If the group have not used role-play as a training medium before, it is important to begin with easy queries to heighten awareness to core skills and best practice.

Choose queries that the group receive frequently for the first few customer service role-plays, those that they should be able to handle really well. Ask the group to focus on both skills and the timing of the call as they move from one phase to another. Have them record the calls, and play them back. The idea on these easy calls is to analyse the good skills and techniques that are essential on any call, and to identify what could have been done better.

When your team have had a few training sessions and are using the core customer service skills and techniques effectively, you can introduce the more difficult topics or challenging customer types. Again, role-play straight through, record and play back. When playing back, stop the tape at critical points, perhaps where the call went out of control, or where the CSR saved a tricky situation. Allow the group to identify strengths and to workshop improvements.

De-briefing the Customer Service Role-play

On the other hand, a person’s urgency to get something done can work in your favor. If the other person is in a hurry to get things done, you can be assured that he will be more willing to bend than he would in a normal situation.

A word of caution – never exploit the other person’s urgency to such an extent that it makes the deal grossly one sided. You may get what you want one time, but such deals have a negative impact on your reputation and future business. A win-win situation is always desired.

Price Is Not Everything – Terms Matter Too:

Terms of service are as important as the price itself. An example could be the loans and mortgage industry. Companies are able to charge higher interests rates than competitors by allowing flexible repayment options. Companies offering freebies with their products are compensating a higher price with friendlier terms. Create a balance between the price and the terms – when price is your weak point, offset it with better terms.

“The Policy” Tactic:

Since childhood, people are taught that rules are not to be broken. At subconscious level most of the people carry a perception that it is their duty to follow all rules. You will be surprised how easily people give in when they are told that the terms which they expecting are against the company policy. Salespersons always keep a printed price list with themselves. Those few black words printed on a white paper add authority to the salesperson’s arguments and send the message that it is not within their power to alter the terms.

Keep Your Last Price For The Last:

Most buyers have a tendency to ask for a lower price than offered. If asked for “the last price”, quote something more than the actual “last price” which you are willing to give. It doesn’t matter if initially you offer a price 2% lower or 20% lower – buyers will ask for a further lower price in both cases.

The Final Gambit – Say “No”:

Risk taking is an essential ingredient of success.

Agreeing to customers’ terms all the time weakens your image in the market. Walk out of the deal if it doesn’t seem profitable. If the customer gives in to your terms, you win a profitable deal. If you lose the customer, why repent? He wasn’t a profitable customer anyway.

Information technology can be a powerful tool or a great burden on a company, and call center reporting applications are no exception. Reporting is important but it’s also vital to track the right information. The most important call center metrics for your company may differ from those at another organization, but here are three metrics that are essential for nearly any telephone customer service operation.

First Call Resolution

A study by the Service Quality Measurement (SQM) Group found of all call center metrics, one of the strongest correlations with customer service comes from First Call Resolution (FCR). For example their study showed only 3% of customers who have their complaints resolved on the first call ended up defecting to a competitor, compared to 38% of customers who required two or more calls for resolution. Increasing FCR means lower call volume and lower operating costs. It also means higher employee satisfaction because a customer who is forced to call back is more likely to be hostile.

Low FCR can be an indicator of problems in the customer service system. Agents may not be sufficiently trained, may not have enough authority to resolve simple problems, or there may be software problems that prevent changes from correctly propagating through the system.

Forecasting Accuracy

Ideally call centers are staffed exactly to the number of calls received, but in reality this is difficult to achieve. Call volume fluctuates over the course of the day, week, month and year. When the center is understaffed, agents are stressed by the heavy workload and customers are frustrated by the long hold times. When overstaffed, the company is wasting money on agents who have little to do.

Examining past call center metrics allows managers to see how call traffic changes and staff accordingly. While they may never know why traffic always peaks the Thursday morning after a full moon, at least they can have enough agents on the phones to handle the calls.

Response Time

The longer someone is on hold, the less satisfaction the customer feels. Long hold times make customers feel they aren’t important and give them plenty of time to think about switching to a competitor. Slow response times are also bad for your agents, since they are more likely to get customers who are angry over the long wait. When call center metrics show high response time, either the center is understaffed, agents are not handling customers efficiently, or both.

Customer Satisfaction

We said we’d show you three important call center metrics but there is one more that is the most important of all. Just because the above numbers are good doesn’t mean your company is doing the job right. Maybe response time is down because agents are abandoning calls before resolving the problem. Maybe FCR is down because customers are taking their business elsewhere rather than calling back a second time. Never get so focused on the numbers you forget the real goal of customer service is customer service.

Auto sales training is definitely not what it used to be.

In the 70’s, you could walk onto an auto dealers showroom floor, ask for a job and be selling a car that afternoon. No experience, no background to speak of, as well as (generally) no character.

The 80’s changed little; however, technology began to take hold. Software began making its first entry into the world of auto sales. Consequently, auto sales training moved in a completely new direction with the first introduction and integration of technology.

Things were on the move.

The 90’s introduced many changes. The market became extremely competitive, as technology continued to advance. Dealerships in the 90’s began to embrace technology, albeit slowly.

Websites were being developed by every type of market. More and more dealers began realizing that having a website was no longer a luxury, but a necessity. With technology really beginning to take off, dealers were able to integrate many of their core processes, including auto sales training, creating a more cohesive dealership.

Then came the year 2000, ushering in the 21st century.

Dealers in this century have realized that in order to remain not only competitive, but just to remain on the map, they have to set themselves apart from the rest of their competition. They must take their auto sales training to the next level.

Just over 30 years ago, a guy could get a job and begin making sales that afternoonnow there are comprehensive auto sales training programs that manufacturers are making mandatory. Sales certification is on the rise and becoming a major incentive for the actual sales representatives in order to earn more income directly from the manufacturers themselves.

Technology has changed the way we train our staff.

Once upon a time, the computer was just a neat piece of equipment that took up space and required a ton of time just to learn how to operate. Today, with the ease of use, and vast array of applications, it has become a core aspect of every part of every business in the world.

Dealerships can engage distance programs in some of the best auto sales training programs available. By simply logging into a web application, sales reps of dealerships all around the country can engage in timely and informative sales strategies, no longer limited to what their individual sales managers can teach.

Today, in addition to technology, many other aspects of auto sales training have changed. Customer service, client retention, relationship building, prospecting, negotiation strategies, etc, are all huge aspects that dealerships today focus on in the auto sales training process.

Gone are the days where a guy/gal can simply go to a dealership, apply for a joband within hours find themselves standing in front of a prospect wanting to buy the latest 2006 model. It just doesn’t work like that any longer.

Every day repair shops, body shops, collision centers and oil change stations have to deal with a huge number of customers, auto parts, and employees.

In the current environment of high competition every organization has to keep careful records for each of the above factors to ensure stable work of the company and proper customer care.

Running an effective auto shop is the way to make maximum profit each day and to build relationships with customers. Thats why many of todays auto shop owners have automated their business processes which helps not only to save labor time, hold control of the business effectiveness of the shop but also business automation is a real opportunity to improve customer service and to increase at the same time customer return rate.

After having looked into the work processes of auto shop business the top software products available on the market were determined, here are the 7 best, in no specific order.

All Data
ALLDATA Manage On-line was developed to provide shop owners with tools to run their business effectively. Make your shop more profitable and manage your customers experience with these key features:
-Track customer histories,
-Look up the complete 17-digit VIN from a license plate using Quick-VIN
– On-line Parts Ordering
– Easily track and assign jobs to technicians and bays
– Print or email with parts and labor organized estimates.

AutoRepair Cloud
AutoRepair Cloud is a cloud based all-in-one platform for running your auto shop business. It gives small and midsize businesses complete control over their auto shop business processes within an easy-to-use software solution. It helps to manage your customers, inventory, and keep track of your annual/monthly budget.
Run your business like a fine tuned machine. Manage repair orders, workflow tracking, inspections and invoicing with ease. Tech can see all important data arranged in one place, and achieve order without any effort.
Key features:
-Easy vehicle/customer management
-Appointment scheduling
-Inspection reports, estimates and invoices
-VIN code scanner/decoder
-Mobile application to shares workflow with the customer

MaxxTraxx
The MaxxTraxx Editions are designed to fit your needs be that a 12 Bay three million dollar a year shop, or a fresh new owner / operator just getting your start. Read on to see what Edition fits your needs today; and know there is an Edition for your tomorrow no matter how big you want to become.
Key features:
-Repair order history, vehicle/ customer tracking
-Appointment schedule
-Electronic auto parts ordering, inventory management
-Integrated marketing tools (letters, post cards, reminders)

Mitchell1
Mitchell 1 began in 1918 with the simple idea that people needed information to fix cars. For over 90 years, Mitchell 1 has been a leader in providing information solutions that simplify everyday tasks for automotive professionals helping make their jobs easier. Over the years, Mitchell 1s products have evolved to keep pace with industry and technological advances.
Key features:
– Billing & Invoicing
– Customer Database, vehicle tracking, service history, work order management
– Inventory Control, Parts Management
– Labor Rates, Quotes / Estimates
– Maintenance Scheduling
– VIN Decoder

AutoFluent
AutoFluent is powerful automotive business management software that gives you the user-friendly tools you need to run more cost-effectively.
Whether your focus is in auto servicing, tire sales, parts sales, or any combination of these, AutoFluent is designed to help you improve how you track and manage your customers, employees, sales, inventory and suppliers.
Key features:
-Review and search customer and vehicle information by phone , address, vehicle, invoice number of
-Customized invoices
-Email marketing automation
-Comprehensive sales reporting for profit, commission, productivity, and more
-Bar/VIN code scanning, use CARFAX data to load vehicle data with a license plate or VIN, view vehicle service history
-Labor guides from AllData, Mitchell1, Real Time Labor Guide and Motor

FastTrak
Since 2001, FastTrak has been designing software that increases profits and cuts costs, helping auto repair shops, tire stores and fleet service companies become more productive and profitable.
FastTrak is scalable from one to hundreds of users, single to multiple locations, and is modular. You only pay for what you need. Its also one of the few in the industry with a wireless handheld device that allows you to take orders from the car and update your FastTrak database in real time.
– Accurate inventory control
– Labor and time guide
– Email estimates, invoices and bulk emails to your customer base for more sales and customer retention
– Allows repair orders to be assigned and prioritized using a simple drag and drop interface