Comfortech preview: How the Golden Rule can keep your customers happy

The Golden Rule of treating others as you would like to be treated yourself is a guiding principle for many, but in the world of customer service, there can be occasions where it can be difficult to remember the idea. When a customer makes an angry call because their HVAC system isn’t working properly, the house is hot and the kids are upset, it can be hard for your Customer Service Reps (CSRs) to remember the Golden Rule: do unto others.

Implementing the basic ideas of the Golden Rule, even when faced with an angry customer, can not only help your home service business be more successful, but can help create “wow” experiences that will keep customers coming back the next time they need assistance.

Train to remember

Learning to implement the golden rule when faced with an angry customer is not something that naturally occurs for most CSRs. When you teach the Pattern of Excellence to your CSRs, you equip them with the training necessary to create a wow experience every time they answer the phone.

The other aspects of using the Pattern of Excellence and following the Golden Rule for your CSRs should always include:

1. Learn to listen. Instead of just answering questions with a script, learning how to listen, so that you can understand what your customer is saying is important to creating a wow experience. Listening to what is being said, how it is being said and how your customer is feeling can offer insights on how you can solve the customer’s problem.
2. Caring. Customers can tell if you care by your tone of voice, by how well you listen and the solutions that you are offering them. If you are quick to get to the next stage in the conversation without truly listening or are pushing them to agree to service before you truly understand their problem, your call abandon rates will be high. Taking the time to care about creating a solution for their problem is the difference between fair and great customer service.
3. Identify customer needs. A key component of the Pattern of Excellence is learning how to better anticipate and identify the needs of your customers. When a customer is taking the time to call your home service business to fix their problem, they are looking for an emotional connection to be able to trust your company. If you are just repeating what they are saying back to them, you are not identifying their needs and more importantly, how your company can help solve their problems.
4. Make yourself valuable and personalize. Drive value for your customers by offering solutions to their problems each and every time. When you make yourself valuable by assisting customers, you are making an emotional connection with them to establish credibility and create trust with them. In addition, when you personalize the call by using the name of the person that is calling, you will help make them feel valued and that your company wants to solve their problem.
5. Say yes! Understanding the power of saying “yes” can make your company stand out from other home service businesses. Finding ways to solve their problems, to help customers feel that they are being listened to and learning how to say yes to customers will make a difference!

Everyone knows the Golden Rule, but being able to teach your CSRs to use it is what sets great customer service experiences apart from the rest. When you use the Pattern for Excellence as your foundation for offering a truly great customer service experience, you can train your CSR teams to create a wow experience every time!

I’ll be speaking at Comfortech about “Maximizing Your Bottom Line: Make Phones Ring & Wow Your Customers” and “Qualities of a Great Service Manager – Installing Discipline That Leads Your Team to Success.” Register for Comfortech today at http://bit.ly/2bdfITq