Presentation from The Fundamentals of Customer Service Class which took place on August 14, 2018 at 3:00pm.

1. CustomerService in the
RealWorld
w/Nick Westbrook, Owner/Operator Chick-fil-A Hinesville &
the Liberty County Chamber/CVB

2. Teamwork
 Sometimes one person on your team is going to work more
effectively with a particular customer. Learn each others strengths
& weaknesses.
 Have your team define what customer service means to them &
then create a universal entity-wide definition.
 Learn how to work together thru surprises in customer service.

3. Communication
 We know why we have certain processes.The customer does not.Telling
your customer what you are going to do, before you do it & explaining
things step by step will go a long way towards helping them feel more
relaxed & confident in your abilities. (would you want a dentist just
reaching in & yanking out a tooth?)
 Even small breakdowns in communication can make a huge difference in
getting what a customer needs to them. As you pass info along think
about ways you can make sure you are heard & are hearing correctly (ask
questions & write things down)
 Focus on greetings & first impressions.
 Follow-up
 Give yourself reasonable deadlines
 Adopt the tone of the customer you’re speaking with provided it’s
positive!
 In email you should be the last person on the thread. Again, follow-up.
 Very carefully choose your words. Or create a “stable” of words to
choose or not choose.

4. Listening
 What options are you offering your customer? How do you find
out what’s best for them? ASK
 Don’t make them go to a lot of effort to get to a comfortable
place.Try putting yourself in their shoes & ask the question….are
the options I’m giving truly the best ones for this customer?
 Do you know the name of the person you’re speaking to?You need
to know the name of the person you are speaking to at all times.
Why does this matter? It builds rapport & can defuse situations.

5. SelfAwareness
 When you are in a bad/negative mood it’s hard to pull yourself out. If
you wait for something else to change your mood you are moving in
reverse. So how should you enter a situation w/a customer?
 We know why we have certain processes, but to a customer
approaching us for the first time it’s all alien to them. Patience is key.
 You feel yourself getting frustrated/angry/upset then be polite &
offer the customer a water or say you need one yourself.That gives
you a minute to collect yourself & move forward.
 You can’t provide good customer service if your team doesn’t know
where it’s going.What are your goals.
 Don’t make things overly complicated. People want easy &
straightforward customer service even if the answer is no.
 People don’t like to read as a general rule.
 Did you offer them a chair?Take them somewhere private to discuss
an issue? Or just handle it out in the open?
 Is a co-worker handling the issue & you butt in? BACK-OFF!

6. Empathy
 When someone is upset it’s not always our fault, but it is our problem.
 We never “throw each other under the bus” a mistake or problem is a
mistake we’ve all made.We are all here to solve it! Does that mean
we all literally get involved? No.
 Learn better acting skills.You’re gonna come across people you will
never be able to make happy.These are situations outside of your
control. Basic acting skills will help you maintain your cheery persona
in spite of dealing with people who are just grumpy.

7. Time
Management
 Probably the HARDEST thing about customer service next to
communication.
 There IS a limit to how much time you should spend with people if
you are going to be efficient & productive.Whether they are mad or
happy, same goes.
 The trick is also to learn how to manage your time when you cannot
help the customer.
 Also learn the fine art of persuasion.

8. Body
Language
 Sitting/standing with your arms crossed & hip cocked does not lend itself
to great customer service.
 That DOES NOT mean you have to hug everyone.
 Learn to vary your tone & pitch. Learn to sit with your shoulders open.
 Hold doors, touch the chair back, etc.
 If you sit, they will sit
 If you stand, they will stand

9. Practice
 Role Play
 Push each other, without being ridiculous, out of your comfort zones
& learn from your mistakes & successes. Are you great with kids? Do
you freeze up when someone yells? Do super happy people irritate
you?
 Learn how to weigh which risks in customer service are worth taking
& which are not. Have policies in place to protect your employees.
 Learn not to overpromise
 Learn to be consistent

10. Disney
Strategy for
Difficult
Customers
 Hear: listen to the entire story
 Empathize: use phrases that convey that you understand how
they feel (this does not mean say “yes” “uh huh” or “ok” cause
then you’ve just agreed to something)
 Apologize: and do so effusively!
 Resolve: fix the issue & if you don’t know how then ask the
customer!
 Diagnose: get to the bottom of the issue so we can make sure it
doesn’t happen again!
HEARD

11. What DoWe
Do
 We never sell someone something they don’t need
 We write thank you, birthday, happy day cards for no reason
 We send flowers when people pass
 We take pictures & post them on our social outlets
 We remember people, places, names & faces
 We LISTEN way more than we talk
 Remain objective & solution focused, not offended & bothered
 We have a “safe” word….if you can guess what it is you get a prize!
 Learn the value of nevertheless & regardless as words
 Make customer service a part of your job descriptions.
 Follow the Golden Rule

12. What DoWe
Do
 We never tell someone we cannot find an answer until we have exhausted
EVERY possible avenue to find it
 We help our customers learn new things.
 Wow one customer & the word spreads (reviews, testimonials, videos &
more) toot your own horn!
 More often these days it’s more about spending time with people than
what you can monetarily give them.
 Spotlight people
 Send a treat, flowers, whatever
 Show you value feedback by responding
 Refer customers
 Make them laugh
 Celebrate milestones, even if that just means you pick up the phone, send a
FB message or text

13. What DoWe
Do
 Answers questions with videos
 Make sure your top dog is involved too, not just low level staff
 Be proactive, not reactive
 Learn from the situations that throw us & figure out how we could have
handled it better

14. What do we
mean by every
possible
avenue:
 Local real estate rental company call on house with a funny smell & old
people.
 I want to carry dead bodies in my car as a business & the City told me no.
 There are pot holes in my road, but I don’t know my address.
 What time does nature open in Liberty County?
 I have mice in my house and a hole in my roof.The housing authority told
me to call y’all.
 The woman on your magazine cover is so scantily clad my thought I had
gotten a porn magazine.
 Call #1-Can you please tell me how to get in touch with the Gabriel’s House.
Call #2-I’ve called and left messages, they won’t call back.You must have
given me the wrong number. Call #3-You gave me the right number, I just
wanted to let you know that they did call me back. ALLWITHIN 30
MINUTES.
 I am moving from NewYork City to Liberty County in December. I need to
know what insurances Georgia accepts so that I may switch my insurance to
the correct company.