The Impact of Gender Roles on Customer Service

Culturally and individually, people view the role of men and women differently. Although gender roles are continually evolving throughout the world, decision-making and authority are often clearly established as male prerogatives within many cultures, subcultures, or families. For example, in some Middle Eastern, Asian, South American, and European cultures, women have often not gained the respect or credibility in the business environment that they have achieved in many other parts of the world.

In some countries, it is not unusual for women to be expected to take a “seen and not heard” role or to remain out of business transactions. In Korea and other Pacific Rim countries, it is not typical for women to participate in many business operations. Men often still have higher social status than females. You do not have to agree with these practices, but you will need to take them into consideration when facing them as a customer service representative.

When serving customers from different countries, you would do well to remember that people leave a country, but they take their cultural norms and values with them. Failure to consider alternative ways of dealing with people in certain instances might cause you to react negatively to a situation and nonverbally communicate your bias unconsciously.

One example of what could potentially occur if you are a female customer service representative dealing with a male whose cultural background, like one of those just described, is that he may reject your assistance and ask for a male customer service provider. Another example could occur if you are a male customer service representative working with a male and female from such a culture. Do not be surprised if your conversation involves only the male. Attempts to draw the woman into a service transaction or make direct eye contact and smile with her may embarrass, offend, or even anger some male customers and/or their family members who are present.

Generally, people who have lived or worked in westernized cultures for longer periods may have acculturated and may not take offense to more direct behaviors that are meant to convey friendliness and to engage customers (e.g., smiling, engaging in small talk about families, or compliments on the dress). Even so, remain conscious of potential reactions and stay focused on verbal and nonverbal communication cues to help ensure that you do not negatively cross-cultural boundaries when interacting with customers of the opposite sex.

For additional customer service tips for interacting successfully with people and cultures that are different, get copies of Customer Service Skills for Success 6th edition and Please Every Customer: Delivering Stellar Customer Service across Cultures.

Effective Verbal Communication Can Lead To Customer Satisfaction and Customer Retention

by Robert W. Lucas

Effective Verbal Communication Can Lead To Customer Satisfaction and Customer Retention

You may have heard that the expression is sometimes not what you, but how you say it that makes a difference. Nothing is truer when you are dealing with a multi-cultural, diverse customer base.

In many situations, when customer service breaks down it can often be attributed to what a customer service representative does or does not effectively say verbally or non verbally. In some cases, the lapse may be due to an unconscious message (e.g. non-verbal gesture, body movement, signal, or eye contact) that was interpreted differently than intended. In other instances, it might be an incorrect tone, word or inflection added to a message that was received incorrectly by the customer.

Whatever the reason(s) for such failures in communication, it is crucial that anyone dealing with internal and external customers is prepared for potential interactions that might go wrong. The easiest means of doing so is to enhance customer service and communication skills and to become educated related to approaches to verbal and communication practices in various cultures.

If this topic is of interest to you and you want to get ideas and strategies related to communicating effectively with diverse customers, get copies of my books Please Every Customer: Delivering Stellar Customer Service Across Cultures and Customer Service Skills for Success.

About Robert C. Lucas

Bob Lucas has been a trainer, presenter, customer service expert, and adult educator for over four decades. He has written hundreds of articles on training, writing, self-publishing, and workplace learning skills and issues. He is also an award-winning author who has written thirty-seven books on topics such as, writing, relationships, customer service, brain-based learning, and creative training strategies, interpersonal communication, diversity, and supervisory skills. Additionally, he has contributed articles, chapters, and activities to eighteen compilation books. Bob retired from the U.S. Marine Corps in 1991 after twenty-two years of active and reserve service.

Customer Service Training Should Address Nonverbal Communication

by Robert W. Lucas

Customer Service Training Should Address Nonverbal Communication

Good verbal and nonverbal communication skills are crucial for any customer service representative who wants to deliver the best customer service possible. This is why any customer service training should address nonverbal communication.

The art of sending and receiving messages through words and with facial expressions, gestures, and other body language is crucial in dealing with customers. This is especially true when dealing with people from other countries or cultures since one’s values and beliefs impact the interpretation of nonverbal cues. Failure to be aware of diverse differences can lead to an unfortunate breakdown in communication.

Because facial expressions are closely tied to human emotion, you should be careful about projecting subconscious biases that you might have toward any group because you might unintentionally send a negative message to a customer before you realize it. For example, if you disapprove of customers who have facial piercings and tattoos you might indicate your displeasure nonverbally. This might be done unconsciously with a smirk or other facial gestures. You might also unintentionally stare when a customer matching that description walks up to you or passes by.

The bottom line is that customer service is all about being in the people business. By better establishing sound relationships and communicating effectively with your customers, you can move from good customer service to the best customer service possible.

To better understand why customer service training should address nonverbal communication, search nonverbal communication on this blog. Want to explore the role of facial expressions and other nonverbal cues that impact relationships in a diverse business world? Check out Please Every Customer: Delivering Stellar Customer Service Across Cultures.

About Robert C. Lucas

Non-verbal Communication With Customers

by Robert W. Lucas

Non-verbal Communication With Customers

To be successful in the service profession, you must be aware that nonverbal communication is occurring between you and your customer(s). These unspoken messages to others make it impossible for you to not communicate. That is because no matter how you position your body and use your facial expressions or body extremities, you are constantly being evaluated by your customers. Body language, eye contact, and other nonverbal cues aid or detract from communication.

Through awareness of potential nonverbal messages that you might be sending and the fact that people interpret them based on their own backgrounds, knowledge, and experiences, you can increase your effectiveness in customer encounters or anywhere you come into contact with another person. A significant fact to remember is that, according to a classic research study by Dr. Albert Mehrabian on how feelings are transmitted between two people during communication, nonverbal signals can contradict or override verbal messages. This is especially true when emotions are high.

For more insights on nonverbal communication in a customer service environment and how to more effectively harness the power of communicating without speaking, check out copies of Customer Service Skills for Success and Please Every Customer: Delivering Stellar Customer Service Across Cultures.

About Robert C. Lucas

Interpersonal Communication Skills Tip

by Robert W. Lucas

Interpersonal Communication Skills Tip

Effective interpersonal communication skills are crucial for delivering excellent customer service.

Verbal communication skills are important, but nonverbal communication cues are often more so. Still, while you may potentially gather a lot of information through nonverbal cues received from others, be careful of putting too much emphasis on your interpretation. Why? Because many factors influence the messages being sent by others. For example, nonverbal cues can have different meanings or be interpreted differently based on factors like gender, culture, diversity, education, personal experiences and other factors.

The easiest way to prevent misinterpretation is to always ask someone to clarify their nonverbal cues when you are not sure of their meaning.

For more tips on dealing effectively with customers, get copies of Customer Service Skills for Success and Please Every Customer: Delivering Stellar Customer Service Across Cultures.

Four Tips for Delivering Exceptional Customer Service

by Robert W. Lucas

Four Tips for Delivering Exceptional Customer Service

Each customer is unique, yet similar. The challenge is to identify their specific needs, wants and expectations and they work hard to meet and exceed those.

The following tips can help you provide better service to all your customers:

To aid you in your quest for providing the best possible customer service, read whatever positive information you can get your hands on related to customer service.
Take classes on how to interact and communicate with a variety of different categories of diverse people (e.g. older/younger, differing genders, culturally diverse, and differently-abled).
Sign up for courses in psychology, sociology, and interpersonal communication. These are invaluable for providing a basis of understanding why people act as they do and how to more effectively interact with them in various environments.
During your studies, focus on issues of differences and similarities between men and women, cultural diversity, behavioral styles, and any other topic that will expand and round out your knowledge of people.

By going out of your way to enhance your customer service knowledge and skills and improve customer service, you can effectively impact brand and customer loyalty for your organization.

For more ideas on how to create a customer-centric environment where customers enjoy coming to visit you and the organization, read Customer Service Skills for Success and Please Every Customer: Delivering Stellar Customer Service Across Cultures.

About Robert C. Lucas

Make Money Writing Books: Proven Profit Making Strategies for Authors by Robert W. Lucas at Amazon.com.

The key to successfully making money as an author and/or self-publisher is to brand yourself and your company and to make yourself and your book(s) a household name. Part of this is face-to-face interaction with people at trade shows, library events, book readings, book store signings, blogging or guest blogging on a topic related to their book(s). Another strategy involves writing articles and other materials that show up online and are found when people search for a given topic related to a topic about which the author has written.

If you need help building an author platform, branding yourself and your book(s) or generating recognition for what you do, Make Money Writing Books will help. Bob’s popular book addresses a multitude of ideas and strategies that you can use to help sell more books and create residual and passive income streams. The tips outlined in the book are focused to help authors but apply to virtually any professional trying to increase personal and product recognition and visibility.

Effective Customer Communication Quote – George Ross

by Robert W. Lucas

Effective Customer Communication Quote – George Ross

“To be successful, you have to be able to relate to people; they have to be satisfied with your personality to be able to do business with you and to build a relationship of mutual trust.” George Ross

The ability to build and maintain solid relationships, and ultimately develop a level of trust, is a key skill that customer service representatives must master if they are going to be successful in the business world.

As a professional service provider, you must study human nature and become adept at the interpersonal skills of verbal and non-verbal communication, listening skills, and assessing behavioral styles and personality. You must also be able to understand and interact with people from diverse backgrounds.

For more ideas on how to better interact with and serve the needs of diverse customers, get copies of Please Every Customer: Delivering Stellar Customer Service Across Cultures and Customer Service Skills for Success.

About Robert C. Lucas

Additionally, he has contributed articles, chapters, and activities to eighteen compilation books. Bob retired from the U.S. Marine Corps in 1991 after twenty-two years of active and reserve service.

Bob Lucas B.S., M.A., M.A, CPLP is the principal in Robert W. Lucas Enterprises, Inc and an internationally-known author; learning and performance professionals. He has written and contributed to numerous books on the subject of customer service skill training.

He regularly conducts workshops on creative training, train-the-trainer, customer service, interpersonal communication, and management,
and supervisory skills.

Learn more about Bob and his organization at www.robertwlucas.com and follow his blogs at www.robertwlucas.com/wordpress,
www.customerserviceskillsbook.com, and www.thecreativetrainer.com. Like Bob at www.facebook.com/robertwlucasenterprises

How to Improve Customer Satisfaction

by Robert W. Lucas

How to Improve Customer Satisfaction

Customer satisfaction is different from one person to the next. Thus, the answer to “How do I improve customer satisfaction?” is a complex one to answer. At the root of the solution is the acceptance by customer service representatives and others in an organization that all internal and external customers are unique and have different needs, wants and expectations. They must, therefore, be addressed as individuals and not as a group based on outward appearance (e.g. race, gender, age, ethnic or religious background and other factors typically used to label people).

Obviously, training and education to raise awareness about factors related to human behavior, diversity, customer service skills, interpersonal communication, and the organization’s products and services are crucial in providing quality service. Successful organizations and managers realize this and strive to provide quality information to everyone in their system on a regular basis. Above that, it is the individual service provider’s responsibility to adopt an attitude focused on customer-centric behavior and actively take opportunities to discover customer needs, wants and expectations and then apply their knowledge and skills to satisfy them.

While there is no one solution to the issue of customer satisfaction, there are many roads to success if service providers take the effort to act in a professional manner and work with customers to partner on successful outcomes for both the customer and the organization.

To get a better understanding of factors related to different customer groups and potential strategies for identifying and addressing their needs, wants and expectations, get copies of Please Every Customer: Providing Stellar Customer Service Across Cultures, Customer Service Skills for Success and How to Be a Great Call Center Representative.

Preparing to Serve a Diverse Customer Base

by Robert W. Lucas

Preparing to Serve a Diverse Customer Base

Many organizations and employees have realized the importance of creating a fair and equal environment in which everyone feels respected and valued. This is especially important in a service environment where employees encounter customers who have different characteristics.

Providing good customer service can be challenging on any given day. That is why updating customer service skills is a crucial part of professional development for any customer service representative. And, when you factor in elements of diversity, providing great customer service can become difficult for many service providers who lack sufficient knowledge and experience in dealing with diverse individuals.

To ensure that you are ready for potential situations in which you will be serving people of different age, gender, ability, cultural and religious background, and numerous other diversity factors, consider participating in the following initiatives:

Honestly evaluate your own biases towards people from a given group and develop some strategies for overcoming them.
Visit a restaurant that serves ethnic foods other than that of your native culture.
Share your own story with someone from a different group (e.g. age, gender, ethnic background, or religion) and see how their life experiences compare or differ from yours.
Identify at least one resource for diversity information and visit it each month.
Take a language course to learn a new language.
Visit a religious institution, museum or historical monument of a culture different from your own.
Volunteer to work with people whose race, age, gender, or cultural backgrounds are different from your own.

For more ideas and strategies on dealing with customers who have diverse backgrounds that may be different from yours, read Customer Service Skills for Success and Please Every Customer: Delivering Stellar Customer Service Across Cultures.

Impact of Values and Beliefs on Customer Service

by Robert W. Lucas

Impact of Values and Beliefs on Customer Service

Values are based on the deeply held beliefs of a culture or subculture. These beliefs might be founded in religion, politics, or group mores. They drive thinking and actions and are so powerful that they have served as the basis for arguments, conflicts, and wars for hundreds of years.

To be effective in dealing with others, service providers should not ignore the power of values and beliefs, nor should they think that their value system is better than that of someone else’s. The key to service success is to be open-minded and accept that someone else has a different belief system that determines his or her needs. With this in mind you, as a service provider, should strive to use all the positive communication and needs identification you have read about thus far in order to satisfy the customer.

Cultural values can be openly expressed or subtly demonstrated through behavior. They can affect your interactions with your customers in a variety of ways. As you encounter people from cultures other than yours, consider the connection of values with behavior. Also, think of ways that you might adjust your approach to customer service in order to ensure a satisfactory experience for diverse customers. Keep in mind that the degree to which customers have been acculturated to prominent cultural standards will determine how they act.

Your goal is to provide excellent service to the customer. In order to achieve success in accomplishing this goal, you must be sensitive to, tolerant of, and empathetic toward customers. You do not need to adopt the beliefs of others, but you should adapt to them to the extent that you provide the best service possible to all of your customers.

For useful ideas and strategies on better understanding and interacting with people from diverse backgrounds, get a copy of Please Every Customer: Delivering Stellar Customer Service Across Cultures.