Customer Service Skills for Success 6th by Robert W. Lucas Now Available

Customer Service Skills for Success 6th by Robert W. Lucas Now Available
Customer Service Skills for Success 6th by Robert W. Lucas Now Available

Customer Service Skills for Success 6th by Robert W. Lucas Now Available

The top-selling customer service textbook in the United States, Customer Service Skills for Success by Robert W. Lucas, is now in print from McGraw-Hill. This 6th edition includes a four-color layout with more images to enhance the content and a completely changed graphic appearance.

In the book, readers will find real-world customer service issues and provides a variety of updated resources, activities, and examples for customer service representatives at different levels in an organization. It also includes tips from the author and other active professionals in the industry designed to gain and hold readers’ interest while providing additional insights into the concepts and skills related to customer service that is found throughout the book.

The text begins with a macro view of what customer service involves today and provides projections for the future of the customer service profession, then focuses on specific customer service skills and related topics.

Here’s what readers will find inside the book:

Part One – The Profession

  • The Customer Service Profession
  • Contributing to the Service Culture

Part Two – Skills for Success

  • Verbal Communication Skills
  • Nonverbal Communication Skills
  • Listening Skills

Part Three – Building and Maintaining Relationships

  • Customer Service and Behavior
  • Service Breakdowns and Service Recovery
  • Customer Service in a Diverse World
  • Customer Service via Technology’
  • Encouraging Customer Loyalty

This book answers everything from “What is Customer Service?” to “How do I handle a variety of diverse customers in various customer service situations?”.

To gain thousands of ideas, strategies and customer service tips for interacting successfully with internal and external customers in any type of customer service environment and deliver excellent customer service, get a copy of Customer Service Skills for Success 6th edition.

Customer Satisfaction Helps Build Brand and Customer Loyalty

Customer Satisfaction Helps Build Brand and Customer Loyalty

Customer Satisfaction Helps Build Brand and Customer Loyalty

To be successful as a customer service representative, it is important that you recognize that consumer behavior has changed in the past decade or so, and that this impacts your customer’s needs, wants and expectations.

There are several important things you can do to provide customer satisfaction and help ensure brand and customer loyalty:

  • Work to maintain a positive customer service attitude.
  • Ensure that every action that you take is focused on providing excellent customer service.
  • Identify and focus on assisting all internal and external customers to the best of your ability.
  • Practice positive customer service skills with any encounter you have with a current or potential customer.
  • Strive to identify trends in customer service and regularly upgrade your customer service skills to address changing expectations and attitudes.

For additional thought and strategies for dealing with a changing customer service environment, get copies of Customer Service Skills for Success and Please Every Customer: Delivering Stellar Customer Service Across Cultures.

Building Customer Relationships

Building Customer Relationships to Increase Customer Retention

Building Customer Relationships to Increase Customer Retention

The only way for customer service representatives and their organizations to excel is by first building strong customer service relationships.

By exhibiting stellar product and service knowledge and employing effective customer service skills, listening and communicating verbally and non verbally they are able to properly determine customer needs, wants and expectations. Once they determine these things, they are on their way to providing customer satisfaction and helping build customer and brand loyalty.

If this makes sense to you and you would like to learn specific strategies for enhancing interpersonal relationship skills and other strategies for obtaining and retaining customers, get copies of my books, Customer Service Skills for Success and Please Every Customer: Delivering Stellar Customer Service Across Cultures.

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.

Effective Verbal Communication Can Lead To Customer Satisfaction and Customer Retention

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.

Effective Verbal Communication Can Lead To Customer Satisfaction and Customer RetentionIn 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.

Three Positive Non-Verbal Communication Cues for Customer Service Representatives

Three Positive Non Verbal Communication Cues for Customer Service Representatives

Three Positive Non-verbal Communication Cues

for Customer Service Representatives

Many customer service representatives struggle to gain and maintain strong relationships with their customers. Often, this is due to their inability to effectively communicate face-to-face with others. In many instances, they do not even realize that their nonverbal communication style is sending the wrong message, especially their nonverbal communication cues.

Since numerous nonverbal communication studies have found that the unspoken messages sent with the body, face, and hands often overshadow the words that people use, it is crucial for service providers to master the art of body language.

The following are three positive nonverbal communication areas on which you might focus to improve if you want to enhance communication and relationships with customers:

Direct eye contact (based on culture) – In Westernized cultures, making eye contact as an important means of communicating sincerity, interest, honesty, and other factors is taught early in life to children. When interacting with others, use intermittent (do not stare) direct eye contact in conjunction with periodic smiling and other positive non-verbal cues to show that you are friendly and have the other person’s interest in mind.

One important thing to keep in mind about eye contact is that it often varies in different cultures and sub-groups (e.g. Caucasians, African-Americans, women, and men). Do some research on other cultures and groups to see how eye contact is perceived and adjust your communication style accordingly when dealing with customers with those backgrounds. Monitor your customer’s reaction to your cues and modify as necessary and do not make assumptions. If someone reacts and you are not sure why to ask them to clarify.

Smiles – Often perceived as the universal language, smiling can communicate openness, friendliness, interest, and other aspects relevant to sound relationships. Use smiling when appropriate during conversations (e.g. upon meeting, when the conversation is going in a positive direction, or when the other person smiles) and you may see your bond with others start to form.

Facing the customer – Too often in today’s busy workplace, a customer service representative is busy multi-tasking when a customer approaches. As a result, they might have their head down or be facing in another direction while focusing on something else. To build and maintain good customer-provider relationships, stop what you are doing and give undivided attention to the person in front of you in order to help build brand and customer loyalty.

For additional ideas and strategies for effectively using non-verbal cues, get a copy of Please Every Customer: Delivering Stellar Customer Service Across Cultures.

About Robert C. Lucas is an expert with Non-Verbal Communication Cues

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.

 

Motivational Customer Service Quote – Robert W. Lucas

Motivational Customer Service Quote - Robert W. Lucas

Motivational Customer Service Quote – Robert W. Lucas

Professional customer service is all about providing high-quality products and services that can meet your customer’s needs, wants and expectations. If you are a customer service representative, it is your responsibility to master as many customer service skills as possible in order to deliver excellent customer service to those with whom you come into contact in the workplace. This can ultimately lead to higher levels of customer satisfaction and customer retention.

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.

Interpersonal Communication Skills Quote – Robert W. Lucas

Interpersonal Communication Skills Quote – Robert W. Lucas

Excellent customer service skills are crucial if you want to deliver the best possible service to your internal and external customers. By practicing positive interpersonal skills such as verbal and nonverbal communication, eye contact, gesturing, body language, and listening skills, you can effectively send and receive messages to all types of customers.

As customer service author and performance consultant Robert W. Lucas is quoted as saying:

Interpersonal Communication Skills Quote - Robert W. Lucas

To gain insights into more effectively communicating with customers verbally and nonverbally, get copies of Customer Service Skills for Success and Please Every Customer: Delivering Stellar Customer Service Across Cultures.

Non-verbal Communication With Customers

Nonverbal Communication With Customers

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

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 Is Driven By Many Factors

Customer Service Is Driven By Many Factors

Customer Service Is Driven By Many Factors

Any customer service professional who has been on the job a period of time will tell you that dealing with internal and external customers can be a challenge at times.

To succeed in providing excellent customer service requires patience, a desire to help others and sound customer service skills. As the world becomes more global and you encounter people of all types and backgrounds, you will be required to gain new talents and insights, and to continually update your knowledge and skills. Sound customer communications and better understanding of people, in general, can lead to more satisfied and loyal customers in the long run.

Nonverbal Communication Quote – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Nonverbal Communication Quote – Ralph Waldo Emerson

The importance of effective nonverbal communication when dealing with customers cannot be overemphasized. This is because people send and receive nonverbal cues differently based on many factors in their backgrounds (e.g. culture, education, experiences, ethnicity, and many others).

As Ralph Waldo Emerson is quoted as saying:

Nonverbal Communication Quote - Ralph Waldo Emerson

 

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