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Customer Service in Your Home Based Business - It Can Make or Break You
Have you ever been shopping and the salesperson ignored you? How did it make you feel to receive such poor customer service? Most people would say that they would never return to the store. Poor customer service can cost you more than clients, but it can cost...Continue

Customer Service: Stop Sabotaging Your Customer Relationships
If you've called for customer service recently you're familiar with this recorded message "This call may be recorded or monitored for quality purposes." I immediately think to myself, "Oh great, here comes the game of 20 questions." Now don't get me...Continue

Good Customer Service - Would you like fries with that?
We all like to be treated with good customer service -- respect and kindness -- when receiving services or purchasing products, but how many of us are conscious of our own attitude and body language when the roles are reversed and we are the...Continue

Outstanding Indian Call Center Customer Services: The Key To Success
India is a well-known country in the field of call center industry than its counterpart elsewhere in the world. In fact it is noted by the industry association Nasscom that Indian call centers employ as much as 160,000 call center professionals and many...Continue

Retail Customer Service: Tips For Improving Your Level Of Service
Today I witnessed a customer service miracle in action. I took my son to our local fast food restaurant, so he could have some lunch and play in the indoor playground. While I was waiting for our food to be ready, a woman approached the counter with a...Continue

What's The Customer Service Buzz About Your Business?
Small Business Q&A with Tim Knox If you're a regular reader of this column you know that my number one pet peeve is bad customer service. Nothing chaps my backside more than paying hard-earned money for a product or service only to have the provider of said...Continue
 

Hiring Customer Service Representatives That Are A Perfect Fit

Have you ever phoned a customer service department only to receive an attitude rather than help? Not a pleasant experience! It is quite obvious that the person on the other end of the phone is not pleased with his/her job. This has a tremendous impact on your customers!

When you reached the customer service rep with an attitude, what did you think? How did you feel? Did you question your decision to buy from that company? All these things come into play when your customers don’t receive excellent service… especially from the Customer Service Department.

The problem can be caused by a number of factors such as:

·lack of ability to deal with stress
·lack of sensitivity toward customers
·overbearing or threatening voice
·impatience
·critical thinking
·easily excitable
·lack of job satisfaction
·and others.

But how would you know this employee would respond that way after you hired him/her? Applicants always put their best foot forward during an interview. How can you see past the smiles and polish to truly know this employee will perform well as a CSR?

Most people who are customer service oriented fall into two categories within the a profile called the DISC Behavioral Model. They are:

Influence and Steadiness

These are the two styles that focus on people which is extremely important in the area of customer service. There are also some other important characteristics about those two groups:

Influence
social and verbal aggressiveness
optimism
good persuasion skills
vision of the big picture

Steadiness
people-orientedloyal to those they identify with
good listener
patient and empathetic
likes a team environment
long service is deemed important

A combination of Influence and Steadiness make for excellent customer service reps because they focus on people, they are good listeners and communicators, positive and patient.

Also, this combination of styles lends itself to people who like to continually work in a stable environment, appreciate the security of being located in an office and receiving a steady paycheck; but also like the challenge and excitement of dealing with new people on a regular basis.

In order to hire customer service reps that are a “perfect fit”, you need to locate those who have these attributes. To do so, look for the following “clues” to their behavioral style which might show up during your interview:

Influence – wears designer label clothes, enjoys personal development activities, likes magazines such as People, Inc., Success and Psychology Today.

Steadiness – casual dresser, likes group activities, enjoys magazines such as Reader’s Digest, National Geographic and Better Homes & Gardens.

Creating a good match between your new hire and the position will help to achieve loyalty, longevity and job satisfaction for both the employee and your business.


About the Author

Kathi Graham-Leviss is Certified Coach and Behavioral Analyst who assists companies with defining and developing their Human Resource practices. Visit her Web site today for additional information on the 4-Step Hiring Process and DISC Behavioral Assessments. http://www.xbcoaching.com
 
 
 
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