Name: Monique Castillo
Web Site: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/monique-castillo/14/606/578
Bio: Monique Castillo is an Impact Performance Specialist with knowledge and background in customer service, sales, coaching and mentoring. When she is not helping customers improve their business, she is also a world traveler, gym enthusiast, and an aspiring foodie.
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- Always treat your employees as professionals.
- Know your employees’ strengths and areas of opportunity. This will help you, the manager, with your expectations of your employee.
- Initially, show your employees how to do something. Many times employees do not react positively to empowerment because they simply haven’t yet learned the necessary skill sets.
- Ask employees how they would do something, rather than telling them how to do it.
- Allow employees to take some risks. This includes allowing them to learn from their mistakes.
- Ensure that your employees have all resources they need to be successful, available to them.
- Share your knowledge and tips with your employees.
- Respond promptly to incoming e-mails
- Create a relevant, concise subject line—and be sure to change it if the subject changes!
- If readers need to do something, let them know in the first paragraph
- Use bold and italic formatting when appropriate, but not in excess
- Check spelling and grammar before sending
- Avoid using jargon and emoticons
- Use a professional signature line that includes your contact information.
- Quickly give it to him and be done with the call.
- Provide the balance along with additional information that the customer could benefit from—maybe a special that’s coming up next month or a way to track balances online.
- Use a positive tone of voice – We all know that you can say the exact same thing with two different tones of voice, and the messages will be perceived differently. Whether in person, on the phone, or in writing, the tone of voice you exude can affect how you are perceived in your customers’ eyes. No matter what, when answering your customers’ questions, always project a confident and pleasant tone of voice, even if the customers are not very pleasant with you.
- Be professional – Chose your words carefully, use correct grammar, and avoid using jargon that your customers may not be familiar with. In addition to avoiding jargon, you also want to stay away from using slang terms, such as “yup” or “nope”. Enunciate and speak clearly so your customer can understand your answer.
- Be aware of your rate of speech – You don’t want to talk so fast that customers don’t understand you or feel as if you are rushing them off the phone. Speak at a natural pace that is not too slow and not too fast. Match your customer’s rate if possible.
- Empathize with the customer (if appropriate) – If customers are upset, many times they want you to know what they are experiencing. What they are looking for is some sort of empathy and a solution. In this day and age, empathy seems to be overlooked, and many agents just focus on a solution. Nothing can upset your customers more than not listening to them and not acknowledging their feelings before giving them an answer. I experienced this the other day when I called my internet provider because my bill was incorrect. After I explained my frustration to the agent, she simply tried to sign me up for a different plan. The agent went straight to a solution that would end the conversation quickly instead of acknowledging my frustrations and getting to the root of my problem. Instead of feeling like the agent was providing service, I felt angry about the way she handled the problem. Following the call, I used social media to vent my frustrations and attempt to receive some kind of service. Read my post to find out the result.
- Confirm your understanding – In order to help your customer, you have to fully understand what he or she wants, and make sure that you are both on the same page. In order to confirm your understanding of what the customer needs, you might say something like this; “Just to confirm, you have not been able to print from your printer since you installed the new software. Right?” Confirming your understanding not only ensures that you and your customer are headed in the same direction, but it also shows that you were listening.
- If applicable, offer your customer options – Give your customers all the options available to them, and point out the value that each option offers to each customer. Not only does this make the customer feel empowered with the choice they make, but it also allows them to see the significance of their decision.
- Hear and Understand
- Expect the Best
- Act with Integrity
- Respect Diversity
- Transcend Yourself
- Avoid making assumptions –when you assume you know what customers need, you are setting yourself up for failure. Listen to what customers say so you have accurate information.
- Focus on your customer - don't be distracted by other thoughts or outside forces. When someone is speaking, focus only on them.
- Listen for key feelings - not only are spoken words important, but also how your customer feels. Being aware of feelings enables you to be customer-focused.
- Take notes — keep a notepad accessible to capture important information. This allows you to recap information to your customer and provide them with quality service.
- Hear and Understand — Does the candidate exhibit good listening skills and empathy during the interview, and does he or she ask helpful questions to understand what is being said?
- Expect the Best — Is the candidate upbeat, positive, and optimistic? Excited about what the job entails?
- Act with Integrity — Look at the candidate's work history. Ask hypothetical situational questions to hear how he or she would act in a particular situation.
- Respect Diversity — Does the candidate seem open-minded and able to get along well with others? Ask how he or she would embrace opportunities to help customers and fellow employees.
- Transcend Yourself — Does the candidate enjoy the continuous pursuit of new goals? Is he or she willing to learn something new-and eager for a challenge?
- The company can train on new service strategies and reiterate service expectations.
- Employees get fresh perspectives as they share their thoughts and learn from one another.
- Employees become energized and excited to put their newly learned skills into practice
- Management becomes aware of process and procedure problems that may be impacting customer satisfaction and handle time.
Empowerment Is the Key to Increased Employee Engagement
April 27th, 2012
Everyone wants to feel like they make a difference at work. Everyone wants to feel that his or her opinion counts. That is where empowerment comes into play. When you empower your employees, you let them make key decisions regarding their jobs and customers. By giving them some degree of ownership over their work, you help to bring forward their good ideas. What’s more, you open the way for them to be more fully engaged in their work—and workplace.
Here are some helpful tips to help you empower your employees:
Make yourself available to employees—and receptive to their input. The tips above will help you encourage and empower your employees to take responsibility for their jobs and career development. On the other hand, if you do not empower your employees, you may not be doing all you can to create a successful environment. This can lead to a lack of motivation and feelings of powerlessness.
Keep in mind that empowering your employees doesn’t mean that you are completely out of the loop. You want to make sure you maintain contact with your employees and always let them know you are available for them. You don’t want to micromanage, but you do want to encourage and maintain healthy communication between you and your employees.
Coaching Tip
Really listen to what your employees are telling you. It is hard to know what your employees want and need if you do not truly hear and understand what they are saying. Set aside a designated time to meet one-on-one with each employee at least once a month. During your meeting, actively take notes on what your employee is saying and asking. Your notes will help you to listen more effectively.
To learn more about how to increase employee engagement and reduce employee turnover download this free whitepaper "Best Practices for Improving Supervisory Skills" .
Tips For Writing Professional Emails
February 21st, 2012
How was life before email? Among other things – incredibly slow! And formal. With a smartphone permanently attached to one hand we are always connected and only a push notification away from getting e-mails, sent only seconds ago, from multiple accounts. E-mail is one of the most popular ways to communicate quickly, and for many people it is the preferred form of communication. Sadly though, professionalism and formalities have fallen by the wayside in the midst of the social media boom and limited character communication. Since your employees represent your organization in everything they do, the way they communicate through e-mail should be just as important as how they communicate in person or over the telephone. Now is the time to introduce and reinforce some good old fashioned etiquette into e-mail communication.
If your employees do a wonderful and professional job at communicating through e-mail, then let them know, so they can keep up the good work. If they could use some improvement, then this is a great coaching opportunity for you. Below are some tips to keep in mind to help your company’s e-mail communications to be clear, positive and professional.
As a manager, you set the standard. Take a look at your own e-mails, and see if you are consistently sending professional messages to your internal and external customers. Remember, you set the standard for your employees to follow. How your employees are perceived through the e-mails they write impacts the impression your clients have of your employees and your organization. This is one aspect you cannot afford to overlook!
Coaching Tip
Make coaching on e-mail professionalism part of your next team meeting. Draft a sample e-mail and make a copy for each employee. Ask everyone to suggest changes that would make the e-mail look and sound more professional. This activity will allow you to gauge where your employees stand with e-mail communication and provide some valuable practice for them. If you find your employees need additional training, be sure to include these topics.
Tips for Answering Customer Questions With Style
January 6th, 2012
Answering customers’ questions daily is a large part of many people’s jobs. Some people may feel like they can answer a customer’s question as long as they are knowledgeable of their company’s products or services. While this may be true, the real question is, are you answering your customers’ questions with style?
In reality, there is so much more to consider when answering questions than just having product knowledge. For example, consider how your customers feel after you have answered their questions. You may think you met their needs, when they still have concerns. The way you respond and the style you use when taking care of a customer affects how they perceive you and your company overall. For instance, if a customer asks you for the balance due on his account, you can:
The second choice would be in your best interest—and would add some style! Even if your customer chooses not to act on the information you provide, at least you are adding value to the relationship by offering it.
Answering With Style
As simple as it may sound, there is an art to answering customers’ questions with style. Below are a few tips for you to keep in mind when you are faced with customers’ questions:
In addition to the tips above, the following Impact Learning HEART Model™ is a great tool to keep in mind when answering customers’ questions:
All of these tips are easy to incorporate into your interactions with your customers. You just have to be aware of your customers’ needs and make the extra effort to utilize the tips above. Above all, keep in mind that anyone can answer a customer’s question, but answering with style and professionalism is a different story.
Help…Is Anyone Listening?
June 24th, 2010Have you ever felt like you weren't being listened to? If so, you know how frustrating it can be.
Recently my husband reordered a pair of shoes and the company sent the wrong size. I called customer service to get the right size. A lady answered and I explained our situation. She interrupted me and said she just needed our last name, and then she told me to check my email for return instructions.
I felt rushed, and I wondered how she had my email, since we never gave it to her. I asked more questions, only to be told "just check your email." I sensed she wanted to get off the phone.
I really wanted to ask her what kind of call center training she'd received. Instead, I asked her how she had our email, and she replied "Well, isn't your email xyz…?" I told her it wasn't, and she asked for my husband's first name. It turns out she was looking at another person's account with the same last name.
Only then did she start listening to me.
Customers should never feel like they are not being heard. In order for businesses to thrive, customers' needs must be listened to and understood. Effective listening skills are essential to provide quality service to customers.
Below are some effective listening tips:
So what do you think.…are you a good listener? If you answered "yes", that is good news. If you answered "no", don't worry, because good listening skills can be learned.
The HEART in Hiring
June 17th, 2010While out of town on business recently, I stayed at a Homewood Suites hotel. This hotel wasn't extravagant–no restaurant, no valet service. What it did have though, was consistently outstanding customer service.
From the moment I walked in, I received great customer service. It took many forms: being greeted by name every time I walked into the lobby, being shuttled according to my schedule not theirs, having a spider humanely removed from my ceiling, and more.
I left the hotel thinking "This company hires the right people, and they take pride in the service they provide."
As a manager or hiring specialist, you can't afford to have the wrong people in the job. The Impact Learning Systems HEART ModelTM can serve as a great guide to hiring for customer care jobs.
Look for job candidates to demonstrate the following characteristics:
If you get the right people in the job from the start, your job will be easier, since you know you have a team in place that is customer-focused and cares about providing memorable service.
We Are All Unique — So Are Our Customers
May 17th, 2010
I've always known the importance of respecting diversity, but never more so than as a newlywed. I like dark chocolate and my husband likes milk chocolate. I have an amiable personality and my husband is more analytical. At first, I would get my feelings hurt if he responded in an abrupt manner, but I've since learned to read his mood and adjust my reactions. I've realized that the key to good communication is taking time to recognize our differences and make the necessary spur-of-the-moment adjustments.
As in love, so in business. Every customer has a unique sets of needs, and in order to successfully serve them, it's important to keep this diversity in mind. With every service encounter, personality styles come into play. The other day I came across a brief article from Adams Hayes, President of AH Digital FX Studios, which provides recognizable characteristics for different personality styles. I found the brief overview of each style insightful.
If a customer is analytical, he's probably going to want very detailed information. If you're dealing instead with a "driver," he's likely to want only a high-level overview of that information. Keep in mind that serving customers the way they like to be served affects their overall satisfaction, which in turn affects their loyalty to your company. So it pays (literally!) to recognize and respect the varying personality styles of your customers.
Challenge yourself to determine the personality style of each person you encounter. Whether it's a co-worker, your flight attendant, or the guy who fixes your computer, practice adjusting your style to theirs. Take note of how your adjustments improve the communication and help make the relationship more amicable. Have fun with it, and before you know it you'll be an expert at adjusting your style to meet that of your customer-just like I am at meeting my husband's.
The Real Value of Customer Service Classes
May 10th, 2010"Do I really have to attend class? I already know how to help our customers."
That's a question many people ask when they hear they have to attend a customer service class. Of course, many people may feel that they know how to help customers, but are they truly providing excellent customer service or are they just being nice and friendly to customers?
It's important to be sure that all employees not only understand your department's level of service expectations, but can also perform the skills required to go from "friendly" to "stellar." This is where customer service training comes into play.
"So, what's in it for me?" This is definitely a thought employees may have when it comes to attending classes. Companies providing customer service training are not only investing in employees and their careers, they're also providing skills to make their job easier and more enjoyable every day-skills like building rapport, understanding customer needs, and dealing with difficult customers. Customer service classes should be positioned this way from the beginning.
In reality, the real value of customer service classes is for both employees and the company as a whole. As customer loyalty improves, as talk time comes down, and as calls are resolved quicker, company profits improve. This makes customer service training a win-win situation for customers, employees, and the company.
In addition, customer service classes offer the following benefits:
Whether you conduct your classes in a traditional classroom, via webinar, or online, remember that instead of viewing customer service training as a necessity alone, think of it as the investment it truly is.