Colors of Customer Service

This blog is named after my book The Colors of Customer Service. As a trainer with a decade and a half of experience, I've done my share of customer service training. I've taught a number of off-of-the-shelf training courses and attended a number of customer service trainings.

Of course, the basics of each course were the same but for me something was missing. Sure, its critical to keep hold times down, to make warm transfers, to speak clearly and pleasantly and to show empathy. Yet, the focus was 100% about placating the customer and placing the customer first. On the surface that sounds right but dig a little deeper and you'll see the fallacy in that line of thinking.

A conversation takes two people. An interaction or exchange of information is not a one-way street. Yet, most customer service training was very omnidirectional. I found that no matter how many times you say 'the customer is always right,' no matter how many mirrors you pass out or how much role-playing you do, there is a dimension of training that is missing.

Often times CSRs enjoy training because it's a day away from the phones. However, when those same CSRs return to their desk, there is very little, if any, behavior change.

When I had the opportunity to tweak a customer service training I was asked to deliver, I added the critical component that I felt had been missing. Adult learners are always interested in "What's in it for me?" when it comes to learning new concepts. What can they apply to make their jobs easier or their performance more effective? What can they take away from the training that will make a marked improvement for them? When it came to most customer service training, the answer was "Not much."

I added some simple tips on staying engaged and staving off boredom. I gave them advice on organizing their desk more effectively. I told them how to handle an irate customer so that not just the customer would leave satisfied but so that they hung up the phone without taking the residual frustration onto the next call.

Not only were the participants more engaged, but they left with actual concepts that could not only improve their job performance but their outlooks as well.

Those are the concepts that I applied to The Colors of Customer Service an allegorical tale that takes place in a world run by chameleons that change color based on mood. When Peter, the new customer service manager starts, he's mortified to meet a team made up of discouraged blues, disengaged yellows and disgruntled reds. Through the course of this short book, he'll meet with each team member and change their colors. By the end, he's got a team made up of professional greens, friendly pinks and confident oranges and purples.

Available exclusively via Amazon, over the next few weeks, I'll be introducing some of the characters. While they are all chameleons, I'm sure you will see shades of people you know in them.

The Colors of Customer Service: How It Started

As a corporate trainer, I have worked for and with a variety of call centers. One of my first post-college jobs was working as a hotel operator for a major hotel chain, so I can definitely emphasize with what most CSRs experience on a day-to-day basis. On the flip side, I’ve been a customer too and I know all-too-well, the difference between good and bad customer service.

While working with a lot of the customer service materials, I was always amazed at the almost exclusive focus on the customer: what the customer wants, what the customer expects, what CSRs need to do to make the customer happy.

That’s what I had to teach, but here is what I knew.

• Customer service representatives have one of the hardest jobs in any company.
• CSRs compensation does not reflect their importance within the organization.
• Levels of burnout are often high as much is expected of them and little is given.
• Surly, disengaged, or frustrated CSRs do not give stellar customer service.

I couldn’t do anything about pay but I felt there was something I could do to address the burnout and disengaged issues.

Most trainers will tell you a central component in adult learning is addressing the question, what’s in it for me? For adults, it’s not enough to sit in a class because they are supposed to. Adult learners need to know why they are there. What is the benefit? What will this training do for them? How will it help them? What will they learn that they can immediately apply to their jobs?

The Colors of Customer Service attempts to answer those questions. It hits on the usual customer service touch points about hold times, answering the phone clearly and the basics of effective listening … but it goes further. It addresses many of the CSRs day-to-day concerns. 

• How to stay engaged when answering the same questions day after day.
• What to do to diffuse the residual emotion that remains after an irate caller.
• How to effectively organize a workspace
• Some dos and don’ts for creating a solid work team

I decided to write it as a short business fable (a la Who Moved My Cheese? or The Energy Bus) I wanted it to be a quick and even fun read.  Having survived years of academic text books, through high school and college, I learned the hard way that a dry reading experience isn’t usually the best educational experience! 

Currently The Colors of Customer Service is only available in Kindle, but I am working on  a hard-copy version that should be available via Amazon by the beginning of August! I’ll keep you posted!

Colors of Customer Service Profile: Peter

Peter is the central character in my book, The Colors of Customer Service. He's the new customer service supervisor at KarmaCo and he's normally a very polished and professional green. Imagine his surprise when he meets his team and finds out they are all frustrated reds, discouraged blues and apathic yellow! He's got his work cut out for him and it won't be an easy task!

Peter has been fortunate enough to learn from both good managers and even gleen important lessons from the bad ones. He's confident he can make a change. He's coming on the heels of the old supervisor and he's got to push for the new changes he wants to make. He's also got to gain the trust and respect of his new staff.

Here are some takeaways from Peter.

• Praise Publicly. Criticize Privately. He has some pretty difficult conversations with his staff members but they are always held behind closed doors. No one wants to be humiliated or bullied. Likewise, most people like to have their successes shared.
• Treat Staff Like Adults. Peter never talks down to his staff. He also doesn't try to shame, scold or embarass them. He treats them like adults capable of taking control of their own actions and dealing with their own consequences. When staff are treated like children, we can't be surprised if they start acting like children!
• Be Approachable. Have an open door policy (you can put open hours on your door if you are busy). Let them know they can talk to you. However, as a manager, don't be afraid to approach your employees. Ask them how they are doing? Follow up with them on any outstanding issues. Approachability is a two-way street.