They’re Back! Addressing Customer Service in a Post-COVID Environment
As all major cities and towns in the UK begin reopening as lockdown restrictions are lifted, customers will be returning to retailers, restaurants and all types of businesses in their local community. Although this is a hopeful time for business owners, it can also be a precarious time. Additional finesse and patience are now required as employees are brought together with customers in this new normal.
Lives have been changed. Habits have been altered. For the most part, people do not like change, the change can be overwhelming, scary and trigger negative reactions as much of this change is completely out of their control. Negative feelings in any business can lead to disaster. You are likely going to get one chance to prove to your customers that your business is ready and prepared to serve them in a safe and secure manner. If there is chaos, ambiguity or uncertainty, you will no longer be considered by your customers they will likely find other new ways to fill their needs. Don’t disqualify your business by not paying attention to your new normal customer relations policies. .
Stay educated and informed about the requirements your local authority demand. The CDC, a local health department and licensing agencies are great resources for re-opening guidance. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/reopen-guidance.html. Consistent and safety focused communication is paramount. Make sure you do more than just post policies and procedures. Get your team involved, spark dialogue to ensure they feel secure and safe. They are now being expected to deliver customer services in a new environment. Staff members also have to feel safe and that they are in an environment that is not a high risk for them. They don’t want to bring sickness home. They don’t want to get sick. You have to address this real fear of theirs before expecting superior customer service from them.
Before opening any doors, employee training is crucial. If your staff are timid or tentative, their energy will reflect and be transferred to your customers. You need to have confident and informed employees. Make sure that you establish a foundation for your organization first and take time to encourage those coming into contact with customers to exercise new skills, such as empathy, compassion and active listening. They can only be effective if they are secure and feel safe themselves. In a recent blog on the Pipedrive.com website, they remind us, ”remember, that your reps will have varying reactions to this health crisis. Some may be struggling more than others and in need of additional support. Set the tone by acting as a pillar of strength and offer guidance. Your reps are likely to mirror this behavior with their customers and represent your business as a reliable, trusted resource” (2020). https://www.pipedrive.com/en/blog/reassure-customers-covid-19
As you enter new phases of reopening progress your business will be challenged with so much change. Be transparent with any setbacks, challenges and obstacles you face with your employees and your customers. Establishing regular team meetings, writing an information blog, creating a newsletter or including an informational flyer in bags, are all ways that both your internal team and customers can stay informed. To deliver excellence in your business reinforce the new processes through posting in visible places the new requirements and procedures.
Once the basic preparations are made and your doors are open, it is crucial to keep calm, be proactive and positive. The Harvard Business Review recently provided some common sense steps for youb to practice to make your customers service the gold standard. https://hbr.org/2020/04/supporting-customer-service-through-the-coronavirus-crisis Front-line staff and call center staff will face demands and challenges from customers that they have never faced before, so;
- Arm staff members with techniques that reduce frustration – Empower your staff to resolve issues immediately and equip them with proactive and customer focused solutions. “The clear answer to these challenges is to empower reps to make exceptions in order to solve the customer’s problem, but changing service organization culture and policies can be a long journey. In the meantime, equipping reps with language techniques to reduce customer effort, even if they can’t make exceptions, can lead to better outcomes” (Dixon, McKenna, de la O, April, 2020).
- Prevent manager from reverting to bad coaching behaviors – Become innovative, revert from structured traditional coaching to a more an integrated coaching approach. “This “integrated coaching” happens in short bursts — before, immediately after and even during customer calls — and research shows that it can improve team performance by 12%. In fact, the best managers spend more than 75% of their coaching time on this type of coaching “(Dixon, McKenna, de la O, April, 2020).
- Use collaborative tools to help your staff tap into the collective wisdom in the organization – Create a network mindset so that team members can share and assist each other as challenges occur. “Creating this sort of “network judgment” climate, however, is difficult under normal circumstances and even harder when reps are no longer sitting side by side in the contact center. Fortunately, modern collaboration tools like instant messaging and Slack can create workspaces for reps to connect in near-real time to get advice and perspective from colleagues “(Dixon, McKenna, de la O, April, 2020).
To deliver the best customer service in these changing times make sure you focus on the following basics as well;
- Be mindful of yours and your team members tone which is used to address your customers. Keeping in mind the main cause of conflict is not because of what was said but “how it was said”. Intention aside, the customers’ interruption is their reality. You have to ensure that their reality and your team’s intention line up as much as possible. Body language and eye contact or the lack of it, can escalate a situation that might normally end in a more positive way.
- Focus on listening with empathy and coach your team on active listening techniques. Asking question, reducing interruptions and acknowledging concerns keeps the communication flowing. Avoid quoting rigid policy or arguing which will escalate negative results.
- Set new and proper expectations, rather than focusing on giving bad news. Provide the positive side of the situation. “We are doing this to keep you and our staff healthy” instead of “we don’t want you here without wearing a mask”. Simply flipping the situation around will deescalate the moment of tension.
- Create a “great experience”. Enhance your customers experience in unexpected ways, provide them with something they will remember and tell others about rather than focusing on what they may be missing.
- Finally, ask for feedback from your customers. Encourage your staff to ask for feedback and review the suggestions and the comments regularly to pinpoint what you can adapt to enhance the customer’s experience further. Implementing something new that a customer recommended, will go a long way to creating a sense of belonging and loyalty.
Your teams’ performance will be critical to your business’ success. Investing time, energy and resources in creating a cohesive, empowered team will enable you to serve the needs of your customers and your community long after the pandemic effects subside. You don’t run the business, processes and systems do. Employees follow processes and systems to meet the needs of your customers. Customers keep returning because you have an environment that makes them feel comfortable and secure. If you ensure your customers know you care about them and your employees just the same, they will find it easier to come back time and time again.
If you need support in re-energizing, re-training and preparing your team to face the new standards of customers service you expect, reach out to Jeff Williams. Schedule a call with Jeff to help you get a head start in your team transformation.
