C.U.S. technique

CUS is an acronym that stands for:

I’m concerned….

I feel uncomfortable…

I feel scared….

It originated as a technique for staff to use with physicians as a way to

express their level of disagreement or discomfort with an action or inaction affecting patient safety.  


Try using it in your business or organization - it can work anywhere:

“Tell me what concerns do you have about this new phone?

“I want you to be comfortable as possible, tell me is there anything about the phone that makes you uncomfortable?”

“I want to do all I can to ease your mind.  Is there anything that is making you feel anxious about this purchase – please tell me?

www.retainloyalcustomers.com

 Teri Yanovitch is a leading speaker, trainer and consultant on creating a culture of customer service within  an organization.  Her firm T.A.Yanovitch, Inc. provides a clear and proven process on how to create this culture of service and helps guide organizations to ensure their success.  Through her presentations, workshops  and training, Teri has assisted organizations from all industries to differentiate their business through the competitive edge of the customer experience.

Contact Teri at ty@retainloyalcustomers.com

Her highly acclaimed book Unleashing Excellence – The Complete Guide to “ Ultimate Customer Service” has sold over 32,000 books and is recognized as a practical, hands-on approach to providing a seamless extraordinary service experience to retain customers and employees.  Contact Teri at ty@retainloyalcustomers.com for your next speaking engagement or for a copy of her book.  

Resolving Internal Team Conflict - Teri's Tip #59

Your customers don't care if there is internal strife and conflict among departments and teams.  All they care about is:  "did you give me what you promised and on-time?"  Therefore, it only hurts the people inside the organization when there is conflict and negative dynamics among each other.

Here are five steps the team/department leader can take to resolve those issues:
1.  Define the situation (be objective, don't place blame on anyone)
2.  State the impact of the conflict (poor image, late on meeting deadlines, miscommunications, etc.)
3.  Open the discussion for reactions (don't offer solutions at this point, just let team members vent, and share their thoughts/feelings on the issue)
4.  Ask for them to come up with a solution (this will get their buy-in and ownership)
5.  Get agreement on solution and set follow-up date (ask for confirmation by all members and determine date and time to meet again for status)

Excellent customer service starts with excellent internal customer service. 

www.retainloyalcustomers.com

 Teri Yanovitch is a leading speaker, trainer and consultant on creating a culture of customer service within  an organization.  Her firm T.A.Yanovitch, Inc. provides a clear and proven process on how to create this culture of service and helps guide organizations to ensure their success.  Through her presentations, workshops  and training, Teri has assisted organizations from all industries to differentiate their business through the competitive edge of the customer experience.

Contact Teri at ty@retainloyalcustomers.com

Her highly acclaimed book Unleashing Excellence – The Complete Guide to “ Ultimate Customer Service” has sold over 32,000 books and is recognized as a practical, hands-on approach to providing a seamless extraordinary service experience to retain customers and employees.  Contact Teri at ty@retainloyalcustomers.com for your next speaking engagement or for a copy of her book. 

3 Tips from Nordstroms's - Teri's Tip #54

Based on a recent experience with Nordstrom's, here are 3 tips that made me, the customer, feel special:

1.  The clerk asked for my name, shared her name, and then used my name throughout the shopping experience even though she helped others while I was trying on things.  She remembered it.

2.  The clerk walked around the counter to hand me my purchased items vs. handing them over the counter.  It was much more personal, plus she shook my hand and thanked me.

3.  I wasn't badgered by other clerks wanting to help, but felt I was sincerely approached by them and when told I wasn't interested at the moment, didn't feel like they sulked off. 

Remember, its the little things people will remember.  And I will go back!

www.retainloyalcustomes.com

 Teri Yanovitch is a leading speaker, trainer and consultant on creating a culture of customer service within  an organization.  Her firm T.A.Yanovitch, Inc. provides a clear and proven process on how to create this culture of service and helps guide organizations to ensure their success.  Through her presentations, workshops  and training, Teri has assisted organizations from all industries to differentiate their business through the competitive edge of the customer experience.

Contact Teri at ty@retainloyalcustomers.com

Her highly acclaimed book Unleashing Excellence – The Complete Guide to “ Ultimate Customer Service” has sold over 32,000 books and is recognized as a practical, hands-on approach to providing a seamless extraordinary service experience to retain customers and employees.  Contact Teri at ty@retainloyalcustomers.com for your next speaking engagement or for a copy of her book

World-Class Courtesy - Teri's Tip #50

World-Class Courtesy: Using exceptional manners, as interpreted from the customer's perspective, to exceed the expectations of the customer.

Characteristics:

• a willingness to discover opportunities to exceed the customer's expectations
• sincerity
• a friendly smile (even over the phone)
• using the person's last name (unless customer indicates otherwise)
• a neat appearance
• proper use of the language
• exceptional listening skills (attentiveness)
• a relaxed and natural tone of voice
• appropriate eye contact
• clear communication at the customer's comprehension level
• knowledge about the product or service

www.retainloyalcustomers.com

 Teri Yanovitch is a leading speaker, trainer and consultant on creating a culture of customer service within  an organization.  Her firm T.A.Yanovitch, Inc. provides a clear and proven process on how to create this culture of service and helps guide organizations to ensure their success.  Through her presentations, workshops  and training, Teri has assisted organizations from all industries to differentiate their business through the competitive edge of the customer experience.

Contact Teri at ty@retainloyalcustomers.com

Her highly acclaimed book Unleashing Excellence – The Complete Guide to “ Ultimate Customer Service” has sold over 32,000 books and is recognized as a practical, hands-on approach to providing a seamless extraordinary service experience to retain customers and employees.  Contact Teri at ty@retainloyalcustomers.com for your next speaking engagement or for a copy of her book.  

Mirror, Mirror on the Wall.... - Teri's Tip #43

Remember the fairy tale line:  "Mirror, Mirror on the Wall, who's the fairest of them all?"  Try putting a mirror in your reception area somewhere or area where customers voice their complaints.  When they glance in the mirror and see their angy profile, they will more than likely soften, because no one wants to see themselves with a scowling, scrunched up, ugly face.

Giving excellent customer service is much easier when the person with a complaint is more relaxed and not so emotional. 

http://www.retainloyalcustomers.com/
Teri Yanovitch is a leading speaker, trainer and consultant on creating a culture of customer service within an organization. Her firm T.A.Yanovitch, Inc. provides a clear and proven process on how to create this culture of service and helps guide organizations to ensure their success. Through her presentations, workshops and training, Teri has assisted organizations from all industries to differentiate their business through the competitive edge of the customer experience.


Contact Teri at ty@retainloyalcustomers.com

Her highly acclaimed book Unleashing Excellence – The Complete Guide to “ Ultimate Customer Service” has sold over 32,000 books and is recognized as a practical, hands-on approach to providing a seamless extraordinary service experience to retain customers and employees. Contact Teri at ty@retainloyalcustomers.com for your next speaking engagement or for a copy of her book.

Lens of the Customer - Teri's Tip #40

Looking through the lens of the customer makes the customer feel they are being watched out for and important.  Its very simple to do - two steps:
1.  Read the emotion
2.  Meet the need

Last week at a Magic basketball game, my husband and I entered the huge entry area with lights flashing, escalators going in all directions, music blaring and were immediately overwhemed by it all.  A staff member obviously read our faces and approached us first by saying:  "Are you looking for your seats?"  Obviously, she had been trained to read emotions and be the first to respond whether than waiting for us to have to walk up to her and ask "where are our seats?"

It's a small detail, but a big one if done consistently.

http://www.retainloyalcustomers.com/
Teri Yanovitch is a leading speaker, trainer and consultant on creating a culture of customer service within an organization. Her firm T.A.Yanovitch, Inc. provides a clear and proven process on how to create this culture of service and helps guide organizations to ensure their success. Through her presentations, workshops and training, Teri has assisted organizations from all industries to differentiate their business through the competitive edge of the customer experience.


Contact Teri at ty@retainloyalcustomers.com

Her highly acclaimed book Unleashing Excellence – The Complete Guide to “ Ultimate Customer Service” has sold over 32,000 books and is recognized as a practical, hands-on approach to providing a seamless extraordinary service experience to retain customers and employees. Contact Teri at ty@retainloyalcustomers.com for your next speaking engagement or for a copy of her book.

Accept Returns with a Smile - Teri's Tip #28

Customers have already lined up to do returns and Christmas hasn't even occured yet.  Advice to customer service representatives working the Return counters:  accept returns with a smile and with as little hassle to the customer as you can. It will create a Wow when they walk away at the ease and pleasantness of the experience.

 Customers will remember how you treated them when they saw a need to return an item for whatever reason.  You may feel you are losing out on revenues that were in the pocket, but in the  long-run, customers are more apt to do future business with a business they know will take care of them and want them to be happy with what they were sold.

http://www.retainloyalcustomers.com/
Teri Yanovitch is a leading speaker, trainer and consultant on creating a culture of customer service within an organization. Her firm T.A.Yanovitch, Inc. provides a clear and proven process on how to create this culture of service and helps guide organizations to ensure their success. Through her presentations, workshops and training, Teri has assisted organizations from all industries to differentiate their business through the competitive edge of the customer experience.


Contact Teri at ty@retainloyalcustomers.com

Her highly acclaimed book Unleashing Excellence – The Complete Guide to “ Ultimate Customer Service” has sold over 32,000 books and is recognized as a practical, hands-on approach to providing a seamless extraordinary service experience to retain customers and employees. Contact Teri at ty@retainloyalcustomers.com for your next speaking engagement or for a copy of her book.

Trigger Phrases and Calming Phrases - Teri's Tip #23

There are words and phrases that tend to incite more frustration and anger with the customer than other words and phrases.  Below are two ways to say the same thing, but the Calming Phrases are a much better way.

TRIGGER                           CALMING
I can’t                                 Here’s what I can do

Let me transfer you             Let me connect you
I don't know                       I will find out
No                                     Let’s look at our options
You should have                 I appreciate why you
The only thing we can do    I believe the best option
You have to                       Let’s do this first….then

It is always important to look through the lens of the customer and ensure you are customer focused to read their emotions and appropriately choose your wording. 


http://www.retainloyalcustomers.com/
Teri Yanovitch is a leading speaker, trainer and consultant on creating a culture of customer service within an organization. Her firm T.A.Yanovitch, Inc. provides a clear and proven process on how to create this culture of service and helps guide organizations to ensure their success. Through her presentations, workshops and training, Teri has assisted organizations from all industries to differentiate their business through the competitive edge of the customer experience.


Looking for a speaker or workshop to improve and enhance your customer service?
Contact Teri at:  ty@retainloyalcustomers.com

Teri's Tip #11

It's the little things you do that help to build customer loyalty.  Listen, observe and anticipate your customer's needs.

Becoming  truly customer focused, will build relationships that will keep your customers coming back time and time again. 

http://www.retainloyalcustomers.com/

Teri's Tip #9

If you want to retain and expand your customer base, it is key to stay truly customer focused.
Three things you can do: 
1.  Be proactive
2.  Surprise with a little added value*
3.  Put yourself in their shoes

*Adding value does not necessarily mean giving something away that costs you money.  It could be as simple as remembering their name, sharing a piece of advice, thanking them for their business.

http://www.retainloyalcustomers.com/