Shows interactions with customers and service providers with examples which make you think of how you can transform your business

1. Blades & Blades Consultancy Services, Barbados, W.I. Tel: (246) 420-4826 Email: richieb@caribsurf.com The Customer is not always right... A Customer Care Training Program Produced by Blades & Blades Consultancy Services Presented by Richard Blades

3. Blades & Blades Consultancy Services, Barbados, W.I. Tel: (246) 420-4826 Email: richieb@caribsurf.com UNDERSTANDING THE CUSTOMER NEEDS IN A CHANGING ENVIRONMENT - GLOBAL & LOCAL Who is the customer? The customer is everyone with whom we come in contact on a personal and professional basis.

4. Blades & Blades Consultancy Services, Barbados, W.I. Tel: (246) 420-4826 Email: richieb@caribsurf.com To best understand the needs of the customer, we need to place ourselves in their place. By doing so, we get to visualize and experience things from their standpoint. What would we require as customers to this business? Is this business adequately meeting our needs? By visualizing the needs of the customer by doing a mental role play, we may avoid some of the problems that may be seen as bad/poor service.

8. Blades & Blades Consultancy Services, Barbados, W.I. Tel: (246) 420-4826 Email: richieb@caribsurf.com BEWARE OF THE CUSTOMER THAT DOESN’T COMPLAIN. THEY DON’T COME BACK!!!

9. Blades & Blades Consultancy Services, Barbados, W.I. Tel: (246) 420-4826 Email: richieb@caribsurf.com A business representative is busy chatting with a customer who is a friend of his and fails to see that another customer has been waiting patiently to be served. The other customer is very put out…There is no one else to blame and should accept the responsibility of what happened because of his poor customer care skills. Discuss

12. Blades & Blades Consultancy Services, Barbados, W.I. Tel: (246) 420-4826 Email: richieb@caribsurf.com The way that you deal with customers should change and develop in order to meet the needs of the customer. Discuss... Today’s person is more fast paced and wants to have their needs met in a timely manner. With today’s emphasis on value for money, the service provider should be seen as proactive, seeking to identify before-hand what the needs of the client .

15. Blades & Blades Consultancy Services, Barbados, W.I. Tel: (246) 420-4826 Email: richieb@caribsurf.com When serving the customer do you consciously execute your tasks? Or is your manner off-hand? We have often heard the saying, “Familiarity breeds contempt”, one should be careful not to become too familiar with the customer that it detracts from the perception of good service. It is often thought that a particular customer can wait since they understand how busy it can be.

16. Blades & Blades Consultancy Services, Barbados, W.I. Tel: (246) 420-4826 Email: richieb@caribsurf.com Do we talk about the trip, or do we go the extra-mile for the customer? Customer Care - How you relate to the people who are your customers and colleagues.

18. Blades & Blades Consultancy Services, Barbados, W.I. Tel: (246) 420-4826 Email: richieb@caribsurf.com How do you handle a nasty customer? The cheap, ill mannered, uncouth type. (…with kid gloves…very special handling) Ask yourself How can I better handle this person? Why did I get into an argument with a colleague? Why was the customer so pleased with his/her service?

19. Blades & Blades Consultancy Services, Barbados, W.I. Tel: (246) 420-4826 Email: richieb@caribsurf.com How you deal with friends and family can determine how you deal with customers. What you practice at home generally tends to come to light in your professional/ working activities. Practice makes perfect. We are all creatures of habit. Make a conscious effort to cultivate good, wholesome habits.

23. Blades & Blades Consultancy Services, Barbados, W.I. Tel: (246) 420-4826 Email: richieb@caribsurf.com What customers want (expect) when they do business with us: Customers expect to have their names remembered Customers expect to live their fantasies. (Made to feel special) Customers want to be what they are not when they are at home. Customers want to relax, do nothing for themselves and be pampered.

24. Blades & Blades Consultancy Services, Barbados, W.I. Tel: (246) 420-4826 Email: richieb@caribsurf.com The world is becoming more of a level playing field; a global village. More people are becoming more educated and are unafraid of travel. They seek new experiences and have acquired new taste. They are becoming more outgoing. The internet has created changes to such an extent that people now research before they buy. They no longer rely on opinions they formerly used. They say what they want and at what price. They determine what they want based upon the receipt of the information they have requested.

25. Blades & Blades Consultancy Services, Barbados, W.I. Tel: (246) 420-4826 Email: richieb@caribsurf.com What do our clients expect in professional quality service What does professional quality service mean to you? It entails listening to your staff who are in tune with the needs of the customers since they have direct contact with them. Your staff observe the customers and listen to them. By using the feedback from your staff who are the frontline, you can anticipate the needs of the customers. Managers can use this information and cross reference it with the information obtained from the customers through their direct contact. N.B. Bear in mind that sometimes the staff and the customer may not be able to best express their needs accurately . Get the action habit and investigate request yourselves, or delegate this responsibility to a trusted member of staff.

27. Blades & Blades Consultancy Services, Barbados, W.I. Tel: (246) 420-4826 Email: richieb@caribsurf.com Think of how your service affects the perception of the customers. They will see the true quality of your business based upon what you do, more than what you say. Everything that you do while you are on and off duty should reflect quality. Ask… Do the amenities that you offer make the difference in service levels you offer? Make a list of the reasons you believe that they return to your establishment again. Think about what you have done that satisfied the customer the first time. Find out!!! Ask your colleagues. You may even ask your customer directly.

28. Blades & Blades Consultancy Services, Barbados, W.I. Tel: (246) 420-4826 Email: richieb@caribsurf.com Activity On the next occasion you are the customer, make an assessment of the service you are given. Ask yourself: How was I treated? How long did you have to wait before you were attended to? How were you greeted (by name with a smile, a grunt, or a spoken welcome)? In what ways did the staff try to make sure that you were being well cared for? If you had any query, how was it dealt with? As you left, how did the staff bid you goodbye (with words, a grunt)? How were the other customers treated? How quick were the staff to attend to other customers? How were groups with special needs (such as disabled persons) catered for? If there were any difficulty with customers, how were they dealt with?

29. Blades & Blades Consultancy Services, Barbados, W.I. Tel: (246) 420-4826 Email: richieb@caribsurf.com Customers mean jobs. When offering professional services there is a element of role playing must take place. Consider this: In the theatre At your place of work Actors put their audiences first You put your guests first Actors play their parts The character part you play is you job Actors don’t let personal problems affect their role You should keep your personal life behind the scenes Audiences expect actors to provide good entertainment.

30. Blades & Blades Consultancy Services, Barbados, W.I. Tel: (246) 420-4826 Email: richieb@caribsurf.com The Blades Business Cycle Team Customer Care Marketing (Identifying prospects & developing leads) Sales (Sell product/service) Administration (Accounts, Customer service & satisfaction, delivery)

31. Blades & Blades Consultancy Services, Barbados, W.I. Tel: (246) 420-4826 Email: richieb@caribsurf.com Remember this: The customer is not always right, but the customer is always the customer.

32. Blades & Blades Consultancy Services, Barbados, W.I. Tel: (246) 420-4826 Email: richieb@caribsurf.com Contact Info Blades and Blades Consultancy Services T. 246.420.4826 M. 246.243.6244 E. [email_address] W. www.bladesandbladesconsultancy.com