Great Customer Service - Brand Promise

12/21/10 Boston, MA 1:50 PM Wow Thing

Great Customer Service Contributors

I am going to get back to the cross-training, its positive impact on morale, and ultimately the positive impact on customer services received. A cross-functionally trained workforce provides efficient resource allocation and it gives participants someone to service them whatever the need, especially if the person dedicated to the function is unavailable. In a cross-trained office others can step in to answer a question or provide assistance because much of what the clients are looking for requires a sense of urgency and the consequences can be traumatic if the assistance can’t be provided right then and there. Think of it this way (and this is a de minimis analogy no traumatic consequence, but just as an example) – if you went to a store to pick out blinds, but no one was there who could cut them for you – what would you do? If it were me, I would go to another store because goodness knows there are plenty of other stores out there that will have someone who can cut my blinds when I want them. This does make sense, I hope.

Provide the participants with the tools they need to search for that job. Here in Boston, some of the tools we give the participants are their resumes, their cover letters and their references all on disks so the participants can access their information at anytime and anyplace to send to an employer. It also puts the emphasis on the fact that this isn’t the “Cyndy and Margaret Employment Agency” and that it’s a collaborative effort to secure that job, again, not hand-holding (well, not always) but assisting along the road of self-sufficiency.

Thirdly, and probably most importantly, treat the participant as if they are the most important person in your life at that time. We all know it’s tough out there – imagine how tough it is for some of our participants who have limited skills, no support system and Christmas right around the corner! So our positive reinforcement, with limited to no interruptions (yeah, right!!!!) can help to focus on that one and only person in our universe right then and there; our attention can make them feel special, important and can give them that motivation they need to sustain in their job search.