What affects customer service?
Regardless of the industry that you are serving, be it in the F&B, retail or hospitality industry, the most important people we are dealing with are our customers. Delivering excellent customer service becomes one of our big goals, and training our workforce automatically becomes a priority.
The excellent delivery of service is what will help you transform your customers into returning ones and establish customer loyalty.
So what are the factors that affect customer service and how can we work to ensure our staff delivers?
There are a few factors we can consider and we can start by looking at the interactions exchanged between our staff and our customers. In summary, they are:
- Body language / Non-verbal communication
- Verbal communication
- Attitude
Body Language
Non verbal communications are an important factor in customer service as body language can reveal plenty of information about a person and thus, body language does affect customer service. In an organisation, we want our staff to portray positive body language which communicates our organisation’s interest in caring for customers and readiness to serve which makes customers feel more welcomed. This is why training our staff on body language for customer service is important.
Verbal Communication
Verbal communication is another aspect to look at. Our staff’s choice of words can depict our staff’s friendliness and showcase the value we have for our customers. Our staff are essentially the representation of our company and the short few minutes where they interacts with customers can either build rapport and form positive associations in our customers’ minds or tarnish the brand’s reputation.
Positive Attitude
Not to forget, our staff’s very own attitude can affect customer retention. Building a positive attitude at work is a crucial point to consider. People we meet and interact with, who are pleasant and treats us with respect, are those who we form positive connections with. Hence, positive attitude is key in customer service and organisations should take the necessary steps to ensure staff develops a positive attitude and learns the art of dealing with various types of customers.
Conducting training for body language, verbal communication and building a positive attitude can be done much more quickly than thought.
By using ArcLab’s mobile learning software, which helps to deliver comprehensive and effective training for the Deskless Workforce through compiling training content into one online module making it accessible wherever and whenever required, you will be able to train and set expectations for your staff quickly.
Here is an example of how it can be done:
How can we work to ensure our staff delivers?
- Establish a system where good or excellent customer service performance is recognised and rewarded. Positive reinforcements help to drive employee motivation, resulting in higher productivity and performance quality.
- Actively take in feedback and learn from workers. This helps our staff feel heard and valued by the company which improves employee satisfaction leading to better job performance as staff becomes genuine in executing their job. At the same time, you get to identify gaps and improve organisation processes where needed.
- Support their learning and training. Most fast-paced industries such as F&B, hospitality and retail have a constant need for manpower but lack time and resources to train their employees properly. Training programmes become insufficient or ineffective due to the speed at which the training programmes are being conducted. Workers who require more support and time in their training do not get the help they require and as such, job performance quality declines. Therefore, establishing the right support for staff is necessary.
(Read also: 3 ways employers can support their lower wage workers)
Here is where ArcLab supports you in training and staff’s learning & development. Nano learning platforms and tools are effective in helping employees retain information and quickly pick up new training content. You are able to conduct training online, ensure your workers understand the training programme thoroughly and even keep track of their performance. ArcLab modules are comprehensive, allowing information on their job roles to be accessed whenever the staff requires.
Companies like Fei Siong Group have achieved 50% time savings and close to 50% increase in productivity gains after implementing training with ArcLab modules.
Save your time and resources, train your staff for customer service and build a productive workforce easily!