Customer Service For Dummies

By Karen Leland and Keith Bailey

Book Overview

In today's highly competitive environment, good products and good marketing aren't enough. To succeed, you also need great customer service. Quality service touches our lives in two important ways: the service we give and the service we receive. Customer Service For Dummies, 2nd Edition, brims with hot tips, techniques, and lots of suggestions for giving your customers the kind of service that you yourself would like to receive. This down-to-earth, step-by-step guide fills you in on ways to Take stock of your customer service strengths and weaknesses Commit to continuous improvement Work your way through modern-day e-mail and Internet etiquette Foster positive face-to-face and telephone service Deal with the unhappy folks among your customers Packed with practical advice for getting through the everyday challenges at work, Customer Service For Dummies, 2nd Edition, shows you how to develop your staff so that they become service heroes to their customers. This insightful resource also gives you the goods on Keeping your sanity when angry customers confront you with clenched fists or wrinkled foreheads Saying "No" nicely: Focusing on what you can do for the customer Tuning into body language and vocal tone Knowing the importance of both internal and external customers Achieving gold-level service at bronze-level cost Improving market share - whether the company's big, small, or in between Becoming a better customer by expressing yourself in style Although customer service basics seem so much like common sense - smile, say please, and say thank you - these gestures alone won't begin to satisfy every situation. Once you expand your definition of service, reconsider who your customers are, and develop a customer-friendly attitude, you'll be in the right place to meet your customers' expectations - and right on time to make a pleasingly positive impression

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0764552090
• ISBN13: 9780764552090
• Release Date: September 1999
• Publisher: For Dummies
• Length: 456 Pages
• Weight: 1.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.1" x 2.1" x 7.4"

Customer Reviews

This Book has a hidden treasure.

No way, just reading this book will turn you into a customer service professional. However, it does contain hidden treasures for those who are already customer service professionals. I was able to take advantage of the preprinted forms in the chapter named "Taking Your Company's Pulse: How to Survey Your Customers". I was grateful for the chapter named " You're Never Too Old (or young) to Learn: Service Training." Continue by reading “Customer Service Training 101: Quick and Easy Techniques That Get Great Results.”

A great guide for new customer service reps

I have taught a lot of classes in cutomer service in the information technology field. This is a great book to use for reference and discussions. It teaches on a level almost anyone can understand, provides insites to customer satisfaction, and how to achieve it. It's filled with little gems like "answer the phone with a smile on your face." This book is an easy read and well worth the money.

Great book & Great service

As a Best Buy Consumer Relations representative we deal alot with the satisfication of customers & the products that they purchase at our stores. The level of service that i recieved with the purchase of my book was outstanding & the follow up on this has been nice. I would reccommend this service anytime , and look forward to my future purchases :)

Kudos for Customer Service for Dummies

I chose this book mainly because of its inviting format. Like somany of the "Dummies" books, it's fun to read. Participants in mycustomer service seminars heartily agree. I especially like thesummarizing "Cheat Sheets" of key points inside the front cover ... and the section on how to receive, not just give, good service. The cartoons and brief chapters also help make this a page turner. Fairly priced, too.

A Great Resource Even For Experts

I've worked in the customer support field now for seven years and I consider myself somewhat of an expert in the field. I bought this book because I thought that I could use a few suggestions or reminders to help me hone my skills. What I found was a goldmine.When I first started in Customer Service I dealt pricipally on the phone speaking to customers. That has changed and now I deal mainly via e-mail. The reason this book was so great for me is that it contains three chapters that deal with nothing but e-mail.I have recommended this book to all of my co-workers and my manager is going to provide the entire department with complementary copies because it is such a great resource. He has read it too.I wish that I could describe in detail each and every reason that you should buy this book, but I would probably end up writing a book myself. Whether you're an old pro, like me, or a beginner, this book has something for you.

Great, No Hype, To-The-Point and Easy to Implement

As customers we all recognize great Customer Service when we receive it. If you are like me, you used that knowledge to setup the Customer Service for your company. Last week I wanted to know how well we were doing in this respect. I wanted to measure our client service against the "General Accepted Customer Service Standards", without all the hype. If this is also your case, "Customer Service for Dummies" is the book for you! Karen Leland and Keith Bailey did an incredible job in explaining the insider's secrets to provide great customer service. They convinced me that success only depends on the right mindset and it doesn't depend on having the resources of a Fortune 500 company