Every customer is different, and must be attended to and served differently.
To develop skills in serving customers, consider participating in Customer Service Training Course offered by pdtraining in Dallas, Los Angeles and other cities in the U.S.
Adjusting your service according to the demand of the customer is a skill that is highly valuable to customer service professionals. Only if you identify the specific needs of a customer that you can serve them beyond their expectations.
Basic Needs of Customers
The six basic needs of customers that must be met at all times are:
- Timeliness
- Politeness
- Availability
- Attentiveness
- Good communication skills
- Knowledge of product/service
Apart from these basic needs, every customer has certain specific needs. Some customers like to be talked to while some don’t. Some are very choosy about what they eat; they want the perfect taste and the perfect presentation while some others may not be choosy at all. Every customer will be different. Even the same customer may not be in the same mood whenever they visit. That makes it vital to identify of the customer’s needs.
Specific Needs of Customers
Depending upon the personality and communication of the customer, a customer service executive must quickly identify the specific needs of the customer, the needs that are specific to the individual or the group.
If a customer is in a conversation with another customer, then the customer service professional must only talk when needed and serve in such a way that the customers are least disturbed. On the other hand, if a customer is alone or is chatty, then the customer service professional can answer their queries and add something relevant to the interaction. The essential factor here is customer expectations. You must make the effort to chat with a customer only if you believe that the customer would like it.
Identifying Customer Needs
Verbal Communication – How do you know what each customer wants? An easy way to know what a customer wants is to listen to them attentively. When a customer is talking to you, notice what they are talking about, how much they are talking, and what is the general mood of the customer(s) at a table. For instance, a customer inquiring in detail about the making of a dish or asking for it to be customized according to his or her taste will be particular about taste. Therefore, when serving, you may provide a little information about the dish or how it is made.
Body Language – Along with verbal communication, you must also observe the body language of customers. If a customer is friendly, he or she will be smiling, chatty and will have an open body language. An introvert, on the other hand, will only talk when necessary, may avoid eye contact, and speak in lower tones. You may then tweak your service style to suit the personality of your customer.
If you are, at any time, unsure about what a customer wants, it is better to ask than to make a mistake. When serving to the specific needs of customers, you may go step-by-step than to overdo it. Observe, identify, serve, and observe again the response of the customer (both verbal and non-verbal signals). If you have done well, you will see the immediate effect of your brilliant service on the faces of your customers.
Pdtraining delivers 1000’s of professional development courses each year in Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, Manhattan, Miami, Orlando, Philadelphia, and Seattle, so you can be assured your training will be delivered by a qualified and experienced trainer.
All public Customer Service Training courses include am/pm tea, lunch, printed courseware and a certificate of completion. Customized courses are available upon request, so please contact pdtraining on 855 334 6700 to learn more.