- A Dougherty High School graduate writes book on the basics of treating the customer right.
Ashley Hindsman
ALBANY – "The customer is always right" is typically a phrase only used when at a restaurant and trying to knock off an additional 10 percent off your tab for the mysterious "hair" found in your entree.
But for Albany native Sharon Burton, customer satisfaction has been the essence of her career and her book, "Quality Customer Service: Rekindling the Art of Service to Customers."
"I've worked with training people in call centers and all types of different customer service environments, Burton said about her nearly 20-year experience in customer service.
Burton said she has worked in operations banking for several Fortune 500 companies as a human resources liaison. She also said she has written policy and procedure guidelines, training manuals and on-the-job training aides for large and small companies and businesses.
After speaking with marketing and development college professors, hearing customer service horror stories from friends and family members and experiencing some of those stories herself, Burton thought it would be a good idea to put the basics of quality customer service in a book and in the simplest terms.
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TOP 5 CUSTOMER SERVICE DO'S AND DON'TS
- Always smile and be polite
- Never use jargon or slang or euphemisms when talking to the customer.
- Always present a professional demeanor.
- Allow the customer to speak without interruption.
- If the representative is unsure of what the customer is asking, repeat what is believed the customer said and ask question to gain clarity before proceeding.
- Always thank the customer.
Source: Sharon Burton
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"I wanted the person who is in high school just getting their first job to relate to it, and the college graduate just getting their first job to relate to it," Burton explained.
Burton used seven characters, Dollar, Stu, Meaty, Shopper, Peachie, Medic and BATS to illustrate seven customer service scenarios and to define key customer service terms.
"All are scenarios that I have witnessed or experienced myself. Each character's name relates to the business that they portray," she said.
The characters explore customer service in banking, education, grocery shopping, retail, the medical industry and public transportation – areas Burton said are the most common encounters for the average person.
Burton said her intentions for the book were to target training and development departments and colleges and universities where she feels better customer service skills should be taught.
"I found that many people never made it past their training period not because they didn't know their craft, they didn't have the customer service side," she said.
"I think that many people go into a job not actually having had any type of study in customer service. A lot of people assume that they know what customer service is," she added.
Burton said she not only encourages quality customer service in her book, but also in her everyday life whenever she encounters someone who isn't delivering good customer service.
"I make point if I see someone delivering great service to tell them and send a letter to their supervisor. And if they are not I try and explain to them what they could have done better," she said.
"At least 99 percent were receptive, and if not, their managers definitely were," she added.
After holding several books signings and now considering teaching a college course on customer service, Burton said audiences have been receptive to the book and are applying it to their own jobs.
"The feedback has been very positive. People are reading it and the word is consistently getting around," Burton noted.
"People are now learning that customer service is really the business. If the service is poor, the business will close," she explained.
Burton said through her book, she hopes people will understand how important customer service is to the livelihood of any establishment and to learn not underestimate a customers' influence on another customer.
"The customer is key to the success to any business. If the customer is turned off, that customer is going to talk to 10 or 20 other people."
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