This exercise will help you understand the principles of customer service success.  Read each question and rate yourself between 1 and 10 (1 being the lowest and 10 the highest).  This will help to determine where your skill level is today.

My customers are my paycheck. How do you view your customers?  Do you understand that your degree of service will help determine your wage and your success?  ________ (1-10)

Your attitude determines the degree of excellence of service you perform.  How consistent is your positive attitude?  ________ (1-10)

Customers call Gem for one reason…they need help.   Do you try to help them solve their problem?  Do you meet or exceed their needs?  ________ (1-10)

The value of a customer is 20 times their annual sales volume.  Do you understand how much one customer is worth?  Did you calculate the cost of the loss?  Do you strive to WOW every customer so they come back again?  ________ (1-10)

A customer ready to do repeat business with Gem is a powerful business advantage?  The quality of the relationship with your customers determines “loyalty” more than the price of our service.  Are customers using Gem more than once?  Are you helping to make that happen every time to answer the telephone? ________ (1-10)

Customer satisfaction is worthless.  Satisfaction is no longer the acceptable standard of customer service.  Satisfaction is no longer the acceptable measurement of customer service success.  The standard and measure of success for Gem is “loyal” customers.  Customer loyalty is priceless!  Do you understand what loyalty is and how to get it?  Do you WOW your customers? ________ (1-10)

When you’re finished speaking with a customer, that is when they START talking.  A customer will either say something good about Gem, nothing about Gem, or something bad about Gem.  Do you understand that your words and actions determine what the customer will say?  Are you doing everything you can to ensure positive experiences for every customer who calls? ________ (1-10)

Word of mouth advertising is 50 times more powerful than advertising.  Memorable customer service can only take place in a human-to-human situation.  To be the best you can be for others, you must first be the best you can be for yourself.  Are your customers saying great things about how you serviced them?  Are they ecstatic with your ability to help them? ________ (1-10)

Your friendliness and willingness to help is in direct proportion to your success.  How friendly are you toward your customers?  How willing are you to help. Can they “HEAR” your smile?  When a customer calls with a problem, do you try to get rid of it or are you the person who solves it?  ________ (1-10)

Customer service is a feeling.  You know it when you get it.  You know when your doing a good job.  You can feel it.  You also know when your doing your best.  It’s an inside feeling of WOW! ________ (1-10)

The secret to successful customer service is…start with YES and end with WOW!  Instead of giving your customer a lame excuse or reason why you can’t help them, start your response with “I can help”, or “the best way to handle that is” or “the fastest way to get that done is” or “the easiest way to get that done is”.  Give solutions not excuses.  Do you provide solutions?  Does your customer feel the WOW experience at the end of the call? ________ (1-10)

The customer’s perception of good or bad service is the measure of your success or failure.  If the customer has a different customer service definition than we do, our definition is invalid.  In the end, customer perception is all that matters.  How do customers perceive you?  Do they feel that you are taking care of their needs?  Are you concerned with customer perception? ________ (1-10)

Now, calculate your score.  Scores of 100 or more, your hired!  Your desire to provide WOW service is right up there with eating ice cream.  Scores of 80-100, you’re on the right track but you may need some additional training.  Don’t be afraid to ask.  We can help.  We will WOW you!  Scores below 80, you definitely need some re-fining.  You can do it, just let us know where we can help.  We are here for you.