Customer service : skills for success / Robert W. Lucas.

Includes bibliographical references (page 288) and index.

"Walking the tightrope between effective business practices and quality customer service is becoming increasingly complicated. Customer Service: Skills for Success strives to simplify the landscape by offering both effective tools for coping with changing business models, and crucial advice and examples for dealing with all types of customers."--Jacket.

Preface -- Acknowledgments -- part 1 : The Profession -- 1. The Customer service profession -- Defining customer service -- Growth of the service sector -- Societal factors affecting customer service -- Consumer behavior shifts -- The Customer service environment -- Addressing changes -- 2. Contibuting to the service culture -- Defining a service culture -- Establishing a service strategy -- Customer-friendly systems -- Twelve strategies for promoting a positive service culture -- Separating average companies from excellent companies -- What customers want -- part 2 : Skills for success -- 3. Verbal communication skills -- The Importance of effective communication -- Ensuring two-way communication -- Avoiding negative communication -- Communicating positively -- Providing feedback -- Dealing asertively with customers -- Assertive versus aggressive service -- 4. Nonverbal communication skills -- What is nonverbal communication? -- The Scope of nonverbal behavior -- The Role of gender in nonverbal communication -- The Impact of culture on nonverbal communication -- Unproductive behaviors -- Strategies for improving nonverbal communication -- Customer-focused behavior -- 5. Listening to the customer -- Why is listening so important? -- What is listening? -- Characteristics of a good listener -- Causes of listening breakdown -- Strategies for improved listening -- Information-gathering techniques -- Additional question guidelines.

part 3 : Building and maintaining relationships -- 6. Customer service and behavior -- What are behavioral styles? -- Identifying behavioral styles -- Communicating with each style -- Building stronger relationships -- Dealing with perceptions -- 7. Service breakdowns and service recovery -- What is a service breakdown? -- The Role of behavioral style -- Difficult customers -- Handling emotions with the emotion-reducing model -- Reasons for customer defection -- Working with internal customers (coworkers) -- Strategies for preventing dissatisfaction and problem solving -- The Problem solving process -- Implementing a service recovery strategy -- 8. Customer service in a diverse world -- The Impact of diversity -- Defining diversity -- Customer awareness -- The Impact of cultural values -- Providing quality service to diverse customer groups -- Communicating with diverse customers -- 9. Customer service via technology -- The Increasing role of technology in customer service -- The Customer contact/call center or help desk -- Technology etiquette and strategies -- The Telephone in customer service -- 10. Encouraging customer loyalty -- The Role of trust -- The Importance of customer relationship management (CRM) -- Provider characteristics affecting customer loyalty -- Be responsible for your customer relationships -- Making the customer number one -- Enhancing customer satisfaction as a strategy for retaining customers -- Strive for quality -- Appendix : Reader's customer service survey -- Glossary -- Bibliography -- Photo credits -- Index.