The official definition of a customer is as follows – “A person or entity who willingly buys goods and services from another person or entity.” Last week I watched a very interesting Cutting Edge documentary on traffic wardens.  The film makers followed a selection of people who had recently arrived in this country and taken [...]

When dealing with challenging situations a useful technique is “Instant Replay”.  This is sometimes referred to as the broken record technique. This technique is the skill of being able to repeat , in an assertive manner, your bottom-line position, when you are not able to compromise.

In order to control a call and get the facts you need to display active listening.  Effective listening is an essential skill in all aspects of customer service but it is particularly useful when managing difficult situations. Listening is often seen as a passive skills because people don’t actively show that they are listening, or [...]

Everybody would like to say yes rather than say no however there are some times when it is impossible to say yes so follow these simple guidelines to help you give bad news when you can’t avoid it. Don’t avoid it The longer you leave it, the harder it is for you.  The customer may [...]

Yesterday the shopworkers union released data that showed that up to 1 in 3 shop staff have been verbally abused in the last month alone and perhaps more shocking is that 1 in 10 staff have been physically abused. In the lead up to the festive period USDAW released their findings and claimed that members [...]