UNIT 10: CUSTOMER SERVICE

STARTING UP
A. On the pone
1. Being cut off.
2. Finding customer service number is continuously engaged.
3. Speaking to a disinterested person.
Face to face
1. Unhelpful customer service personnel.
2. Stressed or indifferent staff.
3. Salespeople with poor product knowledge.
Repairs and refunds
1. Delays in getting money back.
2. Poor-quality repairs.
3. Disputes over credit notes, “proof of purchase”, etc.
B. Discussion.
1. Customer service is often at the heart of a business which aims to provide
an exceptional service that leaves the customer feeling valued and
respected. Although providing an excellent service can involve extra
resource, time and money, when you get it right it will enable you to stand
out from your competition, maintain a positive reputation among future
customers and encourage existing customers to purchase from your
business again. Remember, it is six times more expensive to acquire a new
customer than to retain an existing customer!
2. Yes, it is annoying and kind of creepy.
3. Yes, at times one may face too much customer service specially during
physical visits to stores where the sales representative starts following
you and show with unnecessary products just to make a sale. Perhaps,
they wanted to do this to serve their target and go on to the extent of
annoying the visiting client. At other times customers visiting for a demo
of the product start receiving calls regularly to convince them to buy the
product.
I have experienced this kind of situations specially with brands of
communication services, they turn crazy when you don´t want anymore
their services.

VOCABULARY: Complaints
A.
 1. Complaints – d
2. Rapport – c
3. Payment – g
4. Standards – b
5. Refunds - f
6. Guarantee - e
7. Compensation – a
B.
1. C
2. D
3. E
4. A
5. B
6. G
7. F
C.
1. 2
2. 1
3. 5
4. 4
5. 6
6. 3
7. 7

READING: Changing customer service

A.
1. Yes, Mike Betzer insist that the companies can secure continuous business
as well as positive word of mouth by keeping things personal when working
globally.
2. No, a good customer service means much more than it. For example, good
infrastructure, equipment and qualified personnel that understand the
importance of: “keeping things personal when working globally”.
B.
1. Service was personal and familiar and when issues arose, they were
typically handled face to face with a local manager. Now it is mechanical or
not much human.
2. The speaking to customer service representatives based in other parts of
the world or mechanical systems that didn't offer the right choices.
3. Companies need to collate and analyse the huge amounts of costumer data
they store, creating a central repository that can build profiles of
 costumers. Using insights into their location, previous purchases, personal
data and other information.
4. Because the companies seem happy to rely on canned, scripted responses,
poorly trained agents and clunky systems to deliver customer services.
C. Companies need to use all their resources effectively.
D.
1. Pay lip service.
2. Face to face.
3. Word of mouth.
E.
1. Face to face.
2. Word of mouth.
3. Pay lip service.
F. Customer service representatives based in other parts of the world, mechanical
systems, disinterested staff or without apparent training… I am witness of these
and some others specially in brands of communication services.

LANGUAGE REVIEW: Gerunds

A.
1. Pre-empting and using.
2. Searching.
3. Missing, speaking and dealing.
B.
1. b
2. a
3. d
4. c
5. f
6. e
C.
1. Returning
2. Doing
3. Making
4. Replying
5. Warranting
6. Learning
7. Attempting
8. Recognizing
9. Granting
10. Helping
SKLLS: Active listening
A. Someone is zoned out and just pretending to listen when their eye contact is too
fixed and their heads are too still, they smile too brightly and for too long , they tap
their fingers, they fidget, their body is turned away from you, their feet are pointed
towards the door, they do not mirror your body language, etc. It creates an
awkward atmosphere and makes you feel miserable.
B. I use to:
 Repeat what the speaker has said in your own words.
 Be aware of the speaker's body language.
 Use body language to show you are attentive.
 Ask questions if you do not understand.
 Say nothing until you are absolutely sure that the speaker has finished.
Suggestions:
 Seem confused. Have a painfully confused look on your face throughout the
conversation. This will convince your coworkers that you’re listening
intently, and not actually trying to decide which is worse for you, a
margarita or a vodka sour.
 Avoid eye contact. Never look your coworker in the eye while he’s talking.
Non-verbal communication specialists say that tilting your head and looking
up indicates reflection. Do this while nodding so he’ll interpret it as you
trying to figure out a solution to his problems, and he’ll be unable to see
your eyes glazing over. Another option is to close your eyes altogether and
assure him it helps you listen. If you fall asleep, try not to snore. When he
finishes talking, simply open your eyes again and say, “I’ll think about that
some more”. Then walk away feeling refreshed and confident, knowing
your coworker really thought you were listening that time.
C. I think my cooler is pretty good but I do not really think is the best buy I ever made,
it is useful and I love the cold so is good for me. The customer service was almost
nonexistent so I do not think about it.

Writing
The company do not give any answers to the problems, they make false promises, the
customer service is extremely poor scraping the rude, exist lack of: attention, empathy
and information towards the costumers. Firstly, they have to be willing to learn, then,
they can try to measure and analyze the customer feedbacks; it is time to
communicate clearly, look for common ground and respond to the costumers (do not
forget to apologize and make up for the costumer problems). Know your products and
services, improve in your technical skills, use positive language, learn to empathize
with your customers and practice the active listening because they are the key for
improve your customer service skills.