Silly Service has its Serious Side: Test Your Customer Service Knowledge!

Who says service is serious? Customer service can be silly too. Take this fun quiz to test your customer service knowledge. You may be a service ace if you both pick the correct answer to each of these ten questions, and understand why these answers are correct.

1. A complaining customer is:
A. Always right
B. Almost right
C. Often lying
D. Always the customer

2. Customers who complain:
A. Had unhappy childhoods
B. Are genetically predisposed to be sourpusses
C. Have trouble in their primary relationships
D. Are doing you a service in identifying what isn’t working in your business or organization

3. The best reward for your customer service representatives is:
A. Earplugs and punching bags
B. Valium or other mind-numbing drugs
C. Recognition and appreciation on your part
D. Anger management seminars

4. CRM stands for:
A. Customers Rarely Matter
B. Can’t Remember Much
C. Communicating Random Meaning
D. Customers Rudimentarily Managed
E. Customer Relationship Management

5. Customers who complain want . . .
A. Something for nothing
B. To be heard and have their experience validated
C. To vent for the sport of it
D. To be made majority shareholders in the company

6. Customer Service departments:
A. Are the afterthought that cleans up messes other departments cause
B. Build customer loyalty
C. Are leaders in understanding customer behavior patterns and market research

7. For a company to be considered service-oriented:
A. It must mention customer service in its mission statement
B. At least 18.3% of its employees must work in the customer service department
C. Its managers must at one time have been CSRs
D. Customer service must be addressed by all departments

8. A Call Center is defined as:
A. The midpoint in duration of a telephone call
B. A revenue sink hole
C. A place where middle-of-the-road calls coexist with liberal and arch-conservative calls
D. A location where complaints and problems are converted into successful saves for your customers and your company

9. Customer Care is:
A. A managed care medical program for customers
B. A nifty alliterative phrase that looks good in company brochures
C. A new program where customers care for themselves
D. A philosophy wherein the customer is wrapped in service even before a problem arises

10. Customer Service Culture is
A. A new form of yogurt where the lid removes itself for you
B. Behavior being analyzed in a Petrie dish for contagions
C. A mythical civilization in which everyone smiles and welcomes you when they meet
D. An environment where customer service permeates the thinking of the entire company

KEY

1. D. Customers are often wrong but they never stop being the customer. Right or wrong they are to be accorded respect and cared for. Focus on the insights their complaint offers.

2. D. Complaining customers alert you to systemic problems before they drive off more customers. Their complaints represent many more customers who may not spend the time to tell you about problems, instead just leaving you for your competitors.

3. C. Your staff deserves and thrive on recognition and appreciation. Take the time to celebrate them collectively and individually. Whether through cards, gifts, surprises, outings and acknowledgements at company functions, let them know how important, valued and appreciated they are to you and the company.

4. E. CRM refers to systems designed to track and cater to each customer’s whims and preferences over a lifetime. CRM is about managing customer relationships over the long haul by attending to their individual needs.

5. B. Complaining customers have several needs. Implicit in their actual complaint is also a need to be heard and their unhappiness acknowledged. Fixing the problem is important. So is letting them know you understand their displeasure and feel for them. One without the other is an incomplete remedy for customer complaints. Don’t forget the emotional component in complaints.

6. B and C. When you solve a problem for a customer you actually build confidence and allegiance. You’ve proven you stand behind your products or service, giving customers a warm and fuzzy feeling of safety and protection. As well, you tap the pulse of the customers. Their complaints and feedback give valuable insight into how well your products are assembled, documented, sold and hold up. Listening to customers tells you a great deal about your company’s products and services (and your competitors’ too) from real life customers. That’s invaluable!

7. D. A Customer Service orientation must transcend the service department. All departments must understand and model good customer service for the company to be considered strong in service. Many problems can be avoided outright by attending to customer service. Why should the customer service department carry the weight of service for the entire company. Don’t operate under the adage “never enough time to do it right but always enough time to do it over.” Get it right at the source, in all departments.

8. D. Make your call center is a shining example of your company’s commitment to its customers. Your center is a visible symbol of your company’s commitment to customer success.

9. D. Customer Care is a philosophy wherein customers are cared for by a company – the entire time they’re customers. Care isn’t just to be administered as a salve for problems. Demonstrate care from the start and your customers will flock to your products and services.

10. D. Customer Service Culture is the infusion of service ideals into every department, from sales, shipping and receiving to legal, human resources and beyond.

CRAIG HARRISON is a speaker, trainer and consultant who makes communication and customer service fun and easy for his clients. To hear his voice, call (888) 450-0664. Otherwise you can visit his website www.expressionsofexcellence.com or send e-mail to Excellence@craigspeaks.com.

Related Information of Interest:

A Fundamental Dog Training Concept You Must Understand For S
I moved into a new house about 14 days ago.

The funny thing about this house is that--when you walk into the master bathroom, the light switch is on the left side, opposite of where the sink is.

Well, practically every other house I've ever lived in has always had the light switch on the right side--or at least on the same side as the sink.

And I'll be a monkey's uncle if EVERY SINGLE TIME I've walked into that bathroom, my hand doesn't instinctively reach to the right to turn the light switch on. Even after 14 days, my prior conditioning has been so engrained that when I consciously try to remember which side the light switch is on… my hand still shoot out to the right, instead of the left.

This is the exact same type of conditioning we aim for when training our dogs. And this is why I advise that--- even after your dog understands a command--you continue to say, "come" and then give a tug on the line… up to a year after the initial training session.

I want your dog to be so conditioned to respond to commands that it becomes an automatic response--just like turning to the right instead of the left, to turn on the bathroom light.

As I've already touched on this concept a few years ago in my book, which you can read more about at Dogproblems.com … I just had to share this experience with you, because it was so comical to the extent to which we animals (yes, we're animals too!) can develop conditioned responses.

Just like our dogs.

About the Author

Adam G. Katz is the author of the book, "Secrets of a Professional Dog Trainer: An Insider's Guide To The Most Jealously Guarded Dog Training Secrets In History." Get a free copy of his report "Games To Play With Your Dog" when you sign up for his free weekly dog training tips e-zine at: www.dogproblems.com

Downloading Online Movies
There are many online websites for downloading movies, though the legality issue was still a major question mark until recently, especially since sites downloading music like Napster were shut down. The big news for many computer junkies recently was that the companies of Movielink and CinemaNow are recognized as being the first major online sources for legal downloadable movies in the United States. Previously the studios were shy about licensing online stores for anything but video rental, but now that has changed.

Movielink has managed this breakthrough by pushing forward with the backing of Universal, Twentieth Century Fox, Paramount, Sony Pictures, and Warner Brothers. Cinema Now is in a similar situation, which is part of the reason why these companies are experimenting to see how the downloads process works. Movie downloads for new releases become available on the same day as the DVD release, and there is an ever growing backlist of previously made films all ready. The one thing to keep in mind that makes these downloads different than others: you can not burn anything onto DVD, the download will only stay on your computer and can not be copied.

Pricing, according to studios, is currently "competitive" with the DVD release, which in many peopleï¿½s minds makes it a bad buy, being way too expensive for what you get. Classic movies are generally be priced at $13.99, with some movies priced as low as $9.99. New movies are all over the map. King Kong, for instance, will sell for $19.99, compared to $14.96 + shipping from retailers like Amazon. The Bad News Bears (2005), on the other hand, sells for $26.00 online at Movielink, which is essentially the same price Amazon is carrying at the moment. Most of these offerings, however, will not offer the extras found on today's DVD and you instantly sacrifice the ability to take your movies with you on the go.

Encrypted or not, the standard DVD is at least portable. All in all, this makes movie downloads from these sites, even with the reassurance of everything being acceptable and ï¿½legalï¿½ as really weak.. Until a better pricing appears, it would seem that these companies are doomed to failure. At least they would be, if the movie companies did not own them. Wait for a better deal.

Dave is the owner of divx-movies.info and free-movies-download-full.info websites providing information on movie downloads

Poetic Love versus Commercial Love
Am I the last romantic? This is a very tough question for me! I remember the times when love seemed more pure and diaphanous. A boy saw a girl, he liked her, she smiled shamefaced at him, giving him hope. Desire was fed by hope, and time was the perfect cook for a romantic love recipe. It all continued with peaceful thoughts at night, while looking at the stars and making wishes, sweet love wishes! Days were passing, the boy can’t get his thoughts back on the track, charmed by his beautiful princess. Another glimpse, a few days after, would keep the fire burning, until the boy can’t take it anymore, and moves to the next step:a romantic poem and roses, maybe even chocolate candy. Beautiful! I’m not going to exaggerate this, by inserting a balcony in this act.. But let’s admit it, those were the good old days of love and poetry.

Today, everything seems so empty and meaningless. The media is always showing us more and more violence and sex, pushing love away from our lives, replacing it only with desire. Now women are more and more interested of the bank account and limousine the boy drives, and probably would take poetry and candy as an offence or as unimportant; they would very much rather an expensive perfume or necklace. The boy, on the other hand, doesn’t have that shiver anymore in his voice, he’s a stable person that shouldn’t let loose his lack of confidence. He’s driving his luxury car, dressed up after the latest fashions, perfumed and everything, with sunglasses to give himself a superior attitude. He goes to her home, gives a horn and then takes his partner to the most expensive places to impress her. And he probably succeeds in most of the times. Very beautiful, some may say.

Well, I am very sorry, but I am one of the fellows who won’t give into this „new era love”. I stick with the poetic love that used to be once upon a time, the incurable romantic. You may contradict me if you wish, everybody’s free to have an opinion, but I remain the last mohican stuck to the idea that love and poetry come together as a blessing, and shouldn’t be torn apart.

By Alexandru Ionescu - If you feel that you have something to say in poetry, just join this love poem contest - If you join this poetry contest, you could get your poem published!

Online Degrees - Points to watch out for
Many reputable universities offer online degree courses. An online degree offers students many advantages, especially older students, who may have childcare commitments that need to be accommodated into a study regime. Given that students on a traditional course spend the greater part of their time partying, it is certainly possible to pack the study part of a university education into one or two years.

Employers are naturally suspicious of anything new in the way of qualifications, and there will be a certain reluctance, on the part of some, to accept an online degree as equivalent to a traditional one. This arises because of the wealth of worthless ï¿½life experienceï¿½ degrees that can be obtained for $200 or less from universities that no-one has ever heard of.

An online degree from a traditional and respected university will get you over this hurdle. You should avoid lesser known universities offering these courses, even if they are accredited institutions. Employers do not have the resources to keep track of which institutions are reputable this year, and which were reputable in the year your degree was awarded. They will play safe and only interview candidates with qualifications from universities they recognize.

School principals and governors are some of the most conservative people on the planet. If you apply for a teaching job with a qualification from some unheard of university, they will assume your hard-earned qualification is an online degree and worthless.

If you are looking into an online education degree, then you need to be particularly careful that it includes some teaching experience in a school situation. Teachers want to be working alongside other teachers who have been through a similar system of training that they went through themselves.

The general perception amongst teachers is that online degree qualifications do not include teaching practice in the classroom. They want to know that you have some teaching experience in the classroom and to see reports relating to that.

These reports are the only relevant reference you have as far as most teachers are concerned. The extent of your knowledge, as measured by your degree is much less important than is your ability to communicate that knowledge to a group of students.

Pete Gallagher, taught Chemistry for 28 years. He has now left teaching to concentrate on writing. These articles are based on an expensive photocopiable resource that he sold to schools to use in staff training. Find more of Pete's work at his EduBackup website. Another source of information on education degrees can be found at this specialist resource site.