Chicomm Blog

If you feel like you’ve tried everything to improve your team’s customer service skills – jokes, threats and rewards – but nothing seems to be getting through to the members of your mobile staff, it may be time for some fresh customer service training ideas to get back on the right track.

Training isn’t a cure-all, but it is a great way to make sure everyone's hearing the same message at the same time. Your mobile staff may resist taking time away from their day jobs, but consider training an unmatched investment in customer satisfaction.

Have your team name all of their customers – internal and external.

The foundation of excellent customer service is great employees. You want customers to walk away from interactions with your staff feeling supported and satisfied enough to want to come back for more – and to send their friends and colleagues your way. So one great customer service skill is to hone your hiring process to find genuinely friendly and helpful people.

That all starts with a hiring process that focuses on both skillset and how well a prospective candidate’s personality aligns with your company’s customer-centric focus. To build a winning team, you need people who are both talented and can demonstrate a willingness to go the extra mile for your customers.

Whether you’re considering upgrading your facility management software or investing in it for the first time, it can be daunting to start researching software options. As with any technology investment, it's crucial to have the right information so that the choice you make results in increased efficiency and profitability.

As you’re researching your facility management software options, there are a few key considerations to keep in mind:

Full suite of features and functionality

Customer service skills are probably the most important asset to front-line staff dealing with the public or clients. But customer service technology – and knowing how to use it – can be just as important as people skills.

The right communication technology can create a win for everyone involved – the business, the staff, and customers. On-site service staff equipped with lightweight, convenient radios can assist customers by having real-time communication with team members handling inventory, accounts, and other functions.

Buying the right devices isn't enough, though. Too often, businesses buy the right devices, hardware or software but don’t take the time for adequate instruction to unlock all of the technology’s benefits. Training is the easiest way to ensure that you’re putting technology to work to meet your customer service goals. While most modern radio solutions are pretty intuitive, it’s still a best practice to make sure staff know how to use them correctly and efficiently. If that’s not the case, it can impede staff confidence and ability to build trust with the customer.

Once you’ve worked with your Motorola dealer to get the best MOTOTRBO radio solution for your business or agency, it's not uncommon to discover  that your team needs accessories to make the best use of that solution. While the right research can make it possible to anticipate most staff needs prior to purchasing your system, it's always a good idea to set aside a budget and process for ordering Motorola radio accessories after the radios are in use.

Why Use Motorola Radio Accessoris Instead Of a Different Brand

Motorola has engineered its accessories to match the specifications and intended uses of their radios. While other brands exist, professionals who've tried them with their MOTOTRBO devices often get mixed results. One side effect of non-Motorola add-ons is “chopper noise," as this YouTube demo shows.

"Most people do not listen with the intent to understand; they listen with the intent to reply," wrote Stephen R. Covey, author of the best-selling guide The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. They're words to live by – and work by, if you're working or supervising in a customer service role.

Rather than just telling your customers what you offer and how you think it will help them, being willing and able to ask them what they need, listening to the answer and discussing how you can work together to meet those needs will set you apart from competitors, particularly those who talk more than they listen.

Listening carefully will give you insight into how customers are using your product or service and help you anticipate their needs in the future. And excellent customer service skills are all about not just meeting, but anticipating the customer's needs.

When Illinois gas company Aux Sable expanded its processing plant to increase natural gas liquid production, the company looked to Chicago Communications as their Motorola dealer to add to and enhance its MOTOTRBO digital radio system – not only for regular employees, but for contractors.

Aux Sable is one of the largest natural gas liquid (NGL) extraction and fractionation facilities in North America. A major player in the midstream gas processing business, Aux Sable operates facilities and pipelines in some of the most active shale positions on the continent, including Alberta, Canada and North Dakota.

Here's how Chicago Communications worked with Aux Sable to create a safe and productive way to meet their changing communication requirements.

Nordstrom, the Seattle-based retailer with legendary customer service, is known for the effectiveness of its Employee Handbook and its “One Rule”: “Use good judgment in all situations.”

Nordstrom knows that hiring the right employees is the first step. Once that's in place, the company needs to give those employees the autonomy to create exceptional customer experiences in their own way. You can instill that sense of autonomy in employees by letting them know that you’re confident they’ll treat customers the way that they would want to be treated.

And it’s good to keep in mind that even the best customer service practitioners need resources for developing their customer service skills. If you’re looking for good customer service training ideas, have your staff pair off and role-play challenging customer service situations. Assign the one in the staff role to use just one rule in determining how to respond: use good judgment.

When London-based bank HSBC was looking at sophisticated business alarm systems for a 200,000-square-foot Data Center, its key considerations included automation, 24-hour coverage, safety and security, along with compatibility with Motorola MOTOTRBO radios. With all of that in mind, the Teldio Alarm Control System (ACS) was the clear choice.

The Teldio ACS integrates into existing building management and network systems to monitor for a range of alarms – including environmental emissions, fire, maintenance, security and technical maintenance –  and when an alert is raised, alarms are sent simultaneously via text or audio to MOTOTRBO devices (for more on using MOTOTRBO in manufacturing, check out our Motorola dealer case study on working with Aux Sable.).

In addition to audio and text, notifications and job tickets can be sent by phone call, Android App and Windows alert.

As you’re honing the great customer service skills that will make you and your business stand out, one to keep near the top of your list is also one of the easiest to practice: Be responsive. Customers who have become accustomed to the immediacy of the internet have little patience for companies or representatives who don’t respond quickly. Being responsive and accessible is key when you want to be known for excellent customer service.

Facebook is even awarding a "responsiveness badge" to businesses that have a response rate of 90% and a response time of 15 minutes over a seven-day period. To ensure that you and your team build responsiveness into your customer service strategy, make it a rule to respond to customers within a preset amount of time, say, no more than 2-4 hours.