This presentation was developed for the San Felipe-Del Rio Consolidated Independent School District secretary and front office training held on August 9, 2010

1. The Front-line of
Customer Service

2. BRAD
DOMITROVICH
PR Zealot, Speaker, Educator
www.domitrovich.com
Don’t shout, listen.
Don’t convince, inspire.
Don’t direct, lead.

3. Our Agenda for Today
★You are on the Front-line
★Customer Service and Communications
★Managing Your Workload
★Open Discussion

4. You know a little about me,
let me find out a little about you!

5. Elementary Employees
★What’s your name?
★How long have you worked here?
★What is your favorite all-time
television show?

6. Middle School Employees
★What’s your name?
★How long have you worked here?
★If you could vacation anywhere,
where would it be?

7. High School Employees
★What’s your name?
★How long have you worked here?
★Where did you go on your very
first date?

8. Everyday, you are faced with situations that require
the utmost sensitivity, tact, and sense of humor.
You are dealing with people who are
sometimes uninformed but still know they are right.
You are on
the front line.

9. Why are we meeting today?
•To bring together the people who
are the face, the voice, the eyes,
and ears of the district.
•To offer suggestions to enhance
our relationship with the public.
•To share with each other.

10. What motivates people?
• Recognition - interested in respect, admiration,
regard, esteem, notoriety and celebrity.
• Influence - interested in power, control,
competition, and order to be most important.
• Internal - morals, duty, intellect, creativity,
philanthropy, and honor are important to you.
• Profit - strive for success with money,
possessions, acquisitions, wealth, and money.

11. What motivates you?
★Take the time to do a personal survey:
• Do you really enjoy your work?
• Are you an optimist or a pessimist?
• How do you feel about yourself?
• Would you like to work for you?

12. Just how happy are we?
★In a recent survey ...
• 80% of the people polled said they
woke up happy.
• 79% of the people polled said they
considered themselves an optimist.

13. Major sources of happiness ...
★Relationship with children.
★Friends/friendship.
★Helping others.
★Degree of control over your personal life.
★Relationship with spouse/significant other.
★Job/employment.

14. Remember, it’s just a job!
★It’snot your life.
★You should have fun while you’re here.
★You should enjoy what you’re doing, or
go somewhere else.
★Enjoyment in the workplace spills over
into other aspects of your life.

15. Some reasons for job burnout ...
★Overwhelming amount of work.
★Lack of clear direction.
★Boredom.
★Lack of appreciation.
★Stress.
★External forces.

16. Do you have “happy” characteristics?
★Positive mental attitude.
★High expectations for yourself and
others.
★Childlike enthusiasm.
★Willingness to try something new.
★Good communicator and listener.

17. Some ways to get happy!
★Throw out non-essential numbers (like
age, weight, and height).
★Surround yourself with happy friends.
★Never stop learning.
★Enjoy the simple things.
★Laugh often, long, and loud.

18. What about attitude?
★You, and only you, are in charge of
your attitude.
★Attitude is your choice to make.
★Your attitude will determine what
you get or won’t get out of life!

19. ATTITUDE
A=1
T = 20
T = 20
I=9
T = 20
ATTITUDE = 100%
U = 21
D=4
E=5

20. Tips for improving your attitude ...
★Count your blessings.
★Practice acts of kindness.
★Learn to forgive.
★Invest time and energy on your friends
and your family.
★Develop strategies for coping with stress.

21. Brighten your corner of the world!

22. What about those difficult people?

23. What is a difficult person?
★A difficult person is anyone who
has a problem.
★A difficult person is anyone who
does not share your organizations
point of view.

24. Dealing with difficult people ...
★Assist them quickly and efficiently.
★Smile - when faced with no
resistance, anger can fade away.
★Listen without interrupting.
★Never take the complaint personally.

25. Dealing with difficult people ...
★Ask non-threatening questions when
trying to determine the problem.
★Call them by their name.
★Never get into a shouting match.
★Put yourself in their shoes.

26. Dealing with difficult people ...
★Assist them quickly and efficiently.
★Smile - when faced with no
resistance, anger can fade away.
★Listen without interrupting.
★Never take the complaint personally.

27. Questions/Comments

28. BREAK TIME

29. Customer Service
Communications

30. What is
customer service?

31. What is
customer service?
Customer service is a
series of activities
designed to enhance
the level of
customer satisfaction.

32. What is
customer service?
- and it’s also -
the feeling that
a product or service
has met
the customers
expectation.

33. What is
communication?

34. What is communication?
Communication is a
process by which
information is
transmitted from one
person to another and
it elicits
a response.

35. Why communication matters?
• Good communication is a skill
needed by all of us to be
successful in whatever we do.
• Good communication is
everything in a crisis situation.
• Customer service is all about
good communication skills.

36. Try to think of a job that doesn’t
include communication and
customer service?

37. For the most part,
aren’t most jobs all about
relationships?

38. Customer Service
RELATIONSHIPS
Communications

39. Who are our customers?
•Students
•Parents
•Employees
•Community

40. Fundamental Needs
of a Customer
To feel welcome.
To be understood.
To retain dignity.
To obtain assistance.
To be valued.

41. Some Excuses Given
for Bad Customer Service
Low expectations.
Inadequate training.
Not service oriented.
We’ve always done it …
Lack of respect for others.

42. Five Rules for
Great Customer Service
Keep customers the priority.
Over-deliver when possible.
Offer choices.
Be access-approachable.
Use logic not emotion.

43. Our customers …
• Do we talk about them when we
shouldn’t?
• Do we keep their concerns private?
• Do we judge people by their looks,
appearance, or dress?
• Do we judge people by who they
are related to?

44. In a recent customer survey,
92% of the people who had a
positive experience about visiting
a school for the first time
remembered what two things?

45. The person …

46. and
their
smile!

47. In a recent customer service survey,
what three things did respondents say
made them feel like their were not
being helped when they called a
school for the first time?

48. #1
They
did not
know who
they were
talking to.

49. #2
They felt like
they were
imposing on
the person
answering
the phone.

50. #3
They felt that the person did
not listen to them entirely.

51. Communication Skills

52. Communicating effectively
with others includes …
•Speaking
•Listening
•Body Language
•Knowing your audience

53. Speaking
•One-on-One
•Eye contact and body language
•Both are equally critical
•Telephone
•Remember the five customer
service rules
•Identify, Take Time, Listen

54. Listening
• Listening is the key to great
communication.
•The best communicators are listeners.
• Stop what your doing
•This includes typing and texting
• Make eye contact
•It’s OK to take notes but …
• Muzzle your internal debater

55. Body Language
• Eye contact
• Body posture
• Appropriate gestures
•Avoid over enthusiastic moves
• Facial expressions
• Voice modulation
•No shouting or whispering

56. Know Your Audience
• GI Generation (1904-1924)
• George H.W. Bush
• Silent Generation (1925-1942)
• John McCain
• Baby Boomers (1942-1960)
• Bill Clinton
• Generation X (1961-1981)
• Barack Obama
• Generation Y (mid 70’s - early 00’s)
• Our students, our student’s parents

57. GI Generation
•Value outer life
over the inner
life.
•Don’t talk
easily about
emotions.

58. Silent Generation
• Discussion,
inclusion, and “the
process”.
• Newspapers, some
TV, town hall type
meetings.

59. Baby Boomers
• More spiritual
and idealistic.
• Value rebellion.
• Targeted
newsletters, e-
mail, task force.

60. Generation X
• Parents of majority of
students in school
today.
• Skeptical problem
solvers.
• Very interactive.
• On-line readers.
• Texting, cell phones, e-
mail, blogging.

61. Generation Y

62. Generation Y

63. Let’s review a few things!

64. Fundamental Needs
of a Customer
To feel welcome.
To be understood.
To retain dignity.
To obtain assistance.
To be valued.

65. Five Rules for
Great Customer Service
Keep customers the priority.
Over-deliver when possible.
Offer choices.
Be access-approachable.
Use logic not emotion.

66. Customer Service
RELATIONSHIPS
Communications

67. Questions?

68. Break Time!

69. Managing Your Workload

70. Personal Analysis
★ Are you a morning or an afternoon person?
★ At the end of the day, do you prepare a “to do”
list for tomorrow?
★ Do you develop time task calendars for major
jobs and regular reports?
★ Have you worked out a schedule with your
administrator to meet with him/her regularly?

71. Personal Analysis
★ Are
you doing things because “we’ve always done
them that way”?
★ Are you doing any tasks that can be eliminated?
★ Can you delegate any time consuming tasks to
co-workers or student aides?
★ Do you evaluate your time problems in terms of
what you can and cannot control?

72. Time Saving Tips
★Organize your space.
★Keep your desk clean.
★Begin each day with a plan of
action you made the day before.
★Complete a task before moving
on to the next one.

73. Time Saving Tips
★Junk mail is called junk mail for one
specific reason.
★Try to handle papers on your desk
only once or twice.
★Handle your e-mails the same way.
★Being late is never as productive as
being early.

74. Time Saving Tips
★Write stuff down.
★Send back the original.
★Read the instructions and use
the manual first!
★Save your digital work often.
★Make a template.

75. Time Saving Tips
★Use signs around the office to help
with FAQ’s.
★Use the telephone wisely.
★When taking messages, be specific
yet complete.
★Don’t be a control freak, delegate!

76. Time Saving Tips
★Fully prepare for every meeting.
★Assist your boss with the preparation of
materials they need for their meetings.
★By help managing your bosses schedule,
you manage your own much better.
★Make sure you have the training you
need to do your job effectively.

77. Organizing Your Space

78. Organizing Your Space
★Clean out each desk drawer.
E !
★Clear off the top of your desk.
Z
N I
★Keep only essential items on the op
G
of your desk.
R A
O
★Create an in-box for each person
that relies on your expertise.

79. Organizing Your Space
★Have a master to do list for each
day of the week.
Z E !
N I
★Pre-sort the mail (to do, to file, etc.)
G A
★Use storage containers that work.
R
O
★Keep a separate drawer for personal
paperwork and items you need.

80. Organizing Your Space
★Color code your files to make things
easier to find.
Z E !
I
★Take five minutes before lunch to stay
N
R G A
organized for the afternoon.
★When projects are complete, file them.
O
★Always straighten desk at the end of
each day.

81. Questions/Comments

82. Some things to remember ...

83. Some ways to get happy!
★Throw out non-essential numbers (like
age, weight, and height).
★Surround yourself with happy friends.
★Never stop learning.
★Enjoy the simple things.
★Laugh often, long, and loud.

84. Tips for improving your attitude ...
★Count your blessings.
★Practice acts of kindness.
★Learn to forgive.
★Invest time and energy on your friends
and your family.
★Develop strategies for coping with stress.

85. Dealing with difficult people ...
★Assist them quickly and efficiently.
★Smile - when faced with no
resistance, anger can fade away.
★Never get into a shouting match.
★Never take the complaint personally.

86. Customer Service
RELATIONSHIPS
Communications

87. Fundamental Needs
of a Customer
To feel welcome.
To be understood.
To retain dignity.
To obtain assistance.
To be valued.

88. Five Rules for
Great Customer Service
Keep customers the priority.
Over-deliver when possible.
Offer choices.
Be access-approachable.
Use logic not emotion.

89. You are
the front line!

90. If you would like a copy of today’s presentation ...
www.SlideShare.net/BradDomitrovich