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COMMUNICATION SKILLS: CUSTOMER RELATION
CommunicationSkills: Customer Relation
Introduction
Communicationis the very imperative medium for human socialization, the process ofcommunication makes living harmoniously. Through the sharedinteraction and sharing of information between individuals whichusually occurs naturally, people learn to live together in harmonyand good relationships. Communication is the process through whichpeople share information in a manner that they understand each otherperfectly. The first step in understanding the complexity ofinterpersonal communication is knowing the basic process throughwhich communication occurs. Communication skills are very importantin the development of good customer relations. This essay provides ananalysis of a case of communication between a bank employee and acustomer who comes looking for information on her loan applicationwithin the bank which she has been loyal to for over decade.
Discussion
Goodor poor customer service behavior
Itis important to note that poor customer service can be completelydisastrous to the reputation of the organization, this can eventhreaten the existence of the organization. A good customer service,on the other hand, can create a highly competitive advantage whicheventually enhances the organizational standing and provide aplatform that increases growth and development (Kattara, 2016). Someof the communication problems that are evident in this particularvideo include:
Talkingtoo much:In this video the employee of the bank talks too much, he breaks the“80-20” rule which states that the customer should talk 80percent while the employee should talk 20 percent. The customer doesnot want to hear the employees talk but listen (Lopez, 2016).
Goingthrough the emotions:attending to customers can be monotonous and too much of this canlead to apathy which is a poor customer service quality. The customerin this particular case shows that she feels that her problem is onein a sea of millions. Customers’ needs to feel that their problemsare unique and that they are given individual attention. In thiscase, the employee goes ahead and tells the customer that they alwaysreceive such issue, and this creates a bad customer service quality(McGovern, 2016).
Fudgingthe truth:it is completely wrong to lie to the customers in any matter. In thisparticular case, the employee has lied to the customer on manyoccasions, and this creates a feeling of mistrust on the employee bythe customer. The employee, in this case, has lied to the customerconcerning the availability of her loan application. The customer hasalso given promises to the customer on things that he is notcompletely sure about (McGovern, 2016). The customer will always wantto hear the truth even if it what they don’t want to hear. It isimportant that you tell the customer what you are 100 percent sure tobe accurate. In case there is any form of uncertainties, it is goodto give explanations and let them know why you cannot make promiseson the information (Lopez, 2016).
Failureto show gratitude: Customers will always expect a thank you at the end of theconversation. In our case, the employees do not get the chance toshow gratitude at the end of the conversation because ofcommunication failure (Lopez, 2016). A good gesture of gratitude is amust in the recent times with the aim of making the customers feelgood doing business with the company and develop loyalty (McGovern,2016).
Empathyand trust:developing understanding and trust with the customer is veryimportant in making the customer feel that the business cares abouttheir problems (Kattara, 2016). In this particular video, theemployee of the bank does not show any form of empathy to the clientthis has been shown by his ignorance of the feelings of customer whocries due to her predicament, but the employee does not take anyempathy on her (McGovern, 2016).
Listeningskills:the listening skills are imperative in communication between thecustomer and the employee. In this particular case, the employee doesnot have good listening skills as he does not listen keenly to theclient and keeps asking her to repeat the information that she hasalready given initially. This disappoints the customer who noticesthat the employee does not take his job seriously and requests totalk to the manager of the bank (Lopez, 2016).
Buildingrapport:this refers to a state of harmonious understanding with anotherperson that makes it easier for the two to easily communicate. Inthis particular case, the employee does not give a chance any form ofrapport, at the beginning of the conversation he does not initiatetalks appropriately through improper body language and allowing otherthings to interfere including phone call (Kattara, 2016).
Conclusion
Organizationsneed to continuously train their employees on proper communicationskills to maintain quality customer services. The interpersonalcommunication skills among the employees are very essential indeveloping a proper image and reputation of the company. The clienthas to respond to both the complaints and the requests of thecustomer in the most appropriate manner and use all the availablecommunication skills that will help in improving the relationshipbetween the client and the company. References
Kattara, H. S. (2016, June 11). The Impact of Employee Behaviour on Customers` Service Quality Perceptions and Overall Satisfaction. Retrieved from Sage Pub: http://thr.sagepub.com/content/8/4/309.abstract
Lopez, J. P. (2016, June 11). The impact of customer relationship characteristics on customer switching behavior: Differences between switchers and stayers. Retrieved from Emerald Insight: http://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/abs/10.1108/09604520610711909
McGovern, M. (2016, June 11). 6 bad customer service habits your company needs to break now. Retrieved from Customer Experience Insight.: http://www.customerexperienceinsight.com/6-bad-customer-service-habits-your-company-needs-to-break-now/