The Customer Service Skills Profile

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There’s truth to the old adage that it costs ten times more to replace a customer than to keep one!

Improving customer service skills is easily one of the most profitable investments any business can make. Most customers are willing to pay a premium to have their basic needs met in a timely and efficient manner, and will be pleasantly surprised (and grateful) if they are treated with a little dignity and respect in the bargain. This isn't asking for much, but consistent, responsive, and respectful treatment is surprisingly hard to come by.

Best-practice organizations do not want customers to be surprised when they get good service. Good is not good enough. Instead, they work hard to ensure that every moment of truth or interface point with a customer creates a positive impression. They achieve this by making sure that each person who serves customers directly and each person on the internal staff who serves the frontline staff is competent in a range of important service skills.

Which service skills or competencies are most critical in customer service? There are several key themes or broad competencies that seem to be priorities for good service providers. Extensive industry research suggests that there are seven competency areas:

1. Temperament/Disposition
   
2. Attentive Listening  
   
3. Communicating Clearly  
   
4. Resolving Conflict  
   
5. Engaging in Joint Problem Solving  
   
6. Carefully Negotiating  
   
7. Building Warmth and Empathy  

This instrument has been designed as a self-scoring customer service skills assessment that will help individuals understand more about their relative competence in each critical area. The seven competencies that constitute outstanding service are assessed individually and collectively in order to come up with the individual’s overall profile.

The competency areas can be considered as separate sets of skills, but together they create a kind of Service Skills jigsaw puzzle. No one piece will supply you with all the skills you need. By aspiring to improve your performance in all of these competencies, you can improve your ability to provide the kind of service customers want, need, and expect to pay for.

Get started now and you’re well on your way to retaining more valuable customers that sign your paychecks!