Robert W. Lucas,
Webster University, Orlando, Florida
ISBN: 0073545449 Copyright year: 2009
Book Preface
CUSTOMER SERVICE IMPORTANT?
While there may be those that argue customer service is nothing more than basic,
common sense, it has become increasingly clear that it is, in fact, vital to the success of any
business. Don’t believe us? Just ask Mona Shaw.
Shaw, a 75-year-old retired Air Force nurse, was attempting to switch her cable and
phone service to another provider. After a missed appointment, an unauthorized phone
number change, and a series of shabbily handled customer service interactions, Shaw’s
frustration escalated. When the manager she requested an audience with went home for the
day without seeing her, Shaw returned with her husband’s hammer and proceeded to destroy
computer monitors and phones. When police were summoned, she agreed to set her
hammer down . . . she just did so with force and directly on top of a phone.
While this story is extreme, her plight highlights exactly why customer service is the
lifeblood of successful companies. As technology changes, the solutions to customer problems
are becoming increasingly complex. The result is an environment in which Customer
Service Representatives (CSRs) are walking the fine line between technology solutions that
cannot be resolved instantaneously and the historically proven need to treat customers with
respect and care. Walking that fine line is exactly why Customer Service: Skills for Success is
essential reading for anyone fortunate enough to impact customers on a regular basis.
What makes the fourth edition of Customer Service: Skills for Success unique to the
market is the understanding that at the core of all workflow and technological changes is
common courtesy that cannot be ignored. This edition focuses specifically on emerging
technologies and the globalization of customer service workflows without losing sight of
what is fundamentally important in the first place . . . the customer.
In addition to helping students cope with the changing landscape of customer service professions, we recognize that, like the industry itself, streamlining is a necessity. We have streamlined the text in an effort to communicate pertinent information in a time-efficient model.
As our global community evolves, customer service models must be adaptable to meet
changing needs. This understanding is at the core of Customer Service: Skills for Success.
The text and ancillary materials do more than just provide a how-to for CSRs. The supplements give students a skill set that will allow them to adapt and change as rapidly as the businesses they work for. Ultimately, the goal of this book is to provide students with the
skills they will need to thrive in the real world.
NOT THE SAME OLD CUSTOMER SERVICE TEXTBOOK
Customer Service: Skills for Success uses a variety of activities and examples to gain and
hold readers’ interest while providing additional insights into the concepts and skills related
to customer service.
The text begins with a macro view of what customer service involves today and provides
projections for the future then focuses on specific skills and related topics.
http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=3750705&page=1
The 4th Edition of Customer Service: Skills for Success contains 10 chapters divided into three parts, plus the Appendix, Glossary and Bibliography. The sections focus on different aspects of
customer service: (1) The Profession (2) Skills for Success, and (3) Building and Maintaining Relationships. Along with valuable ideas, guidance, and perspectives, readers will also encounter interviews of real-world service providers and case study scenarios and activities to help you apply concepts learned to real-world situations in order to challenge your thinking on the issues presented.
Each chapter starts with behavioral-based Learning Objectives to direct your focus and to help you measure your end of chapter success in grasping the concepts presented. You will also find a quotation from a famous person to prompt your thinking related to the chapter topic and the text focus.
As you explore the chapter material, readers will find many helpful tools to enhance their learning experience and assist them in transferring their new knowledge to the workplace.
These include:
An opportunity to do a short Self-Assessment of current skills and knowledge levels before even reading the first page. This is done through a series of brief questions related to providing customer service that readers can score themselves. If the responses are incorrect, you can use the areas missed to focus in on specific chapters as you read the book. For those areas where you get the answers right, you can use chapters which discuss them as a reinforcement.
Pretests called Quick Preview are provided at the beginning of each chapter to allow readers to check their topic knowledge. Answers to the questions are provided at the end of the chapter.
In the Real World sections, placed at the beginning of many of the chapters, provide insights into customer service in a variety of well-known businesses, industries, and organizations. These candid snapshots provide an overview of how successful businesses provide products and services and succeed in a highly competitive global world.
Work It Out activities throughout the chapters challenge readers knowledge and provide an opportunity for individual and/or small group work on a specific topic or issue.
At the end of each chapter is a Chapter Summary and Chapter Review Questions, along with Key Terms and Concepts to bring together the key elements and issues encountered in the chapter.
Face to Face exercises are customer service scenarios in which readers assume the role of a specified employee and use information provided to determine how they would handle a
customer service issue.
Search It Out activities at the end of skill-building chapters provide the opportunity to use research skills on the Internet. In each chapter, explore the Internet to obtain a variety of customer service facts, figures, and related information to use in group activities, presentations or discussions.
Participate in Collaborative Learning activities where readers and one or more of their peers can actually work through a customer service issue with the instructor to practice your skills
and find answers to various questions.
Planning to Serve activities provide a roadmap for planning strategies and identifying techniques that you can be used from the book to provide superior customer service in the future.
Use the Reader Satisfaction Survey found in the Appendices section of the text to provide the author with feedback.
BASIS FOR CONTENT
This book draws from over my three plus decades of real-world experience in customer
service environments, management, and human resource development. I have worked in
sales, retail management and service functions for a number of organizations, I am a performance consultant working with client organizations in many different industries, and I
have been the president of my e-commerce retail own company—Creative Presentation
Resources ( www.presentationresources.net )—since 1994. I have taught at numerous colleges and universities through the Master’s level for over a decade. I deal with customer
issues and needs everyday and know that the techniques described in this book work. While
there are some research and theoretical sections contained in the chapters, much of the information is derived from personal experience, research, and reflections of actual customer
service encounters experienced by others.
Whether you are new to the service profession and have no base of customer service
knowledge, or are more experienced and wish to enhance your knowledge and skills,
Customer Service Skills for Success and accompanying ancillary materials can provide a
catalyst for their success.
I am confident that this book will assist you reaching your goal to become a better
service provider.
Bob Lucas
To obtain an instructor login for this Online Learning Center, ask your local sales representative.
If you're an instructor thinking about adopting this textbook, request a free copy for review.
2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education