CTOKOS Blog

Imagine that you have been working on a file for the entire day and there was a power surge that caused your computer to ‘black out’. It would have been a frustrating experience for us as we had put in a lot of time and effort into it. I am sure that many of us would have experienced data loss in some form or another and have learnt to be wiser to backup our data to avoid any form of data loss.

Have you ever thought of a worst case scenario where a fire broke up and destroy your computer or where your laptop got stolen? Should that happen, the first thing that comes into your mind is the thousands of dollars that you spend on your computer or laptop and you would feel very upset about it. However, when you thought for a second moment, you started to realize that what is really valuable are the amount of data that you have built up over the years in it. Though hardware can always be replaced, even at no cost to you if you have insurance, but lost data is gone forever.

Lost data such as the thousands of mp3 and movies that you have downloaded from the Internet, thousands of digital photographs that are impossible to replace are lost in an instant. This form of data loss hits home especially hard when the laptop holds the lifeblood to your business. Imagine all your business contacts documents and contracts that you have painfully built up over the years would be vanished just like that. Your business would be wipe out overnight.

Do not wait for the worst to happen before you start to consider about data backup solution. Having a data backup solution will give you a peace of mind as you know that your data is in safe hand.

Justin Koh is a freelance writer whose articles have appear in most major ezine. You can find more of these at: http://www.backupcenter.info

You have permission to publish this article electronically or in print, free of charge, as long as the bylines are included. A courtesy copy of your publication would be appreciated.

What is it that makes one customer service rep consistently fantastic and effective, while the person in the next cubicle is merely average, or worse?

It isn’t a matter of a single trait that can be glibly labeled enthusiasm, or sincerity, or caring.

I’ve identified no less than twenty five things that account for customer service success, and they’re all behavioral. For one thing, great reps not only ask, “How may I help you?” but they do this with an ascending tone that conveys the impression that “I really WANT to help you!”

When reps know exactly what to do, when to do it and how to do it, they have one half of the puzzle solved.

But the other half is receiving ongoing feedback from customers, supervisors, and themselves that makes them aware of how they’re doing, moment by moment, that is also essential to success.

Like driving a car well, it’s not good enough to merely point your vehicle toward your destination. Once you’re underway, you have to adjust to the road, to traffic, to your own impulses to jump lanes or pursue detours and short cuts, and even to the time you have allotted to reach your goal.

Yes, you can put your mind on auto-pilot and daydream your way through customer conversations, much like breezing down a highway on cruise control, but you’ll be safer and less likely to get lost if you’re paying close attention to your progress, second by second.

One of the basic problems associated with monitoring, measuring and managing customer service is the fact that reps, and their trainers and managers, are not classifying properly what’s making a significant difference in their conversations.

Moreover, they’re clueless about discerning which customers are strongly versus weakly satisfied as those conversations end. Customer reactions need to be scaled for intensity.

For example, do they “recommit” their business at then end, signaling loyalty and an explicit intention to come back again and do more business with your firm? If so, how strongly do they express it?

Likewise, if they thank you, what is the “magnitude of their gratitude?” Is it a one, two, three, four, or a zero?

Without clearly defined indicators, and accurate and quick feedback, customer servers can’t really improve. Moreover, they’re more likely to perceive their tasks as “thankless” while avoiding responsibility for service outcomes.

Salespeople, surgeons, and sports stars improve their skills and outcomes through feedback. Why shouldn’t customer service folks excel through this device, as well?

When you provide rich feedback, you’ll be on the right path to improving customer satisfaction.

Dr. Gary S. Goodman, President of Customersatisfaction.com, is a popular keynote speaker, management consultant, and seminar leader and the best-selling author of 12 books, including Reach Out & Sell Someone and Monitoring, Measuring & Managing Customer Service, and the audio program, “The Law of Large Numbers: How To Make Success Inevitable,” published by Nightingale-Conant. He is a frequent guest on radio and television, worldwide. A Ph.D. from USC’s Annenberg School, a Loyola lawyer, and an MBA from the Peter F. Drucker School at Claremont Graduate University, Gary offers programs through UCLA Extension and numerous universities, trade associations, and other organizations from Santa Monica to South Africa. He holds the rank of Shodan, 1st Degree Black Belt in Kenpo Karate. He is headquartered in Glendale, California, and he can be reached at (818) 243-7338 or at: gary@customersatisfaction.com. For information about coaching, consulting, training, books, videos and audios, please go to http://www.customersatisfaction.com.