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CSRs

The Best CSRs Training Crosses Borders – Canada, USA, and More

Posted in Customer Service, Hot Topics and New Bits, People-Skills, Soft Skills on Mar 9th, 2010

Are your customer service representatives, CSRs and technical support teams, working with customers in other countries? How strong are their intercultural people-skills? Immigrants, ex-pats, and companies doing business in other countries can be far more successful with just a little more attention to intercultural people skills (also known as soft skills). If you want a job, a sale, or a great customer service review, step outside of your own perspective and use an intercultural approach. Customers and employers make decisions from their cultural zone not yours.

Two Examples

Canada and the USA share a common language not culture.

Nick Noorani writes on the blog The Expatriate Mind Nine Soft Skills No Immigrant Should Be Without: “Skilled immigrants often focus on improving technical skills. After coming to Canada, they are shocked when they are told they have no Canadian experience.” Then he cites an example where a courier needing his signature asked him for his John Hancock — an American expression to be sure. Yet the courier was working in Canada!

CSRs outside the USA.

Many USA customer service call centers are now located outside America (some in Canada and some off-shore). How well do the CSRs in Canada and off-shore understand the regional differences across the USA? Adapting to these differences as you speak to American customers distinguishes your customer service from those that don’t adapt. Intercultural adaptation builds customer loyalty.

I have outlined these American regional differences and how to adapt in a new customer service training DVD: Customer Service USA – What They Expect Coast to Coast and Everywhere in Between.

CSRs Offshore Training DVD


You already provide phone and web technology to connect your CSRs and technical support teams with your customers. Turn that connection into a profitable loyal bond with intercultural training. For companies with USA customers, this means adapting to regional differences – North, South, East, West, and everywhere in between. In Canada there are both cultural and regional differences that global companies can learn and embrace to build Canadian customer loyalty.

For companies doing business interculturally, the key to customer loyalty is:
Learn the differences
Respect the differences
Love the differences &
Find the fit!

I welcome your comments, contributions, and feedback below. For information on purchasing the training DVD, please click on the link above.

Please visit this blog again for many other people-skills posts on customer service, teamwork, and intercultural connections.

Kate Nasser, The People-Skills Coach, is a highly respected soft skills, customer service, and team building trainer. In her new training DVD, she shares 20 years of first hand experience working with customers in every region of the USA. Tap this experience for your company!

The Best CSRs Act This Way in Customer Service

Posted in Customer Service, Listening Power, People-Skills, Soft Skills on Mar 2nd, 2010

Kudos and a heartfelt thank you to Verizon Wireless CSR Lori-El.

Happy on tough days.

Best CSRs Do This! Photo by:Photophonic


Customer service rep (CSR) Lori-El worked through confusing issues on my account with an inquisitive intelligent approach while taking care (and I do mean care) of me. I would definitely rate her as one of the best call center CSRs I have had in recent times.

In the last blog post I focused on The 25 Worst Customer Service Stories to Train the Best CSRs.

Today I am very pleased to outline how the best CSRs act in delivering customer service. Please add your best actions in the comments field below.




Best CSRs Action Checklist

Verizon Wireless CSR Lori-El did this well in delivering customer service.

  1. Sincere conversation not a scripted recitation.
  2. Listens for the customer’s personality and demeanor and then maps actions to it.
  3. Listens to every piece of information the customer offers without jumping over words.
  4. Shares control of the call with the customer instead of driving it through a predetermined path.
  5. Listens to the customer’s level of knowledge and speaks to that level (not above or below).
  6. Thanks the customer for input during the call not just at the end.
  7. Apologizes once for the length of time it is taking to resolve it and keeps moving on resolving it!
  8. Asks permission to access the customer’s records and then uses the information to go the extra mile.
  9. Continues to listen to related questions and answers them clearly.
  10. Uses confusing moments to learn and then teach the customer instead of saying. “I don’t know.”
  11. Is honest about current obstacles to resolution and then finds a work-around!
  12. Sounds happy to be at work even when doing overtime or having a tough day.
  13. Streamlines future contact by giving an updated phone number to call.
  14. Uses positive forward focused language instead of negative phrases.
  15. The conversation shows responsibility and initiative in resolving the problems. Never blames the customer.
  16. Resolves the current issues and then considers the customer’s future needs and forecasts solutions. (e.g. If you switch to a Blackberry or SmartPhone you might encounter this problem and we can fix that as well.)
  17. Tone of voice throughout the call is sincere, focused, and action-oriented.  Closing remark reflects that as well.


Please feel free to add your best actions to this list in the comments field below.


Kate Nasser, The People-Skills Coach, delivers customer care and customer service workshops, webinars, and DVDs globally. Her intuition and experience with people is a valuable resource to your business success. Read what other customers say about her results – click “endorsements” on this site.