Editing Standards (section)

==Customer Service==

===Customer Interactions===

{|class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align: left;"
|-
| '''Rule number'''
| '''Recommendation'''
| '''Explanation'''
|-
| 1
| When walking in, greet the customer within 7 seconds - head nod, a hand motion with eye contact, anything. Do NOT ignore them as if they did not walk in at all. If you are busy, (helping out another customer, finishing a phone call), tell them or signal with a hand gesture that you will help them out in a minute or two.
| Customers will understand if you are dealing with other customers, but they will take it personally if they are ignored.
|-
| 2
| If the price of the estimated repair cost of a device is close to the value of the device, make sure to tell the customer that it might not be worth repairing the device '''''before''''' giving the customer the estimate.
| Customers of repair shops are often on edge about being ripped off. Customers that know beforehand that the cost of repair might not be economically viable, they will not complain later being "sold" something that wasn’t worth it. Truth builds trust rather than anxiety and demonstrates that a technician is on their side (which should be true of a good repair shop).
|-
| 3
| Anytime you say no or are turning away a customer, explain the honest ''reason'' to them. Without this, people will feel as if you do not want to help them and take it personally, as if the repair industry as a whole doesn’t want to help them.
| When bad news is given, the customer will often be agitated (some more than others), and some will handle it better than others. You can’t change how people feel about the bad news - but you can focus the direction of their agitation at someone other than yourself. It makes sense for the customer to be mad at ''you'' if ''you'' aren’t able to help them with their problem, when they have every reason to believe you can - which is why it is ''important to explain why we can’t.'' Let them understand that we would love to help them, but the manufacturer goes out of their way to make it impossible for us to do so.
|}

===Customer Communications===

'''Communication is Key.''' 

A happy customer is an informed customer, even if the news is bad. Most customers will appreciate you going out of your way to keep them informed. There is nothing quite as frustrating to find out days or weeks later that your issue was either resolved or unresolvable, especially when it effects a person financially. Bad communication is the root of most customer confusion and anger. Communication is the easiest thing you can do to keep everything under control.    

'''Best Ways to Communicate'''

In person, Telephone, Email, Customer visible ticket notes. 

Each different way of communication has its benefits.

*'''In person:''' Good for initial ingest & diagnosis questions. Best not to get into deep thought or process. 

*'''Telephone:''' Good for quick updates or final communication upon finish of work. Note all communication in ticket or official notes. It helps you both later.

*'''Email:''' Best for more detailed representation of a problem or even showing a simple picture of the issue. Great for recalling in the future for any reason. 

*'''Tickets.''' Best used for in house dealings. Most official way of keeping notes.


'''Don't Lie'''

The quickest way to lose a customers trust is to tell them something that is untrue. More than likely they will find out and it will make future dealings difficult or impossible. This is the quickest way to lose a customer and owe them financially. It is ok to say "I do not know" as long as you follow up with "I will go find out".

'''Update Frequency'''

Each customer will require a different level of communication to keep them happy. Depending on the customer some may want an update once a week, some every other day. If you work on their item, note it. You don't need to read them a book or hold a conversation just quickly and effectively inform them of relevant information and move on. Once a customer is informed of important and accurate information and you have given them a realistic timeline they tend to back off. 

'''Show Interest'''

Customers are perceptive. They can tell if you are not interested in resolving their problem. This is usually not a good look for you or you business. Try and show that you are interested in their problem. Express compassion or empathy. Show them that you are in their best interest and will do what you can to attempt to resolve their issue. Be genuine.

'''Troubleshooting 101'''

Customers are people, and people are not machines; said better we work with measurements and observations. Most every issue can be reduced to a common issue, however before that step; do your best to keep a clear and open mind. Any detail shared however strange or unnecessary as it may seem initially; could end up saving hours of labor in store, do your best to document what is shared.

You can learn more about the isolating a issue to environment, hardware or a chance at reeducation in our Isolating a Symptom guide [https://www.repair.wiki/index.php?title=Isolating_a_Symptom Here].  

'''Repair Approvals''' 

When getting approval for a repair from a customer, make sure to get approval for moving forward with affirmative language. If they say, “Yes, that sounds good, but please call or email me,” or, “You’ll let me know, right?” that negates prior approval, and should prompt you to say, “To be clear, you are approving that we perform the repair at $250 to this device?”

'''Use Best Judgement'''

If the customer is adamant that they want to go through with a repair that may not fix the issue, tell the customer that the repair that is being done may not fix the issue that they are having. Strongly discourage them from doing this several times.


'''Pro Tip:'''  Communication is a skill and it is not learned overnight. You can always get better at it with time and should always strive to.