Are your technicians customer-friendly?

Nation's Business, August, 1997 by Roberta Maynard

The notion of "service with a smile" has acquired a broader meaning for many companies whose service technicians regularly deal with customers by phone or in person.

Although technical proficiency and a pleasant manner with customers may have been enough in the past, "technical people are being asked to do a better job of learning what the customer wants," says service-training expert Grace G. Major. She is president of Sigma International, Inc., a consulting firm in Fairfax, Va., that assesses the performance of service staffs and provides training.

More companies are asking their technicians to fill gaps in sales efforts and to repair communication breakdowns, Major says. "Technicians are where the tires meet the road. They may be able to turn around a situation and help retain customers or keep them satisfied."

Some companies are cultivating their technicians' abilities to clarify customer needs and identify and capitalize on sales opportunities. Major says that some managers are giving technicians greater authority to do what it takes to keep customers happy, such as occasionally not charging for a service call or a part.

She says the trend appears to be driven by companies' need to optimize their human resources and by the high cost of redoing work--that is, making repeat calls or visits to customers for the same problem.

Firms with a high level of customer dissatisfaction or with a high volume of customers calling to ask for managers to resolve technical problems might consider broadening technicians' responsibilities.

Major advises companies to decide first how much customer interaction they want from technicians and to make clear the level that is expected of them. This should be addressed as early as the hiring process.

Many technicians are not people-oriented, she says, and explaining in the help-wanted ad the customer-relations aspects of the job will eliminate people who are uncomfortable with such duties. In interviews, supervisors can gauge candidates' ability to deal with customers by describing particular customer scenarios and asking job prospects how they would handle the circumstances.

(For more on customer service, see "Ties That Bind,".)