Customer service training conquered in 3 easy steps

As a business owner, you know what excellentcustomer servicelooks like: greeting guests by name, making recommendations, responding to reviews, and finding solutions when someone has a problem. But how do you ensure your employees uphold the same level of service?

Customer service training is how good service becomes second nature. Taking the time to train staff in customer service yourself can help employees build rapport and become embedded in your business’sservice cultureso they don’t even think twice about greeting someone when they walk through the door.

According to service expert杰夫Toister, you can equip employees to impress customers in just three steps, and it starts with your expertise. “One of the most important pitfalls to avoid when training your team is relying on external sources to do it for you,” he said. “As an owner who knows their business inside and out, there’s no one better equipped to teach your employees than you.”

Below, Jeff shares his three fundamentals of customer service training to supercharge your team’s next training session.

1. Define what outstanding service looks like at your business

The first [step] is definition. We need to define what outstanding service looks like so that we can give all of our employees a clear and consistent picture of: “This is what we’re trying to do.”

I’ll give you an example: I’m based in San Diego, California. If I’m looking for the best sliders in town and an ice cold beer, I am going toThe Hills Pub. They have over 1,500 reviews on Yelp and a 4.5-star rating. On their website is this really nice tagline: “The Best Neighborhood Bar in San Diego.”

Think of that as a compass point or a North Star for every employee. You could tell any employee who works there: “We’re trying to be the best neighborhood bar in San Diego.” It gives them a definition [of outstanding service].Thisis what it looks like when you think about your neighborhood bar. They’re friendly, they’re welcoming, they have good food. It’s a good atmosphere. It’s casual and relaxed. All of those things help people understand the service they’re trying to provide.

2. Establish specific procedures for providing service

If you train people without procedures, you’re just giving them a bunch of generic advice to follow. But once you have procedures, you have specific steps that you’d like your employees to take. For example, if you walk into The Hills Pub, the first thing you’ll notice is anybody who’s working there who sees you come in immediately says hello. In the first interaction you have with anybody at The Hills Pub, they introduce themselves, they create rapport, and they get to know your name.

They also have procedures for how you place an order where you go to go to a certain station if you want to place an order for food or beverage. It helps improve their operational efficiency, and it’s another touch point where you get to chat with people. These procedures help them deliver the brand of service that they’re trying to provide.

3. Empower your employees with resources to succeed

You have to be able to provide your employees with the resources necessary to deliver the type of service you want them to provide. It doesn’t make any sense to train employees to serve “the best beer in San Diego” if you are out of beer. You need to have the resources for them to succeed.

How many times have you seen an employee just nail it? In the moment, you can come to them and say, “You did so great. Let’s break it down. What did you do? You should do it exactly that way the next time.” All those [times when] you’re already helping your employees understand how to do their jobs better should be part of your customer service training program. No long boring workshops required.

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These lessons come from an episode ofBehind the Review, Yelp & Entrepreneur Media’s weekly podcast. Listen below to hear from Jeff, orvisit the episode pageto read more, subscribe to the show, and explore other episodes.