How to give great customer service: The L.A.S.T. method

Summary

In this educational video, Emma introduces the LAST approach to effective customer service. She explains that listening, apologizing, solving the issue, and thanking the customer are the key steps to handle customer problems. Emma emphasizes the importance of showing empathy, not taking blame, and seeking help from a manager if needed. The video aims to equip viewers with the skills to make customers feel valued and satisfied.

Takeaways

• 😀 Customer service is about making customers comfortable, happy, and meeting their needs and expectations.
• 🏢 Customer service is a broad category applicable in various jobs such as in hotels, restaurants, retail, and healthcare.
• 🤔 Common customer problems can range from overcharging to long wait times or service issues like Wi-Fi not working.
• 👂 The LAST approach stands for Listen, Apologize, Solve, and Thank, which is a structured way to handle customer issues.
• 👁️‍🗨️ Listening to the customer involves actively showing that you are paying attention and understanding their problem.
• 🙇‍♀️ Apologizing does not mean admitting fault; it's about expressing regret for the customer's negative experience.
• 🛠️ Solving the problem requires taking action to resolve the issue or escalating to a manager if necessary.
• 🙏 Thanking the customer is crucial for ending the interaction on a positive note and encouraging repeat business.
• 😡 When dealing with angry customers, remain calm and polite, and if needed, involve a manager to help de-escalate the situation.
• 💡 If unsure how to solve a problem, be honest and seek guidance from a supervisor or manager to ensure customer satisfaction.

Q & A

What is the main topic of Emma's video?

The main topic of Emma's video is teaching the LAST approach in customer service, which stands for Listen, Apologize, Solve, and Thank.

What does Emma define as customer service?

Emma defines customer service as the process of making customers comfortable and happy, meeting their needs and expectations, and solving any problems or situations they might have.

Why is the LAST approach important in customer service?

The LAST approach is important because it provides a structured way to handle customer problems effectively, ensuring that customers feel heard, acknowledged, and valued.

What should you do first when a customer has a problem according to the LAST approach?

According to the LAST approach, the first step when a customer has a problem is to listen to their issue attentively.

How should you show that you are listening to a customer's problem?

You should show that you are listening by maintaining eye contact, not looking away or displaying impatience, and by repeating back or summarizing what the customer has said to confirm understanding.

What is Emma's advice for dealing with an angry customer who uses bad language?

Emma advises to remain calm, not take anything personally, and to politely ask the customer to calm down and use nicer language so that you can help them.

How should you apologize to a customer in the LAST approach?

In the LAST approach, you should apologize by saying 'I'm sorry you've had a bad experience' without taking blame or admitting fault.

What should you do if you can't solve the customer's problem immediately?

If you can't solve the problem immediately, you should be honest and tell the customer you're not sure how to resolve the situation, and then involve your manager or supervisor for assistance.

Why is it important to thank the customer after resolving their issue?

Thanking the customer is important to end the interaction on a positive note, to show appreciation for their patience and feedback, and to encourage them to return.

What is the purpose of the quiz mentioned at the end of the video?

The purpose of the quiz is to allow viewers to practice their English and reinforce the concepts of the LAST approach in customer service.

How can the LAST approach help in various customer service roles?

The LAST approach can help in various customer service roles by providing a universal method to handle customer complaints and issues, ensuring consistent and effective service across different industries.

Outlines

00:00

😀 Introduction to Customer Service and the LAST Approach

Emma introduces the concept of customer service, emphasizing its importance across various industries where customer satisfaction is key. She outlines the different roles that involve customer service, such as hotel clerks, restaurant servers, and store managers. Emma then introduces the LAST approach as a method for handling customer issues effectively. The approach involves four steps: Listen, Apologize, Solve, and Thank. She explains the importance of actively listening to customers' problems without interrupting or showing impatience, and the significance of acknowledging their concerns to build rapport and trust.

05:04

😐 Handling Difficult Customers and the LAST Approach

In this section, Emma discusses how to handle angry or rude customers by maintaining a calm and professional demeanor, suggesting a 'computer-like' response to avoid taking things personally. She advises using polite language to defuse tense situations and to reassure the customer of the intent to help. Emma then continues with the LAST approach, explaining the importance of apologizing even when not at fault, by expressing regret for the customer's negative experience without assigning blame. She provides examples of how to apologize effectively. Emma also covers the steps to solve the customer's problem, either by offering immediate solutions if possible or by involving a manager if the situation is beyond one's capability. Lastly, she stresses the importance of thanking the customer for bringing the issue to attention, to end the interaction on a positive note and potentially encourage repeat business.

Keywords

💡Customer Service

Customer service refers to the interactions between a company and its customers, with the goal of ensuring customer satisfaction and loyalty. In the video, Emma explains that customer service is crucial in various industries, such as hotels, restaurants, and retail stores, where the primary focus is on meeting customers' needs and resolving their issues. The script mentions that customer service involves making customers comfortable and happy, which is central to the theme of the video.

💡LAST Approach

The LAST approach is a customer service technique discussed in the video, which stands for Listen, Apologize, Solve, and Thank. It serves as a structured way to handle customer complaints effectively. Emma emphasizes the importance of this approach in resolving issues and ensuring customer satisfaction, making it a key concept in the video.

💡Listen

Listening is the first step in the LAST approach and is crucial in understanding customer complaints. Emma advises actively listening to customers' problems without interrupting or showing impatience. In the script, she provides examples of phrases to use, such as 'What seems to be the problem?' and 'How can I help you?', to demonstrate attentiveness.

💡Apologize

Apologizing is the second step in the LAST approach, and it involves expressing regret for the customer's negative experience without admitting fault. Emma suggests using phrases like 'I'm sorry you've had a bad experience' to show empathy and to defuse tension, which is a key strategy in maintaining a positive customer relationship.

💡Solve

Solving the problem is the third step in the LAST approach and involves finding a resolution to the customer's issue. Emma explains that if the issue is within one's capability to resolve, one should inform the customer of the steps that will be taken, such as sending IT support for a Wi-Fi problem. This step is essential in the video's message of addressing customer concerns effectively.

💡Thank

Thanking the customer is the final step in the LAST approach and is meant to end the interaction on a positive note. Emma suggests thanking customers for bringing the issue to attention, which helps in reinforcing the company's commitment to service quality and encourages future patronage.

💡Problems

Problems in the context of the video refer to the various issues customers might encounter, such as overcharging, long wait times, or service malfunctions like Wi-Fi not working. Emma uses these examples to illustrate the types of situations where customer service skills are necessary.

💡Expressions

Expressions in the video refer to the phrases and language used by customer service representatives to communicate effectively with customers. Emma provides examples of expressions for each step of the LAST approach, such as 'Let me get this right...' to show active listening and 'I'm sorry you've had a bad experience' for apologizing.

💡Angry Customers

Angry customers are a common challenge in customer service, as mentioned in the video. Emma advises handling such situations by remaining calm and not taking the customer's language personally, suggesting the strategy of 'pretending to be a computer' to maintain professionalism.

💡Manager

In the video, the manager or supervisor is mentioned as a resource to escalate unresolved customer issues. Emma suggests involving a manager when a problem is beyond one's ability to solve, which highlights the importance of teamwork and hierarchy in customer service.

💡Engvid.com

Engvid.com is mentioned as a platform where viewers can find additional resources, such as a quiz on the LAST approach. This suggests that the video is part of a larger educational series aimed at improving English language and customer service skills.

Highlights

Introduction to the LAST approach in customer service

Definition of customer service and its importance

Examples of customer service roles in various industries

Common customer problems and how to address them

The importance of listening to customer complaints

Techniques for showing empathy and understanding

How to handle angry customers without getting upset

The strategy of pretending to be a computer to remain calm

The correct way to apologize without taking blame

Approaches to solving customer problems effectively

When to involve a manager or supervisor in problem-solving

The significance of thanking customers after resolving issues

The LAST approach summarized: Listen, Apologize, Solve, and Thank

Practical application of the LAST approach in real-life scenarios

Encouragement to practice the LAST approach through an online quiz

Closing remarks and invitation to visit www.engvid.com for further resources

Transcripts

Hello. My name is Emma, and in today's video I am going to teach you a very, very important

thing for customer service. I used to work in customer service, and this is actually

one of the most important things I learned, and this is called the L-A-S-T or LAST approach.

So, to get started, let's talk a little bit about: What is customer service?

So, customer service is when you have customers, of course, and you're trying to make your customers as

comfortable and happy as possible. You're also trying to meet their needs and expectations,

and solve any problems or situations that they might have. So, customer service is a

huge category. There's many, many different jobs where you use customer service. If you

work in a hotel, for example, as a clerk, you know, in the lobby, as a bellhop, you

will be using customer service. If you work at a restaurant as a server, you'll be using

customer service, or as a hostess. If you're the manager of a store, you'll be using customer

service. If you work in a business or even in a hospital, you'll be using customer service.

So, pretty much any time you're dealing with people from the public and they're customers

and you're trying to help them, you're doing customer service.

So, there are many different problems that a customer might have. What are some examples

of some problems? Can you think of anything, a problem a customer might have? Maybe somebody

charged them too much for something, maybe they're in a store and the lineups are too

long, maybe a customer is at a hotel and they're very unhappy because the Wi-Fi isn't working

or their bed's uncomfortable. So, there's so many different problems customers might

have at different types of businesses.

In this video what I'm going to teach you is: What do you do when a customer has a problem?

Okay? So, a very easy thing to do when a customer has a problem is called the LAST approach.

"LAST", what does it stand for? Well, if a customer has a problem, the first thing you

should do is listen to their problem, the next thing you should do is apologize,

solve their problem, and thank them. So: Listen, Apologize, Solve, and Thank. We're going to

look at expressions we use to show we're listening, expressions to apologize, expressions that

can help us solve problems, and expressions to thank customers.

Okay, so the first step when a customer has a problem is to listen. So, the first thing

you should do is find out what the problem is. You can ask them:

"What seems to be the problem?" or "How can I help you?" Okay? Once they start explaining what the problem is,

very important that you look like you're actually listening and that you do listen. Okay? So,

you shouldn't look at your watch: "Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm." Okay? That's a bad idea. You shouldn't

look at the sky: "Uh, when is this person going to stop talking?" Okay? You shouldn't

roll your eyes. Okay? No, no, no. You need to show that you actually care about what

the customer is saying.

So, showing you're listening is very important. You can repeat back to the customer what they're

saying to show that you understand and to make sure that you did understand. So:

"So what you're saying is, you know, there's no hot water in this hotel.",

"So what you're saying is the Wi-Fi's not working and you're not happy with that." Okay? These are some

examples. "So what you're saying is _________." You can also say: "Let me get this right..."

"Let me get this right, what you're saying is that, you know, there's a problem at your

table.", "What you're saying is that you've been waiting for your food for a really long

time." So it's important to show that you are listening and you acknowledge what they

have said.

Okay. Now, sometimes with customer service you get a customer who's very angry, and maybe

they start swearing, they start using very bad language. Okay? So if this happens, very

important that you don't get upset. Okay? When this happened to me in the past, I would

actually pretend to be a computer. I would not take anything personally. I would just

smile and pretend to be a computer, and that's how I got through angry customers. So, if

the person is rude... You know, it's not right if somebody is saying something rude to you,

if they're swearing at you, or they're making you feel uncomfortable. So, be polite. Okay?

Smile or be friendly, and say:

"I really want to help you, but your language is getting in the way.

I understand you're frustrated. Please calm down so I can help you." Okay?

And really emphasize the fact that you're there to help them. Sometimes this doesn't

work, sometimes the person might keep yelling, keep swearing, and in that case you're going

to have to get your manager. But a good thing to do before that happens is try to be nice

to the customer and just remind them to use... To calm down and to use nice language so you

can help them. Okay? So now let's look at the next steps of LAST.

Okay, so after you have listened to the customer's problem, the next thing you do is apologize.

It does not matter if you didn't do anything wrong. Even if the customer is just totally

crazy and there is no problem, you should still apologize. Now, there's a special way

to apologize. You do not say it's your fault. Okay? What you say is:

"I'm sorry you've had a bad experience."

This does not put blame on anybody. You're not saying:

"We made a mistake", no. You're just saying:

"I'm sorry you had a bad experience."

Okay? So, this is a very important thing to do.

Don't take the blame. Just say: "I'm sorry you've had a bad experience."

After that, solve. Solve the problem. Fix the problem, make things right. So, how do

you do that? Well, if you know what to do... If you can solve the problem and you know

it's an easy problem to solve, you can tell them what you're going to do.

"Here's what we're going to do to help you." Okay? If it's a Wi-Fi problem, for example:

"Here's what we're going to do to help you. I'm going to send IT over to your hotel room to help fix

the Wi-Fi. Here's what we're going to do to help you." Okay? Now, sometimes there are

some problems where the customer asks you, they tell you the problem, you don't know

what to do. Okay? You have no idea how to fix their problem. A good thing to do is to

get your manager in that case or your supervisor. So, you can be honest. Okay? If you don't

know what to do, you can tell them: "I'm not sure how to resolve this situation.",

"I'm not sure how to resolve this situation. Let me check with my manager.",

"Let me check with my supervisor." Okay? So it's good if you don't know what to do, get somebody who does.

Finally-very, very important-you've now listened, apologized, solved, the final thing you need

to do is thank the customer. Okay?

"Thank you for letting us know about this situation.

We appreciate it. Thank you for helping..." Or: "Thank you for bringing this to our attention."

Okay? So, very important to thank the customer and end on a positive, friendly, note because

you want the customer to come back.

So, what are the four steps, again, to good customer service when a customer has a problem?

First you listen, next you apologize, then you solve, and last you thank the person.

Okay? LAST or: Listen, Apologize, Solve, and Thank will help you for most customer service

problems. It's a very good way to organize yourself and to help customers, and make them

feel comfortable and happy.

So, I hope you come visit us at www.engvid.com. There, you will find a quiz all about

Listen, Apologize, Solve, and Thank. You can practice your English using this quiz.

Until next time, take care.