Customer Service Handbook for Front Office Staff

Front Office versus Back Office Staff

In every institution or organisation, there are two types of employees: those who work at the front office and those at the back office. Generally, the most obvious difference between the two is the amount of face-to-face interaction each category has with visitors, customers or clients. As a result, the required skills for the two types of employees vary significantly.

The front office staff are the immediate contact with the customers or clients when they visit an organisation. They deal with the public and are mainly responsible for receiving visitors or customers, regenerating revenue and giving information to outsiders. They include, executive assistants, personal assistants, secretaries, customer service consultants, sales people, fuel pump attendants, shop attendants, supermarket attendants, cashiers, bank teller staff, banking hall service staff, receptionists, ushers, telephone operators, call centre or contact centre staff, security personnel at entrances, waiters and waitresses, air hostesses, nurses and the like.

Back office staff generally handle the administrative aspects of the organisation and do not interact with customers or visitors most of the time. They are the people behind-the-scenes offering administrative or support roles. They include people in the following departments: administration and logistics, finance and accounts, human resources, production and processing, storage and warehousing, engineering and technicians, security back office, marketing strategy and ICT.

Back office employees take care of the internal processes of a business or organisation, such as information technology, security monitoring, planning, monitoring, evaluation and reporting. Although these positions are not as visible as the positions held by front office personnel, they are very critical to the success or failure of a business or organisation. They also support and back-up the front office staff with the necessary tools and information to help them effectively serve the organisations customers and visitors.

Reflection

• What is your role in your organisation? Are you a front office or back office staff?
• How do you use your office to effectively serve customers of your organisation?

Importance of the Front Office Operations

Front office operations

The front office operations include all activities that take place, where customers or visitors first interact with your business, company or institution. However, most people understand the front office to mean a reception. The reception is an area where visitors arrive before they encounter or interact with any department of the organisation. But a front office is more than a reception; and it includes security check points, main reception for an organisation, inner receptions e.g. for CEOs and top managers, sales offices, field sales vehicles, cashier desks, bank tellers, immigration counters, points of ushering in guests, call centers or contact centers and the like.

A front office is a very important area in every organisation because it is a place where the first impression of an organisation is created or lost. A front office therefore needs a good team of well-trained staff (front liners) to assist the organisation in creating a positive experience to customers and visitors. These people require excellent communication and appropriate marketing and sales skills often necessary for efficient front office operations. Other important attributes of front office staff include good listening skills, which are needed in order to effectively assess and understand customer needs. Nowadays, front office staff are supported with different types of information systems to enable them perform their jobs better.

Importance of front office operations  

1. Sell products, services and image of the organisation to the public.
2. Correct revenue for business organisations.
3. Usher in visitors and ensure that they are comfortable while in the organisation.
4. Communicate with outsiders thus influence the perception about the organisation.
5. Receive complaints and comments from customers and pass them on to relevant departments.
6. Make managers efficient by coordinating their administrative and personal tasks.
7. Ensure that the organisation, its property, staff and visitors are secure.

Reflection

• How important are you in your organisation?
• What role do you play and how does it benefit your organisation?

Qualities of a Good Front Office Staff

1.     Good communication skills: Speak clearly to avoid any misunderstandings and be able to engage all types of people including difficult customers.

2.     Marketing, selling and negotiation skills: Every front office staff is expected to be  good at marketing, selling and negotiation, even when he/she is not in the marketing, sales or public relations department. The person should be able to talk convincingly about the organisation’s products and services.

3.     Pleasant personality: The front office requires a pleasant person, friendly, outgoing and with warm personality. A person ready to work and assist customers and visitors.

4.     Politeness, courtesy and humility: Must maintain politeness at all times, show respect to people and avoid arrogance and pride while dealing with people.

5.     Able to manage stressful moments: A person able to work under great pressure, stressful moments and tight deadlines.

6. Organizational skills: The front office requires a person who is highly organized, detail oriented and multi-tasked. Able to handle all tasks in time, distinguish and handle urgent and important high-priority tasks.

7.     Flexibility: Sometimes the most carefully laid plans can fall apart with little or no warning. A front office person must be flexible enough to deal with this. Instead of panicking or giving in to stress, the person must be able to go quickly into damage-control mode.

8. Problem-solving skills: Customers are more interested not in explanations but in solving their problems. The front office staff must have good independent problem-solving skills in order to handle tricky situations and solve problems to the satisfaction of customers.

9.     Experience: A person with practical working experience in the real front office environment. New comers should be able to learn how to apply school and theoretical knowledge to real job situations.

10.  Computer skills: We are living in an era where different computer systems are part of the work done everywhere. A front office person is expected to be skilled in the different computer systems and programs relevant to the work at the front office.

Reflection

• What qualities do you have that make you a good staff at the front office?
• What skills do you need to learn in order to improve your performance at the front office?

Understanding your Customers/Visitors

Generally, there are mainly two major types of customers: i.e. primary and secondary customers.

Primary customers

These are people or organisations that utilize your goods or services. Whether you are working in government, NGO or private business, you have customers i.e. people you are supposed or mandated to serve.

Secondary customers (Other customers)

1. a) Service providers: g. bankers, lawyers, doctors, utility compa­nies, teachers, security companies, consultants, government officials (e.g. URA, NSSF, KCCA), the media and the general public.

1. b) Staff of your organisation (internal customers)

Once the staff of your organisation do not like or appreciate your organisation’s services, they will not market them effectively. So, man­agers should treat their staff with respect and motivate them in order to offer excellent customer service to customers. Supervisors should not be rude while communicating with their staff.

Even if they (secondary customers) are not your main customers, the objective should be to turn them into primary customers (buyers or recipients of your services). Once they visit your office, or work place, please offer them good customer care. Once they are treated well, they will develop an interest in your services and they will promote the image of the organisation.

Reflection

• Do you understand the primary and secondary customers of your organisation?

Understanding the Behaviors of Customers 

Know your customers

We are living in an era where a good number of customers are informed of their rights. Some of them are well versed with the DO’s and DONT’s of customer service. As human beings, some customers are good and humble but others are rude and difficult. Therefore, a good front office staff should be in position to understand the type of customer they are dealing with.

As a general rule, never proceed serving a customer, without asking yourself, this question. “What type of customer am I serving?” Is he/she an important person in society, a well learnt person, a person who knows what good customer service is, a difficult customer, a proud person, a good customers or a person who is scared about my front office. Whether it takes five seconds or minutes, this question is very important and must be asked if you are to effectively serve at the front office. Answers to these questions will assist you in shaping your communication style as you deal with customers who come to your front office.

Understand customer behavior

1. Any human being likes to be served with a smile, respect and humbleness.
2. People are happy when they are served by people who care and are always ready to assist.
3. If you offer good customer service, customers will be happy with your services.
4. Happy customers will tell others about your organisation, products and good services.
5. Your happy customers will become your marketing agents, am­bassadors and supporters.
6. Happy customers will defend your organisation on various platforms especially social media.
7. If your customer service is poor and you offer poor quality products and services. If your staff are rude and they cheat cus­tomers. If you tell lies or take advantage of customers. Soon they will know the truth, get annoyed and tell others about your poor customer service.
8. Unhappy customers are dangerous people because, they will tell other people and de-campaign your services and organisation.

Reflection

• Do you understand the behavior of your customers?

Customer Service Skills for Front Office Staff

Listen to your customers

• Never ignore customers or visitors when they are talking to you.
• Listening attentively is a sign of respect to customers and your readiness to help them.
• Customers get annoyed if they tell you what they want and you do not pay attention.

Then they end up explaining over and over again.

• Let your customers talk. Then show them that you are listening by making the appropriate responses, such as suggesting how to solve the problem.

Solve customer complaints

• Deal with all customer complaints and provide solutions.
• If you solve customers’ problems, they will be pleased and are likely to come again. Then your business or institution will reap the benefits of good customer service.

Win hearts of customers

• Front office staff are ambassadors of their companies and institutions.
• One of their duties is to win more hearts of customers for their organisations, through good customer service.

Be helpful

• Always help customers willingly and joyfully without complaining.
• Front office operations are about helping customers. When you help customers, you are not doing them a favor. You are doing what you are expected to do.
• Customers like dealing with people who are helpful. By doing this, you are building a great image and reputation of your business or organisation.

Don’t make promises which you can’t keep

• If you promise to do something to a customer, please keep the promise.
• If you cannot do it, say so in a very polite way; customers will like you for that polite stand.
• Keeping your promises is one of the most important concepts of good customer service.
• Be reliable and trustworthy; reliability is a principle of a good front office staff.
• By keeping you promises, you end up creating good relationships with customers not for personal gain but that of your organisation.

Reflection

• Are you well trained in front office management and customer service?
• Are you using home-based and try-and-error customer service approaches?

Rules for Front Office Operations

1. Aim at offering great customer experience: As you start you day, devote yourself to creating a positive and great experience to customers or visitors whom you interact with.
2. Know your organisation, its products and services: Great knowledge about your organisation will help you win customers’ trust and confidence. Be prepared and try to anticipate the types of questions customers or visitors are likely to ask.
3. Know your customers: Try to learn everything you can about your customers so that you can tailor your communication and approach to their needs. Solicit feedback from customers, talk to your visitors and listen to their complaints so that you can plan how to satisfy them.
4. Treat people with courtesy and respect: Whether by email, phone, letter, or face-to-face, always be courteous and impressive. Use phrases like; “I am sorry for keeping you waiting”, “Thank you for visiting our organisation”, and “It has been a pleasure serving you.”
5. Never argue with customers, they are kings: Your customers may not be right, but instead of focusing on what went wrong, focus on how to solve customers’ problems and making them happy. You were not put at the front office to quarrel, but make customers happy.
6. Avoid delaying customers: Handle customers with a sense of urgency. Customers want immediate solutions and quick services, if you want to win their hearts.

9. Always provide what you promise: If you fail to do this, you will lose credibility with customers and visitors. If you can’t make good on your promise, kindly apologize.
10. Focus on making future customers, not making sales: If you are in business, focus on winning the customer to continue coming to you rather than just one sale.
11. Treat people as you would have them do unto you: All of us want respect, and honor; always treat customers and visitors likewise – with respect, and honor.
12. Smile while at the front office: A smile is a language that opens doors to customers and should be practiced on every visitor. Every front liner should always have a smile.

Reflection

• How many of these rules do you follow while at the front office?

Handling Difficult Customers at the Front Office

Front office staff are “punching bags”

The front office staff are the ones that receive most complaints and accusations for their organisations.  They act as the punching bags and shock absorbers for omissions and mistakes done by other team members of the organisation. That is why they are called front liners – ready to receive customers’ and the public’s fire. Complaining customers are difficult customers, but they are good.  If you solve their complaints, they are likely to come again. Therefore front liners must learn appropriate skills of handling difficult customers and cooling down front office “flying arrows and the fires”.

Complaints are good opportunities to improve service delivery

Customers have a right to express their views, so complaints should be welcomed. The customer may not always be right, but he or she has a right to complain. It is therefore how you handle the complaint that matters. Respect customers when they complain. They are helping you to improve. When customers are unhappy, they can abuse you or write something bad about you or your company. Do not respond to them in the same way. Never take complaints personally. Your objective should be to sort out the case and cool the fires.

Tips on handling difficult customers 

1. Never blame your fellow staff whenever customers complain.
2. Own the complaint because you are the face of the business or organisation.
3. Listen attentively and encourage the customer to talk.
4. Remember a customer is the king, whether difficult, stubborn or not.
5. Do not be defensive or justify anything.
6. Apologize to the customer even when they may not be right.
7. Respond to complaints quickly and efficiently.
8. Ask the customer or visitor what you can do to solve the complaint.
9. Endeavour to follow-up to ensure that the customer is satisfied.
10. Point out the team members that will handle the customer complaint.

Reflection

• Are you a person that loses “wires” and ends up quarrelling with customers and visitors?
• Are you cool and professional in handling difficult customers?

Managing Customer Relations at the Front Office

How to manage customer relations at the front office

Managing customer relations is a very simple thing. However it requires attitude change where the person at the front office is always willing and ready to learn, re-learn and practice the best front office customer service skills. Working at the front office is like rehearsing and acting on stage.

Good customer service cements relations

Good customer service is the lifeblood of every business, organisation or institution- public or private. You can offer great promotional programs in order to win and bring in many customers, or improve public relations, but if customer service at the front line is poor, you cannot achieve much. Therefore offer good customer service at the front office in order to win customers’ hearts.

Aim at winning and retaining customers

Good customer service is all about bringing customers back. It is about sending them away very happy enough to pass positive feedback about your business and institution along to others. These in turn, may try your products or services and become repeat customers as well. For non-business organisations, good customer service at the front office promotes the image of the organisation.

Good customer service creates customer loyalty

If you’re a good salesperson, you can sell anything to anyone. But it will be the quality of your customer service that determines whether or not they will come back to you. The essence of good customer service is forming a relationship with customers, where an individual customer feels happy coming back to you. The one true test of good customer service is when customers come back happily and are willing to continue coming back; and sometimes they feel missing you.

Reflection

1. Are your previous customers missing you or they vowed never to be serviced by you again?
2. Are you using the front office to create future customers for your organisation?
3. Are you chasing away customers because of your poor customer at the front office?

Giving Feedback to Customers

When customers visit an organisation, there are issues which are not sorted immediately. It is very important to provide feedback to customers regarding their issues. Many organisations especially government offices are poor at giving feedback. They always wait for customers or visitors to check with them. This is very poor customer service and it tarnishes the image of an individual and the institution. This is an important role for the front office staff. You are expected to follow up with the responsible departments and give feedback to the customers. Managers are very busy and they expect the front office staff to assist to follow up with appointments, deliver messages and again bring back feedback from customers or visitors to managers.

As you give feedback, try not to offend, embarrass or irritate the customer. Depending on the feedback, use appropriate communication skills to deliver the message whether good or bad news. Learn this skill and do not depend on your natural communication styles. It is a good practice to always keep a list of customer or visitor contacts such that you follow them up and check if they are satisfied or not. Follow-up is an act of bonding with your customers on behalf of your organisation. Follow-up helps you to keep in direct contact with your customers or clients and keep them happy. That is why it is vital to have follow-up plans so that you can reach out to your customers effectively.

Use follow up opportunities to thank customers

It is always a good practice to thank your customers and visitors whenever you get an opportunity. You can thank your customers through a telephone call conversation, face to face or email, etc. Ask your customers before they leave you how best you can give them feedback. Make sure you follow them up and give feedback so that there is continued relationship. This will result into customer satisfaction and loyalty. To avoid uncoordinated communication, it is always good to consult your colleagues to establish the status of customer issues before you give final messages and feedback.

Reflection

1. Are the people you serve at the front office happy with your services or not?
2. Do you give feedback or you always wait for your customers or visitors to check with you?

How to Communicate with Customers and Visitors

Need for effective communications skills

As a front line staff, you are expected to have appropriate skills for communicating with customers. Effective communications with customers is an important element of customer service and front office management. Good communication helps the front office staff to listen and understand the needs and expecta­tions of customers or visitors; coordinate with other team members where necessary; and give appropriate feedback to customers.

Before you are deployed at the front office to interact with your organisation’s customers, it is important to first go through some training and get the necessary communication skills for working at the front office. Most organizations and business are making big mistakes of allowing their staff to interact with their customers without first training them in communication skills.

Listening skills

Listen to whatever your customer is saying and give appropriate feedback. This portrays a sign of willingness to help customers. Always try to understand things from the point of customers while communicating with them. Do not impose your thoughts or ideas on customers. Effective communication starts with listening.

Address the customer by name

Most people feel good when you address them by their name. Therefore it is a good communication skill to address your customers by their names or titles if you know them e.g. Mr, Mrs, Ms, Madam, Ma’am, Hon, Prof, Dr, Counsel, Engineer, Pilot, Teacher, Bishop, Rev, Hajj, Hajjat, Pastor, Father, Sister, Brother, Uncle, Auntie and others. If you are not sure, please ask them politely.

Reflection

1. Were you trained in communication skills before working in the front office operations?
2. Are you arrogant and rude while communicating with your customers?

Effective Telephone and Email skills

Most front office staff communicate with their customers through phones or by email. These tips will assist you as you communicate with customers.

1. Get to know the caller before you continue with the telephone conversation.

2. Answer the phones and emails as if the person you are communicating with is next to you.
3. Your business or office phone needs to be answered within the first three (3) rings. This means that, you have to be next to your phone at all the times.
4. Never ignore calls from customers; pick all business or organisation phone calls.
5. If you are leaving your seat, please, let some other person sit in for you. Your supervisors should make sure that the organisation phones are always attended to.
6. Please reply to all organisation emails that come your way as soon as possible.. Do not close the day without replying all emails.
7. In case, you cannot give full response, at least acknowledge the emails, reply them or indicate that you have forwarded them to the right person.
8. Follow up your colleagues and ensure that they respond to customers’ phone calls and emails. It is the job of front liners to follow-up and coordinate communications and responses to customers.
9. When you receive office calls, respond for example as follows; “Thank you for ringing “ABC Company”, “Jane” speaking, how may I help you”?
10. Put on a smile, stop what you are doing and concentrate on the call.
11. Pay attention to every caller and do not let your mind wander away.
12. Always identify customers’ needs, use a friendly and ready-to-help tone.
13. Do not put customers on pressure, but control the conversation, so that it doesn’t drag on needlessly.
14. For angry callers, ignore personal insults and do not argue or dominate the conversation.
15. After the telephone conversation, always thank the customer.

Reflection

• How many of these tips do you follow while communicating with customers?

Listening Skills

Most customers like a front office staff that gives them time and listens to them especially when they have challenges or complaints. Listening to customers portrays a good sign of willingness to help them. As a result, customers will pay attention to you and will be more willing to listen to you.

Tips on listening skills

1. Show empathy to customers and understand their point of view. Put yourself in their shoes.
2. Prepare yourself to listen to customers. Your body language should portray your willingness to listen.
3. Listen to the customer’s tone, voice and hidden emotions whether on phone or face to face.
4. Be a good listener and always listen to whatever your customers are saying, give appropriate feedback and clarify on areas where they seem not to understand you.
5. When communicating with customers, don’t interrupt them or complete their sentences.
6. Don’t be defensive, just listen to them and reflect back on what they’re saying.
7. When listening to a customer, be attentive and give them a warm facial expression.
8. Give customers all the information they need to make a decision on whether to continue doing business with you or not.
9. While interacting with customers, don’t interrupt and impose your solutions to them. Be patient while attending to customers.
10. Ask customers to explain what is not clear such that both of you understand each other.

Reflection

• Are you a good listener or you are naturally arrogant and rude?
• Are you a person who does not want to listen to customers?

Appropriate Etiquettes while Serving Customers

The following tips will assist you as you interact with customers at the front office.

1. Always greet customers with a smile and maintain a friendly and pleasant expression.
2. Give a warm and friendly welcome, “Good morning Mr. John, how may I help you?
3. Always try to maintain eye contact with your customers.
4. Always be attentive when speaking to customers.
5. Always listen carefully to customers and appear confident and be positive.
6. Talk clearly and maintain a good tone of voice at all times.
7. Stand upright, do not fold your arms, do not pocket your hands while serving customers.
8. Do not lean on the counter at any time and especially when dealing with the customers.
9. Do not play with anything while serving customers: fingers, hair, jewelry, pens and others.
10. Avoid all kind of mannerism or habits like eating gum and over friendliness with customers.
11. Ensure positive body language, be tactful and courteous and never argue with guests.
12. Try to use the customer’s name and titles during communication with customers.
13. Try to ask the right questions to identify the needs, names, titles and other information.
14. Never backbite or criticize customers while talking to other customers.
15. Avoid discussing with customers your personal and job-related problems and issues.
16. Never lie to customers; in-case of doubt, consult colleagues and inform the customer.
17. Make the guest feel comfortable and be ready to assist customers where needed.
18. Take your time talking with customers, do not rush and put them on pressure.
19. Appear neat and tidy but never comment negatively about customers’ dressing.
20. Endeavour to know the status of your customers e.g. VIPs and frequent customers.

Reflection

• How many of these tips do you follow while communicating with customers?

Team Work Skills

Teamwork is a dynamic force in which a number of people from different backgrounds come together to work for the success of the organization. The success of any organization depends primarily on the collective effort of each team member. Therefore you are expected to be a team player and not a team destroyer. You cannot work in isolation but you need others in order to succeed.

Tips for being an effective team member

1. Avoid carrying your domestic and personal challenges to your work place.
2. Never stress your colleagues and customers with your challenges and bad personality.
3. Avoid being a source of problems because of your bad character and upbringing.
4. Listen to your colleagues and appreciate other people’s ideas; never dominate them.
5. Reduce your ego and pride and work with others to succeed at the front office.
6. Be open to learn from colleagues; there is always someone better than you at something.
7. Accept constructive criticism and take no offense; but avoid shooting colleagues down.
8. Support your colleagues’ ideas, and aim at improving them for better performance.
9. Show respect to your colleagues, never backbite them or speak negatively about them.
10. Resolve misunderstanding and aim at improving relations for better performance.
11. Assist you colleagues by explaining to them the tasks where they need help.
12. Avoid being selfish because you need to work as a team not as individuals.
13. Explain politely, when your colleague asks a question or fail to understand something.
14. Don’t abuse or give negative comments to colleagues as you communicate.
15. Avoid being lazy and doing less than your colleagues; always keep time.
16. Participate actively and avoid working alone when the task requires team participation.
17. Avoid unnecessary arguments and conflicts that bring tensions.
18. Never discourage team members, instead motivate and counsel them to carry on.
19. Make the front office lively and enjoyable to your colleagues and customers.
20. Be the darling person so that your colleagues miss you when you are not around.

Reflection

• Are you a team player or team destroyer?

• Do your team mates miss you when you are not around or they say, “Good riddance”?

Self-Motivation

Today’s competitive environment requires highly motivated teams that can assist organisations to achieve their objectives. This calls for motivated individuals to bring vigor, resilience and aggressiveness in pursuing organizational objectives. The front office, being the face of organisations, is an area that requires very motivated teams and individuals.

De-motivation is caused by a number of reasons e.g. low pay, unfair policies, uncertainties, poor work relationships, personal challenges and the like. Signs of a de-motivated person include; lack of interest in work, absenteeism, getting annoyed by simple things, stopping working when not supervised, quarrelling, withdrawal and others. A demotivated individual will end up being inefficient and less productive. De-motivation can lead to stress, physical and mental illnesses.

Noting that the front office operations are always demanding and stressful and can lead to de-motivation, the best option is to employ self-motivation techniques to help you cope with the front office operations. Self-motivation is a mental orientation and decision to motivate yourself so that you do not perform poorly, lose your job or fall sick due to stress and depression. In other words, self-motivation is when an individual decides to work hard and take pride in what is being done despite the unfavorable circumstances at the time.

Self-motivation tips

1. Love your job and feel a sense of pride and accomplishment in the work you do.
2. Be a fighter and promise yourself never to give up despite the circumstances.
3. Develop a sense of ownership of the business or organisation you are working for.
4. Make appropriate jokes with friends but make sure you are working as you talk.
5. Avoid situations that stress you and create bad relationships with people.
6. Work hard and remember that there are many people who are crying to get a job like yours.
7. Give encouragement to your colleagues when they are feeling low; this is good team work.

Reflection

• What are the aspects of your job that you find motivating?
• What are the aspects that are likely to demotivate you?

Self-Discipline and Work Habits

Self-discipline at the workplace is a positive and deliberate effort to ensure that you work according to the set rules and policies. Self-discipline is the ability to control your unnecessary and unacceptable habits. It helps to shape your thoughts, actions and habits at your work place. It is an art of self-control and self-reliance, which empowers a person to avoid temptations and stick to his/her decisions in order to effectively perform job tasks.  Self–discipline is the ability to resist interruptions and impulses and to remain focused on your job and tasks.

A staff who lacks self-discipline ends up not following rules, e.g. failure to perform tasks or prepare reports, late coming, insubordination, poor customer service, poor communication with fellow staff, theft and corruption and others. Such persons are always involved in night clubs and partying, drinking, smoking, drug abuse and come late to work places. Others fail to follow laid out policies because of stubbornness and peer pressures.

At work places, if you fail to follow set rules and policies, then your supervisors are likely to take disciplinary actions. But a good staff should not wait for disciplinary actions. Most managers do not like taking disciplinary action because such actions disorganize the work operations and are painful on both sides i.e. the manager and staff. Therefore the best option is to be disciplined and follow organisation rules and avoid disciplinary actions.

Self–Discipline Techniques

1. Avoid making mistakes by learning and following organisation rules and policies.
2. Make a decision to be a self-disciplined staff with good acceptance work habits.
3. Practice self-discipline by eliminating bad habits and stopping bad practices.
4. Know your weaknesses and remove temptations around you.
5. Build your self-discipline by setting clear goals and having a simple work plan.
6. Create new habits and associate with disciplined people.
7. Manage time, set priorities and time to accomplish tasks and adhere to set schedules.
8. Ignore peer pressure and unethical practices, be organized and principled.
9. Find a colleague or friend whom you can give accountability about your work habits.
10. Get counseling from your supervisors in order to improve your self-decline and work habits.

Reflection

• Are you a person of integrity and good work habits?
• Are you likely to face disciplinary actions because of your poor work habits?

DO’s of Customer Service at the Front Office

1. While talking to customers (physically/phone), please put on a SMILE, warm face and tone.
2. Your verbal and non-verbal messages should be properly understood by your customer.
3. First ascertain the language that the customer is comfortable with, and then use it. If you cannot communicate in the customer’s language, then get assistance from your colleagues.
4. When talking to customers, speak clearly and do not rush.
5. Give full attention to the customer.
6. Learn to listen to whatever the customer is telling you. Give appropriate feedback.
7. Portray the willingness to help the customer: this will please the customer.
8. Know your products or services. Customers trust people who are confident and know what they are selling or talking about.
9. When talking with customers, give your full attention to customers. Stop what you are doing, e.g. paperwork or anything you are doing and give quality time to a customer.
10. For every customer you serve, please say “Thank You”! All customers like these two words.

Reflection

• How many of the above tips do you follow while communicating with customers?

DON’Ts of Customer Service at the Front Office

1. If you are annoyed, stressed and unhappy, never show it to the customers.
2. Do not look annoyed while talking to customers.
3. Never appear rude or gloomy on the face while communicating with customers.
4. Never talk with a customer in a negative way. Do not take customers for granted.
5. Never appear rude while serving customers. Never quarrel with customers.
6. Never argue with your customers. Never neglect a customer.
7. Never offer poor quality products and services to your customers.
8. Never cheat customers or clients. When they get to know, they will tell others and they will stop coming to your shop or business.
9. Never tell lies or take advantage of customers.
10. Never continue gossiping with friends, eating or drinking something when talking to customers. A customer needs a listening ear.
11. Sometimes when your customers are unhappy, they can abuse you or write some angry comments about your business or organisation. Never respond to them in the same way. Stay calm, respectful and positive. Try to resolve issues by not abusing customers. Customers are kings and you need them to continue buying from you or receiving your services.

Reflection

• How many of the above tips do you follow while communicating with customers?

Time Management Skills

Nearly all customers are impatient and demand attention urgently. Customers sometimes assume that they are the only ones to be served. They demand full attention and want their cases to be given priority. Therefore time management is an important issue in front office operations, whether you are working at the front desk, call centre or at a field sales van. Time management therefore requires using the available time optimally in order to serve customers effectively.

Therefore time management at the front office requires the following skills:

1. Prepare your mind: Avoid night social engagements that are likely to disorganize your morning.
2. Plan your time: As you start your day, identify which tasks you will do and at what time. Break down tasks and set priorities.
3. Control work load: Decide what tasks you will do and which ones you can postpone.
4. Separate between urgent and important tasks: Urgent tasks are those that must be done immediately. Important tasks are your main job tasks and will contribute to your performance and sometimes performance of others. Therefore urgent and important tasks should be done first before others.

Time Management skills for front line staff

1. Arrive on time; avoid the habit of late coming. Sleep early and wake up early.
2. Plan your day, tasks and activities.
3. Use a time log, diary or time planners – be smart and organized.
4. Use others to assist you (delegation) in case you need help (teamwork).
5. Be efficient in undertaking tasks – Be a good performer.
6. Manage the time of your executive, if you are an executive assistant or personal assistant or secretary, so that you are not disorganized by your executive’s lack of planning.
7. Advise and support your executive on time management, deadlines and appointments.
8. Coordinate colleagues in time in case their input affects your work, e.g. updates and feedback to customers.
9. Use technology like phones, e-mails, and social media to alert colleagues.

Reflection

• What are some of the issues that you need to work on in order to improve your time management skills?

Smile While Serving Customers at the Front Office

A smile is a tool that spices customer service. A smile is one of the most important customer service tools. A smile is a language that opens doors and communicates a good customer service tone. It communicates the following: “Thank you for coming; I treasure you; I respect you; I am ready to serve you”. A smile should be practiced on every customer interaction.

Tips on how to use a smile while at the front office  

1. Before interacting with customers, prepare yourself and plan to put on a smile. Customers like smiles. First impression while greeting your customers is an important aspect in customer service. Greet your customers with a smile.
2. Always show a positive attitude while serving customers.
3. When interacting with customers, be warm and portray a ready-to-help attitude.
4. Master how to smile and do it well from the beginning to the end while serving customers.
5. Practice how to smile because serving customers is like being on a stage or show.
6. Keep the smile simple and do not exaggerate it.
7. When speaking on phone, your tone should be clear and warm. The person you are talking to will receive the smile through your warm tone. Market yourself and your organization using your tone.
8. Address or call customers by their names and smile while serving or calling them.

Reflection

• How do you use you natural smile to serve customers at the front office?
• Do you know that you can be warm and friendly even without a natural smile?
• Do you practice smiling before starting your day at the front office?

Managing Front Office Stress

Stress is a physical and emotional reaction that can have negative effects. When situations that cause physical and emotional stress continue, the body never gets a chance to relax, which results into bad or chronic stress. This may lead to sleeplessness, heartbeats, tense muscles, back pain, increased blood pressure, stomach disorders, sweating, anger, fear, anxiety, mood swings, confusion, migraine headaches and low or high appetite levels. These may result into depression, alcohol and drug abuse, heart diseases, diabetes, ulcers and cancers.

The front office operations can be very stressful at times especially handling many customers and visitors with various demands. Some customers are stubborn and difficult and others are not potential customers but are interested in teasing and disorganising front office staff in one way or the other. Stress can also come from supervisors demanding front line staff to meet deadlines and achieve set targets for sales, customer communication and reporting.

Some supervisors especially those in the back offices delegate a lot of work including what they should be doing themselves to front office staff e.g. to personal executives, secretaries and receptionists. Such front office staff end up going home very late, extremely exhausted, thus failing to get quality time to rest, sleep and relax. Other managers, because of their inefficiencies and failure to meet deadlines and keep promises, end up instructing front line staff to tell lies to customers and visitors. This brings more complications and stress moments to front office staff especially those who believe in high levels of ethical and integrity standards.

Tips for managing front office stress

1. Recognize stress: Realize you are stressed; know the causes and your body reaction.
2. Manage stress: Stay in control, say NO where possible, to people who stress you.
3. Be a fighter: Tell yourself that you will manage the front office stress.
4. Talk to a spouse, parent, friend or colleague: A problem shared is a problem half solved.
5. Professional advice: Visit a doctor, get advice and also do general heath check-up.
6. Get a break: Sleep well & have moments of break & rest; daily, weekly or monthly.
7. Get organized: Deal with matters in order of priority and try to prioritize tasks.
8. Relaxation: Meditation, breathing techniques, exercise, massage, outing and hobbies.
9. Be cheerful: Smile, dance, sing, give compliments, enjoy relationships and eat healthy.

Reflection

• How do you manage front office stress?

Roles of Executive or Personal Assistants (PAs)

Personal assistants (PAs), sometimes called executive secretaries or personal/private secretaries, are important front line staff who work closely with executives or senior managers usually on a one-to-one basis. PAs help executives and managers to make the best use of their time by dealing with secretarial and administrative tasks. PAs need extensive knowledge of the organisation in which they work. They need to know the key personnel (both external and internal) and understand the organisation’s aims and objectives.

Managers often rely heavily on their PAs, trusting that work will be handled efficiently in their absence. PAs are often involved in decision-making processes and communication of decisions on behalf of executives. They sometimes deputize executives in internal meetings, make decisions and delegate work to others in the executives or manager’s absence. Therefore discretion and confidentiality are essential attributes for a successful PA.

Personal assistants (PAs) often act as the manager’s first point of contact with people from both inside and outside the organisation. Some PAs do all the secretarial work themselves; while others use junior staff and delegate some of the less demanding and confidential work to them.

Duties of personal assistants

1. Manage emails, phone calls and correspondences on behalf of executives.
2. Liaise with customers, clients, visitors, suppliers and other staff.
3. Organize and maintain diaries of executives and make appointments.
4. Maintain office systems, including data management and filing.
5. Arrange travel, visas and accommodation for executives.
6. Arrange meetings and provide general assistance during presentations.
7. Screen phone calls, enquiries and requests and handle them when appropriate.
8. Produce documents, briefing papers, reports and presentations.
9. Organize meetings and ensure that executives are well prepared for meetings.
10. Prepare reports and ensure that executives and managers are well briefed.

Reflection

• How effective are you as an executive or personal assistant?

Customer Service Skills for Receptionists

Front desk staff are known by different titles in different organisations e.g. Receptionists, Administrative Assistants, Executive Assistants, Front Office Managers, Office Coordinators or Office Managers. As a front desk staff, you are the main brand ambassador and you are expected to be the face of the organisation. You are the first point of contact for your business or organisation and in charge of public relations at the front office. A good first impression counts, and as the initial point of human contact for any organisation, a receptionist needs to create a welcoming yet professional image. A warm greeting by a receptionist speaks volumes about the services and image of the organisation and its customer service culture.

Your duties are to receive and welcome visitors by warmly greeting them physically or on the telephone with a smile; issue visitor badges; answer or refer inquiries; notify staff of visitor arrival; manage communication at the reception, direct visitors and employees; monitoring staff logbook procedures; maintain safe and clean receptions; monitor security at the reception; and   coordinate all front-desk activities.

Qualities of a good front desk staff

1. Pleasant and warm personality: Friendly and with excellent customer service skills.
2. Confident: Ability to reassure visitors, customers and co-workers that they are in safe hands.
3. Flexible: Able to deal with emergencies in a timely and effective manner.
4. Customer focus: Listening skills, respecting customers and ready to assist attitude.
5. Multitasking: Working under great pressure from visitors and staff and manage stress.
6. Good communication skills: Verbal, telephone, SMS, email and social media.
7. Work independently: Think fast and use innovative solutions to different challenges.
8. People management skills: Manage tricky calls, difficult customers or staff
9. Good interpersonal skills: Maintain good relationships with visitors and staff.
10. Time management: Able to juggle different tasks and manage different tasks.
11. Organized: The front office is expected to be the neatest work area in the organisation.
12. Dependable: Acts professionally, ensures visitors and phone calls are attended to.

Reflection

What qualities do you have that help you to work effectively at the front desk?

Understanding your Boss or Supervisor

A boss or a manager or an immediate supervisor is a person whom a staff reports to or directly supervises a subordinate. They head institutions, organizations, departments or sectors.  Bosses or supervisors have different titles in government, private and development sectors, e.g. President, Minister, Chief Secretary, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Chief of Party, Manager and the like.

Bosses work with and lead people in order to fulfill their organisations’ mandates and plans. They manage their work using different management/ or leadership styles. Their styles are influenced by family upbringing, education and information, mentorship, experiences and exposure, their current family, state of health, stress levels, economic status and work environment.

For a front office staff especially the personal assistants, executive assistants and secretaries to work smoothly and effectively with a boss, there is need to understand the character, behavior, style of management and what influences their behaviors. Bosses can be categorized as follows:

• Autocratic leader: commands and expects compliance. Is dogmatic and positive.
• Democratic or participative: consults with subordinates on actions and decisions.
• Free-rein: gives independence and depends on subordinates for decisions and advice.

People also have their inherent or inborn temperaments or personalities as follows:

• Sanguine: Outgoing, warm, talkative, good at presentations, front office & marketing.
• Choleric: Strong-willed and independent, e.g. revolutionists, top pastors and entrepreneurs. They are achievers and have no room for failure and challenging views.
• Melancholy: Gifted, talented, analytical, reasoning e.g. scientists and accountants.
• Phlegmatic: Calm, quiet, easy going, good homemakers and secretaries.

Tips for improving the efficiency of your boss

• Understand your bosses, leadership style, personality and what influences their behaviors.
• Master the job of the boss and be ready to offer assistance for better performance.
• Have great skills in office management and organization, communication, time and people management, listening, fast thinking and image building.
• Offer great customer service and care for internal and external customers.
• Be a good example; if you are rude and your boss is rude, your office will be hell.

Reflection

Do you understand your bosses – their leadership styles and temperaments?

Effective Call Centre Skills

A call center or contact center is a central point from which all customer communication mainly complaints and comments are managed. It receives and transmits large volumes of telephone calls for customers and the general public. A call centre has an open workspace for call centre agents, with work stations that include computers for agents, a telephone headset connected to a telecom switch, and one or more supervisor stations. The majority of large companies use call centers or contact centers as a means of managing their customer interactions.

All call centre agents are front office staff because they directly interact with customers on phone. Call center operations are, in most cases, boring because agents often handle the same complaints and questions day after day. Agents therefore need effective customer service and front office management skills to enable them handle the call centre demands and challenges.

Tips for Call Center Agents

1. Have adequate information: Memorize a good amount of information about your company or institution, customer expectations, common complaints and inquires.
2. Smile: Always keep a smile on your face because it is good for you and your customers.
3. Listening skills: Always listen attentively to your callers. Speak clearly: Use simple words, avoid jargons, do not rush or confuse the caller.
4. Be organized: Handle multiple tasks at once but give quality responses.
5. Be friendly: Project a warm and friendly image to your callers.
6. Attention to detail: Never neglect or under look simple and minor issues raised by callers.
7. Be flexible: This will assist you in meeting the needs of the many callers including difficult callers, those with challenging personalities, chatty and angry customers.
8. Remain calm when under pressure: Avoid being angered or annoyed by customers.
9. Control the conversation: Allow angry customers to pour their anger; and also chatty ones to talk, but control the conversation so that it does not drag on endlessly.
10. Never take attacks personal: Attacks are for the institution even when directed at you.
11. Act fast: Respond quickly, be efficient and give quality responses to callers.
12. Creativity: Be innovative and offer workable solutions for customer problems.
    

Reflection

What tips are you currently using to work effectively at the call center?

Effective Marketing Skills for Front Office Staff

Marketing refers to the act of promoting a product, service, institution, business, program, concept, idea to potential customers or the general public. Marketing focuses on increasing awareness and promoting brands or name of the products, services, business or organisation. In the current competitive environment, organisations are equipping staff with marketing skills to enable them promote their organisations, products and services whenever they get opportunities. Under this philosophy, every staff is a marketing agent for his or her organisation. Since the front office staff are the ones that mostly interface with most customers and visitors, their role in marketing their organisations and products is paramount.  They are therefore the main brand ambassadors for their organisations.

Due to high unemployment rates, governments especially in the developing world are telling their youth to create their own jobs. They are in actual fact telling them to market something and get money. Be it a product, service, idea or software program. As a beginner or a small scale entrepreneur, you cannot produce a product or service without knowing how to market it.  Therefore marketing and selling skills are important not only for the sales professionals and front office staff but all people.

Marketing tips for front office staff

1. Positive attitude; Decide to be a good marketing agent: As the face of the organisation, there is no one who should talk nicely about your organisation better than you.
2. Package yourself and create great first impression and image; always wear a smile, improve your facial appearance, dressing, walking and voice styles.
3. Equip yourself with the information about you organisation, products and services.
4. Prepare for your customers’ most common asked questions and plan appropriate answers.
5. Employ aggressive marketing: use every available opportunity to do marketing.
6. Promote your organisation and services during interactions with customers.
7. Aim at winning the approval from customers, visitors and fellow staff.
8. Be innovative: Use new and better front office layout styles to improve ambiance.
9. Employ great customer services skills and a friendly attitude.
10. Be a person of high moral character, great integrity and strong sense of ethics.

Reflection

• How effective are you at marketing your organisation and its products and services?

Effective Selling Skills for Front Office Staff

Selling is an act of presenting a product, service, concept, idea, or a program to potential buyers, consumers, recipients or beneficiaries.  Selling aims at winning the approval of a buyer or consumers. Selling is simple where there is a will. But most people fear marketing and selling. They would rather work in other areas like offices administration, secretarial work, arranging files, do accounts work, work on the factory processing flow, do manual work, but not selling.  Many people who think that they are not good at selling can be supported by those who are good at the game. Slowly by slowly, they will learn how to sell. Selling skills are important to all people.

Selling skills and tips

• Know your product: Name of the product / service / brand, slogan used, benefits of product / service and usefulness.
• Know your customers and their needs: Target customers like friends, family members, youth, corporates, businesses, professionals and associations.
• Effective selling: Never present a product or service to customers; but present the benefits of the product / service i.e. the usefulness of the product or benefits delivered from the product. For example, do not say that “you are selling juice”, instead say that “you are selling cold juice that will quench customers’ thirst”.
• Adaptive selling: Tailor the product / service to the needs and wants of the customer. Do not sell what you have, sell what customers want.
• Look for customers: Do not sit and wait for customers. Look for them using existing clients, referrals, friends and relatives and knocking on doors (cold canvassing).
• Presentation: Be attractive, holding interest, let customers enjoy the buying experience.

Selling Tips

• Be aggressive, but do not push customers to make decisions.
• But never argue with customers, a customer is the King.
• Speak clearly, confidently and positively. Listen to customers, never neglect them.
• Be prepared for objections. In selling, being rejected or getting objections is part of the selling game. Do not abuse them or become arrogant and frustrated.
• Avoid mannerism, jokes and words that may hurt customer personalities, e.g. asking about age, marital status, education and financial status.
• Always thank customers: Thank customers for allowing you an opportunity to talk to them and for buying you products and services. Demonstrate it by actions.
• Follow up customers and aim at building relationship. Try and see whether they are satisfied or happy or not. Respond immediately to a dissatisfied customer.

Reflection

• How effective are your selling skills?

Effective Negotiation Skills for Front Office Staff

As a front office person, you are always involved in negotiations with visitors, customers, sales prospects, long-term clients, vendors, suppliers and fellow staff. You always negotiate prices, delivery schedules, quantities to supply, meeting schedules, appointments, follow-up programs and others issues. Therefore you need effective skills in negotiation. The only challenge is that during front office operations, there is too much pressure and little time (for example while negotiating on phone) and you are likely to forget important negotiation principles. Therefore there is a need to always revise and practice the principles whenever you get an opportunity.

Remember successful negotiation requires the two parties to agree on a win-win position. Negotiation is not necessarily a one side against another arrangement. Do not aim at outsmarting the other party. This is not good customer service. A front office person is supposed to be selfless and also consider the interests of the customer or client. You are expected to be flexible and accept adjustments in order to cater for the interests of the customers.

Effective negotiation tips

1. Set Clear Negotiating Goals: What do you want to achieve as you negotiate?
2. Problem Analysis and Solving: A good negotiator must have the skills to analyze a problem to determine the interests of each party and solve the problem.

3.     Active Listening: Listen actively to the other party during the talking. Active listening involves the ability to read body language as well as verbal communication to know whether the customer is comfortable or not with the suggested position.

4.     Emotional Control: Keep your emotions in check during negotiation. Once emotions take over, you are likely to accept positions, which are not appropriate for both of you.

5.     Effective Communication: Communicate clearly to the other party. Misunderstandings can occur if both sides do not understand each other clearly.

6.     Collaboration and Teamwork: Sometimes you may need to involve in your other .colleagues in order to make an informed decision on.

7.     Decision Making Ability: Aim at reaching an implementable and the best decision.

8.     Keep Relations: Persuade the other party without manipulation and keep the relationship on.

9.     Trust: Create trust and have faith that both sides will fulfill promises and agreements.

10.  Ethics and Reliability: Observe ethical standards and do not break organisation policies.

Reflection

1. How effective are you at negotiating with customers at the front office?

Use the Front Office to Market Yourself

Marketing skills are important not only to promote your business or institution, but yourself too. Front office operations, though stressful, are great opportunities for marketing yourself, because you interact with different types of people including high personalities. However be careful, because some visitors and customers, especially those who do not know customer service practices, may misinterpret your good customer service as showing special interest to someone. In such cases, tell them that you are expected by your institution to give good customer service to every visitor.

Use the front office opportunity to market yourself for job promotions in and outside your organisation. But never ask for jobs from your customers and visitors. This is not ethical; instead do a good job as a front office staff so that you attract attention for promotions from your supervisors and future potential employers. Marketing yourself does not mean that you tell your customers and staff how good you are. No, use your actions to market yourself. But in case an opportunity comes, do not hesitate to talk nicely about yourself. If you do not blow your own horn, nobody will do it for you.

If you are looking for a partner, a market for your side business or future jobs, use the front office opportunity to market yourself using your good works and connections. Aim at winning the approval of people and creating helpful relationships.

Tips for marketing yourself during front office operations

1. Decide to be good to people and in most cases, they will be good to you as well.
2. Be innovative and use new and better acceptable strategies of marketing yourself.
3. Package yourself attractively and create a great impression and image by improving your facial appearance, dressing, walking and voice styles.
4. Wear a smile, because it is more effective in personal marketing than facial appearance.
5. Speak on phone warmly, nicely and confidently; but do not be proud.
6. Employ great customer service skills and a friendly attitude.
7. Be a person of high moral character, great integrity and strong sense of ethics.
8. Be reliable and trustworthy.
9. Be a team player and not a team destroyer.
10. Be a good listener and show empathy to customers and staff.

Reflection

• How effective are you at marketing yourself?