NEWS

Mar. 13, 2007

RSU Innovation Center to Host Customer Service Workshop

Educational Event Will Focus on Complaint Resolution

One of the tenants of a successful business is superb customer service. In an effort to help area entrepreneurs go beyond the boundaries of basic customer service training, Rogers State University Innovation Center is hosting a small business workshop titled “10 Golden Rules for Complaint Resolution.”

The workshop will be held from 6:30 to 9 p.m., Thursday, March 29, at the RSU Innovation Center, located at 2000 University Drive on the Claremore campus. lang="EN">Myra Golden, one of the service industry’s most prominent trainers, will lead the workshop.

“There is always a competitor that can provide a product or service better or cheaper. The best way to differentiate yourself is not only to provide superior service in the first place, but the ability to turn tough customers into your best customers,” said Dr. Ray Brown, vice president for economic and community development at Rogers State University.

The 10 Golden Rules for Complaint Resolution positions business professionals to resolve problems and maintaining loyalty by combining wining human relations skills with focused problem solving. The workshop will include field-tested and proven strategies for Complaint Resolution.

According to customer service trainer and author Golden, complaint handling is a sales function with proven bottom-line value. Recent research points to five indisputable bottom-line benefits of effective complaint handling:

1. Builds loyalty. TARP, Inc. (now e-Satisfy) has found that 95% of complaining customers will remain loyal if their problems are resolved immediately. And it gets better: The same company’s research revealed that the mere voicing of a complaint (even in the absence of resolution) increases loyalty as much as 10%.
2. Increases sales. Successfully regaining customer goodwill and maintaining loyalty boosts sales because over time loyal customers (the customers you successfully won back) tend to be willing to pay a price premium for your products or services. Research by Bain & Co. found that loyal customers are less price sensitive than new customers.
3. Generates positive word-of-mouth advertising. When service is truly outstanding, customers will tell an average of five people about the great service. If the service doesn’t meet the customer’s expectations, they will tell 11 people. But, if there’s a problem and it is resolved immediately, customers will tell 17 people about the service recovery.
4. Decreases acquisition costs. Most industry experts agree it costs 5-6 times more to win a new customer than it does to keep a customer. When you maintain loyalty after a mishap, you have just reduced acquisition costs.
5. Reduces problem occurrence and customer dissatisfaction. When complaint handling is done right, customer feedback is used to eliminate problems at the root and the data is used to help the company anticipate and prevent future problems from occurring.

Advance registration for the workshop is required. The registration fee for the workshop is $15 and must be paid at the time of registration. To register please contact the RSU Innovation Center at (918) 343-7533 or e-mail Innovation@rsu.edu.

Myra Golden Seminars, LLC
671-2413
info@myragolden.com