Book Review – The Client Is Bothering Me!

No matter what business you’re in, it’s a sure bet: you have customers. It is also a sure bet that they will pester you, or someone on your staff, with their problems and complaints. This book teaches how to turn dissatisfied customers into loyal customers and customer complaints into customer satisfaction. This means repeat sales, more referrals, and higher profits — oh yeah, and less frustration for your customer service staff!

The Customer Is Bothering Me, by Shelle Rose Charvet, is about navigating the communication challenges of customer service. The main tool in the book is the LAB Profile, an easy-to-use questionnaire developed and tested by Roger Bailey in the 1990s. With this tool, customer service representatives can:

o Identify what motivates people simply by asking a few questions and listening to the key elements of the conversation.

o Communicate with words and phrases that influence the thinking and decision-making style of others.

o Inspire others to think differently and/or take action.

o Create positive relationships with buyers.

The Client Is Bothering Me is the sequel to Words That Change Minds by Rose Charvet. With the latter, readers can learn to interpret the LAB profile and apply the conversational patterns in a number of business situations, such as team building. With the former, you can apply the same principles to calm the anger of upset customers.

Rose Charvet first contrasts typical customer service philosophies and how these philosophies influence the shopper experience. She then examines anger, from the client’s point of view, and discusses “The Great Client Attitude Shift” of the last decade. Also, readers get a good look at the problems faced by understaffed and overworked customer service employees. This book also looks at how companies reward poor customer service.

This book tells corporate managers how to renew their customer service philosophies at all operational levels. The author provides specific tactics for each step of the customer service transaction, from greeting customers, determining their needs, offering insights and solutions, to nurturing the relationship.

Using short case studies, sample dialogues, scripts, tables, and templates, the author explains how to respond to customer emotions, stay in touch, ask the right questions, understand expectations, clarify what the customer wants, make peace and create a positive relationship. image in the mind of the client. The text also recommends the tone of voice the customer service representative should use at each point in the process. Additional topics include recruiting considerations, branding, staff morale, handling adverse publicity, and customer feedback mechanisms.

This book has clear instructions, a structured approach to a common and difficult problem, and a proven, cost-effective solution. The client annoys me may well be an indispensable manual for training in customer service.