Section 4.5: Communication: Listening Skills
If you want to provide good quality customer service and obtain customer loyalty
you will need to develop good listening skills. It is proved that in most communication
exchanges, we only listen to 25% of what we hear. Listening attentively to your
customers comments and enquiries will help you to understand their needs and to
modify your activity or your offer accordingly. There are four simple rules to improve
your listening skills:
- Try to avoid “barriers”. Barriers to effective listening are noises,
interruptions, technology, and even your own attitude. The best service that you
can offer to customers is attentive and active listening to their thoughts, trying
to find out and adequate space/time/state of mind. When you listen to them it is
a certain quality indicator.
- Be patient. Let the other person explain his or her point of view and do not try
to interrupt them by finishing their sentences. Try not to think in advance of what
they are telling you but to listen to them carefully and obtain as much information
as possible.
- If the information is long and complicated, try to be sure that you understand it
by grouping it into larger structures and repeating it to your interlocutor. For
example, “Mr. García, I just want to be sure that I understood you
correctly, you said that you wanted to change the date of the tour and that the
number of participants had changed, is that right? Good, let us talk about the dates,
you said…”
- Do not be afraid of asking. Ask questions whenever you feel that it is necessary.
- Repeat all important information such as dates, numbers and names and when possible
try to have written confirmation.
