Episode 328. Customer Service Tips

Join the Refrigeration Mentor Hub here

Learn more about Refrigeration Mentor Customized Technical Training Programs at www.refrigerationmentor.com/courses

This conversation is about how to level up your customer service skills. These softer skills are rarely taught out in the field or in school, but they are critical to a successful and enjoyable career in refrigeration. This episode includes practical tips on active listening, communication, and building relationships with customers - tools which will improve both your professional and personal life, guaranteed. I’ll also share details on a new customer service training program by Refrigeration Mentor. 

In this episode, we cover:

-Staying healthy during summer heat waves

-Importance of mental health in the trades

-Customer service tips

-Active listening 

-Enhancing communication skills

-Reflecting on conversations

-Building strong customer relationships

Helpful Links & Resources:

Reach out about Refrigeration Mentor Customer Service Training:  [e-mail]

Episode 153: 5 Essential Tips for Great Customer Service

 

Episode Transcript

Speaker (00:00):
Well, what's up everyone? Welcome to the Refrigeration Mentor Podcast. Always happy to have you here. Hopefully you've been taking a few things away from the last few episodes, bringing you value. I really care about what's going on. It's been hot here where I'm at in Ontario. And I know you guys are working hard out there here in North America for sure.

(00:01):
You might have one or two drinks of water. You gotta take some time for yourself working seven or eight hours a week. You can do it and you can do it consistently, but you need to. Stay healthy, like working 70 hours a week, that's only 10 hours a day. Okay? So you could do it consistently for a long time, but if you're not eating healthy, you're not staying hydrated.
I'd do that for a month, but I would get home. I wouldn't go to bed right away all the time. I would stay up and watch some TV and I'd do this and I'd do that and then I'd be sluggish, ? And it wasn't, wasn't until I was like, okay, 'cause it's daylight and I got eye patches over my eyes and blinds closed and earplugs, and I tried all of it.
And it's not only the physical break. 'cause I've talked to a lot of technicians, like they probably could do more hours. It's the mental break. , We need that mental break. The disconnect of. Dis dissatisfied. Not dissatisfied, I guess. Upset customers or, or dispatch on your back saying, man, you, you gotta be up and you gotta be going to all these calls and you already worked 65, 70 hours a week.
I have a lot. Not a lot of people, but over the years, so many people said, I don't need to go to the gym. I walk 10,000 steps a day. I'm climbing up ladders, down ladders and lifting tools and moving. That doesn't get you. That doesn't keep you in shape. That doesn't even maintain, honestly, that doesn't maintain you.
And there was people around me that understood it, but they, there wasn't, they weren't able to train it the way, I guess, the way that I needed to hear it. And this is some of the things that hopefully I can help you with inside the, our customer service training. It's about you, it's about that technician in there because it's not, when you do a customer service training, it's not all about the, the customers, I'll be honest.
We, we dove into things of like active communication and active listening. What do those two things mean, , and, and how do those two things work, Active listening. We, I said, I've done lot, lots of course, on active listening and, and working on my listening skills. And if you are daydreaming, thinking about something else, thinking about a problem somewhere else that is not active listening, and if you hear it like just maybe you can regurgitate what they said.
Get better and helping them learn, and sometimes they just need someone to listen to them because maybe none of their employees are listening to them, and you're coming in there and you're being that. That person can, that can be there for them. 'cause building a relationship is the number one thing that you can do for your career with all your customers.
And these. They left all the customers leave with them because it was that person who bring them that much value and they're willing to change providers because of that. One person I've seen this time and time again and and not, and those guys don't leave to do it. Spite it could be different things, it. Maybe it's a, a shift in career. Maybe it's shift in their management. Maybe it was a shift in priorities as the years, years go on. But bringing that much value, that is where you, you keep, when you can do that, when you can make a whole. End user change providers because you move to another one, that's when the relationship is solid, , and that's what you should be striving for, is to be that that technician that every customer wants you at the store.
Practicing each day on your communication skill is key. 'cause this are, these are the things we don't talk about. I listen to so many personal development podcasts, and some of you may have heard of Warren Buffet before, and I've heard the same quote multiple times in different podcasts where people cut this and put it into their podcast is like the number one skill for any young person today, or even older person.
What did they say? What really made the biggest difference in their career in that conversation, that's what I kind of look for and kind of seek, because I really want to make a difference, but if I don't understand what works and what doesn't work. I am not getting any further ahead. I'm just gonna be doing the same thing over and over and over again.
And what did they do to make this happen? Was it the tone? Was it the words? Was it the, the, the expressions? In the conversation. This stuff is hard, honestly, but it takes practice, it takes work. And this is why we train this stuff in the customer service. Course body language is another thing that we talk about heavily.
It's not that Some people say, well, I only learn with my hands. That's bull. That's you. Don't only learn with your hands because if someone says, okay, go pump down that circuit by closing the, the receiver king valve, which is the outlet, it's that one right there. Well, they just told you what to do and then you go do that.
And that is the big thing I think today in the world where everything's so fast, like the social media day, want your everything, wants your attention. We don't take a minute to look back on what has been going on. And if you take right now, just stop, stop whatever you're doing. If you're listening while you're driving, just make sure you stay safe.
Everything. It has everything to do with customer service because it goes back to understanding people, and that's what customer service is. It's not about refrigeration. It's not about hvac. It's about understanding people and when you understand people. That's where the game has changed you. And then I see it now like reading people, I, I getting better and better at reading people, tone of voice, listening.
But inside the course, Julia, the way she teaches it just makes it so much easier with me. And it gets, it helps the technicians because they, they come back to me and like, wow, like this has really been helping me, not only in my work life. But as my personal life as well, it improved my job and it improved my home life just from the skills that we, we were practicing from the program.
And well, I'm like, well, what does that mean? Well, if you have a large window of tolerance, if, if something comes up really right away and that's could be upsetting or make you angry or sad or or ha even happy but usually it's on the, the, the upset side is like, can you take it and that's okay. Or do you snap.
'cause when, when you can have that conversation with that customer, that, that there, and build that relation, that is the game changer. That is where like when there's slow times and you have a massive list of things to do, and you go up to that customer and say, Hey, we need to do these things, and you have a good relationship, and they, they have the, they have the budget to do it and sometimes they don't.
And so build that relationship with them. I'd love to hear your questions and comments. , Put them in, I in whatever platform you're listening to, I hope you took a few things away. This, this is always something that is, that intrigues me, is customer service. And , we started off with making sure you're being healthy and hydrated out.