Customer Reviews

Perfect Phrases for Customer Service: Hundreds of Tools, Techniques, and Scripts for Handling Any Situation (Perfect Phrases Series)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

The book begins with a section outlining some sixty specific customer service techniques, and describes each of them. Some are very basic, and some are more advanced, particularly those that deal with dealing with angry customers, or preventing problems with customers from escalating and becoming time consuming.

But that's not the meat of the book, or what makes the book so useful. The rest of the book contains about sixty vignettes or dialogues between customers and staff, showing how the various situations SHOULD be handled. Each vignette is short, and to the point and the information for each one can be assimilated and learned from in a very few minutes.

I like this book because it can be used in so many ways. You can sit and read it through. You can browse it and just read the parts that you want help with. You can read one or two vignettes, and learn one or two skills a day, since each segment really stands on its own. It's a great source book to use in customer service training, because it's all there -- techniques, and how to use them.

It's low priced. It's quick to learn from. And it's real. Most of the vignettes struck home with me. I bet I've had most of these situations.

If there's a better, faster book to learn how to deal with customers (especially the difficult customers), I haven't found it yet.

This book is succinct and easy to reference. I have 20+ years customer service experience and WOULD recommend this book to anyone who is open-minded to trying new tools and techniques. If you are having trouble with customers, change your approach. This book will help you do just that.

What the world needs now is more customer service!

This book was exactly what I expected it to be. I love that it not only gives you ideas for how to respond, it also breaks it down to what skills are used in the wording (such as empathy). My customer service agents are utilizing this book to help improve their quality of customer service. A lot can be learned from this book.

There is some useful content in this book, particularly related to what not to say. Saying the wrong thing to a customer is often worse than saying nothing at all! The example dialogues help to bring the book to life. My reservation is that in my experience customers in today's modern world are intelligent and discerning. They can usually detect if a customer service or sales representative is using "canned scripts". When working with organisation's to improve their customer service my preferred approach (and that of my customer's!) is to provide people with a framework that they can adapt to their own personal style. People can still be trained what to say and what not to say but, most importantly, they do this is a way that is genuine and authentic to them. This comes across very positively to the customer and avoids the customer service/sales person sounding like an automaton! I do endorse certain powerful phrases (or "mini scripts" if you like) and you will find material to help in this book.
Simon Hazeldine Bestselling Author of "Bare Knuckle Customer Service", "Bare Knuckle Selling" and "Bare Knuckle Negotiating"

This book offers many different scripts for difficult customer situations. I have been in customer service for several years and the book gave me some reminders as well as some new ideas that I plan to try out. Any one who is new to customer service should read this book!

This is a VERY boring book. Normally I can get through material like this in a couple days. I've been reading this a couple weeks. Its boring and not what I expected at all.

this is a great book to provide practical advice on how to handle specific situations. I am using this book to do a presentation for my staff.

This book provides a solid foundation for customer interactions anywhere. It is straightforward, easy to read and a valuable tool to help staff deal, particularly, with difficult customers.

Although I haven't finished reading this book, it arrived in a timely
manner in excellent condition.
I look forward to reading more of this book which seems well-written as well as worthwhile reading from cover to cover.
Thanks for your excellent service. Best of look to your company in the future.
With Best Regards,

Dave Klein

I've been in the customer service field for 15 years, and this is, hands down, the worst customer service book I've ever read! The techniques listed are truly awful. In every situation I put myself in the customer's position and if the person helping me followed these techniques - I would quickly become an angry customer or insulted and never visit that establishment again. The author lists the exact wrong things to do to provide good customer service, yet he presents them as good techniques and the right thing to do. Awful! I think Mr. Bascal didn't pay attention to the title of his book - it is NOT entitled "Perfect Ways to Enrage Your Customers."

The first part of the book the author labors on and on about how "allegedly" great his book is and then proceeds to take 15 pages to explain the set up of his book - which could be done in two or three sentences. He then outlines his very bad techniques in the second section, and the third section he gives examples of how to put these outrageous techniques in to action.

Whatever you do, do NOT buy this book. And most importantly, do not let your employees read this book!!! I would hate to see anyone putting these stupid and customer enraging/insulting techniques in to practice.