Building Customer Loyalty

Effectively meeting customer needs; building productive customer relationships; taking

responsibility for customer satisfaction and loyalty.
Key Actions

Uses Key PrinciplesEstablishes good interpersonal relationships by helping people

feel valued, appreciated, and included in discussions (enhances self-esteem,
empathizes, involves, discloses, supports).

Acknowledges the personGreets customers promptly and courteously; gives

customers full attention.

Clarifies the current situationAsks questions to determine needs; listens carefully;

provides appropriate information; summarizes to check understanding.

Meets or exceeds needsActs promptly in routine situations; agrees on a clear course

of action in non-routine situations; takes opportunities to exceed expectations without
making unreasonable commitments.

Confirms satisfactionAsks questions to check for satisfaction; commits to followthrough, if appropriate; thanks customer.

Takes the heatHandles upset customers by hearing the customer out,

empathizing, apologizing, and taking personal responsibility for resolving customer
problems/issues.

Questions
1. In your job at ___________, how did you ensure that your internal/external
customers needs were met? Describe your procedure with one customer.
2. Tell me about the most youve ever done to try to satisfy a particular customer.
3. Sooner or later, we all have to deal with an internal/external customer who makes
unreasonable demands. Think of a time when you had to handle an unreasonable
request. What did you do?
4. Describe a time when you had to ask numerous questions and listen carefully to
clarify the exact nature of an internal/external customers problem or needs.
5. What skills or qualities contribute to building productive relationships with
internal/external customers? Give me an example of a time when you used these
skills or qualities with a specific customer.
6. Describe a time when you effectively handled an internal/external customer
complaint.
7. Can you tell me about a customer request youve received that was in conflict with
your companys policies? What did you do?

8. Tell me about a time when you were the focus of a customers displeasure. What did
you do?
9. Can you describe a time when you didnt handle an internal/external customer
complaint well? What did you do? What happened?
10. Tell me about a difficult internal/external customer youve had to deal with. Why
was he or she difficult? What did you do?
11. Describe a time when you took steps to make sure an internal/external customer was
satisfied. What did you do?
12. Describe a situation when you chose to involve others to help solve an
internal/external customers problem. What was the problem, and how did involving
others help?
Questions for people who are applying for sales positions
13. Describe a time when it was particularly important to establish a good relationship
with an external customer. How did you do this?
14. Tell me about a time when you responded to an internal/external customers request
quicker than expected. Contrast that with a time when you failed to meet an
internal/external customers expectations. What was the difference?
15. How do you find out that an external customer is dissatisfied? Tell me about a
specific customer who was dissatisfied. What did you do? What happened?
16. Weve all had customers who think they know exactly what they need, but later they
discover that they really needed something else. Tell me about a time when this
happened to you. What did you do?
17. Occasionally we wish we could change how weve interacted with customers. Tell
me about a recent interaction that you wish youd handled differently.
Questions for people with little work experience
18. As a ________________ (dormitory assistant, teaching assistant, etc.), how did you
ensure that you were providing good service? (Give me an example.)
19. Tell me about any jobs youve had when you had to work with customers to
understand and meet their needs. Describe a specific situation.