A Guide to Customer Service Skills for the Service Desk Professional, 4e Solutions 2-1

Chapter 2 Solutions

Review Questions

1. Listening.
2. To be heard and understood.
3. Active listening involves participating in a conversation and giving the speaker a sense of
confidence that he or she is being heard. Passive listening involves simply taking in
information and shows little regard for the speaker.
4. Checklists can be used to diagnose incidents and methodically identify solutions.
5. Questions that obtain information without offending the customer.
6. The customer’s skill level.
7. No. You must let a customer who is angry or upset tell their story. Use acknowledging and
encouraging phrases to let them know that you are listening.
8. Maintain eye contact and nod your head.
9. False. Let the customer know you are listening by using acknowledging and encouraging
phrases such as “Uh-huh,” “I see,” “Go on,” and “I understand” at appropriate points in the
conversation.
10. Ask questions.
11. A customer may look confused by (1) furrowing his brow, or (2) staring vacantly, or a
customer may (3) simply be silent.
12. Paraphrasing restates the information given by the customer using slightly different words.
13. What is being said and how it is being said.
14. Customers perceive that you care about their well-being and so are more willing to work
with you to resolve the incident.
15. Take responsibility and determine why.
16. (1) You establish rapport. (2) You can determine the customer’s emotional state. (3) You
can build trust by responding appropriately to the customer’s sense of urgency. (4) You can
keep the conversation on track. (5) You can determine situations that may requirement
management involvement. (6) You show the customer that he or she is important.
17. (1) Distractions and interruptions. (2) The “third ear” syndrome. (3) Jumping ahead. (4)
Emotional filters. (5) Mental side trips. (6) Talking.
18. Ask the customer if you can put him or her on hold while you consult with your co-worker.
19. (1) You may miss information the customer provides. (2) You may waste time diagnosing
the wrong incident. (3) You may appear insensitive.
20. Who, what, when, where, and how.
21. That the customer may be confused or may disagree with what you are saying.
22. Nonverbal communication skills and tone of voice.
23. Verbal communication skills and tone of voice.
24. Positive, respectful statements.
25. (1) Facial expressions. (2) Body language. (3) Clothing.
A Guide to Customer Service Skills for the Service Desk Professional, 4e Solutions 2-2

26. (1) Energy. (2) Rate of speech. (3) Volume and pitch.
27. False. Speaking too quickly or too slowly can be distracting to customers and affect their
ability to listen. A good technique is to determine your normal rate of speech and then
strive to adapt your pace to the needs of your customer.
28. (1) Raise or lower your head slightly when you speak. (2) Improve your posture. (2) Take
long, slow, deep breaths.
29. Listen to the information the customer provides and to the responses the customer gives
when you ask questions.
30. (1) Give them time to tell their story. (2) Respectfully call out their name and state
specifically what you can do. (3) Restate the information they have given you so they know
they have been heard.
31. A question that does not allow a “yes” or “no” response.
32. False. The most effective technique is to empathize (vs. sympathize) when a customer is
complaining.
33. These phrases engage know-it-alls in the problem-solving process without rejecting their
perspective.
34. Both. The best way to serve customers is to understand and speak their language, the
language of business. You can then translate that language into the language of technology.