6
Building Trust with Others

Learning Objectives

By the end of this chapter, you should be able to:

• Define trust.

• Discuss the importance of having trust in a customer-provider relationship.

• Describe how values and beliefs impact trust levels.

• Identify strategies for ensuring that you send a message of trustworthiness.

• Explain the role of ethical behavior in establishing trust.

You may be deceived if you trust too much, but you will live in torment if you do not trust enough.

Frank Crane

WHAT IS TRUST?

From a service standpoint, trust can be defined as a customer’s confidence in your concern for her or his success and well being and in your desire and ability to strive to meet the customer’s needs. Trust is often based on:

• your competence level (do you have the knowledge and skill to handle the situation);

• the degree of reliability which you exhibit in serving customers (can and will you deliver as promised and expected);

• dependability (will you and the company be around in a year to follow-through on commitments or warranties);

• your ability to openly deal with a variety of people and situations (knowledge of people and the skills to deal with them); and

• the way in which you conduct business from an ethical and moral standpoint (whether the business is conducted in compliance with the law and in fairness to all).

By virtue of the fact that customers choose your organization over all the organizations available that provide similar products and services let’s you know that, at least initially, they trust you. If they have not had previous contact, or are not a referral from someone else who knows of your capabilities, this initial trust may be tentative. What that means is that until you substantiate that you are capable of and willing to handle their needs and that you warrant being trusted, they will likely be sizing you and your organization up.

Trust is likely one of the most significant foundations of your customer-provider relationships. If you do not have customer trust, you do not have a relationship. If you hesitate to provide what you say you can and will, or if customers sense that their needs and interests are not of concern to you, they will probably go elsewhere. This is why you should constantly strive to earn and maintain the trust of others who call or contact your organization.

Trust is a fragile thing. It may be given early in a relationship, however, it may take years to cement. On the other hand, it can be destroyed or at least seriously damaged in a second. The latter can occur if you fail to follow through on a promise to customers, do not deliver as promised, lie or mislead them, or act in what they perceive to be an unethical manner. In such instances, your customer may simply go away without telling you why (see Exhibit 6-1).

Additionally, according to a classic study done by TARP (formerly Technical Assistance Research Program) for the U.S. Office of Consumer Affairs, a dissatisfied customer who has a small problem will tell as many as ten people if the problem is not resolved to his or her satisfaction. Someone with a large problem will tell as many as sixteen others. This type of negative word-of-mouth publicity can be deadly for your organization.

THE IMPORTANCE OF TRUST

You have many opportunities to deliver quality service and build trust when you make contact with a customer and potential customer. All of these opportunities begin the moment you connect with a customer over the telephone or through other means. Keep in mind the tips outlined in Chapters 3 and 4 related to communication and listening. Later in this chapter you will read about some specific strategies for building trust.

It is crucial that you consciously strive to project a positive image. This is important because you are at a potential disadvantage by virtue of the fact that in a call center you deliver what some people consider to be a somewhat impersonal form of customer service—being a faceless entity over the Internet or a voice on the telephone. Add to this the fact that if you do outbound calling you have a perceived negative stigma attached to your role in the eyes of many customers and potential customers. This is often a carry over attitude based on the past actions of some unscrupulous telemarketers who perpetrated scams on many people and exhibited less than professional and pushy behavior. Additionally with the increase in e-commerce (purchasing over the Internet) the number of reported frauds has skyrocketed and put consumers on the defensive. For example, The National Consumers League in Washington, DC reported, in a news release on their Website in February 1999, that online auction sale fraud increased 68 percent in 1998. These factors often make customers skeptical when they are dealing with someone from a call center, especially when there is a money exchange involved.

Over the telephone or via other technology, you lose the opportunity to send powerful messages normally delivered through nonverbal body cues. Such messages are so powerful that one classic study by Dr. Albert Mehrabian (Mehrabian 1981, 75–80) found that 93 percent of message meaning (emotion) comes from other than the words used in a communication between two people (see Exhibit 6–2).

Nonverbal cues (e.g., gestures, posture, and facial expressions) and vocal cues (e.g., volume, inflection, rate, pitch, and enunciation) often override the interpretation of the words that a listener hears. More value is typically placed on the nonverbal messages that the verbal ones during a conversation.

This should not be interpreted that words are not important. Words can be very powerful in getting your point across and gathering information from customers. Contrarily, if you choose the wrong words at the wrong time, you can totally change the flow of a conversation, potentially escalate emotions, and damage trust. The key is to choose your words wisely based on the person to whom you are speaking, the situation, and the communication content.

During a telephone call, when nonverbal cues are not possible, 86 percent of the message meaning comes from the how your spoken message is delivered. To compensate for the loss of nonverbal cues when using the telephone, it is crucial that you focus on improving the voice qualities outlined in Chapter 3. You can do this by asking coworkers or others to monitor your calls and provide feedback on your delivery. You can also accomplish this by objectively listening to monitored taped calls (if your organization uses these). Listen for the words as well as the manner in which you speak and make any adaptations necessary.

When using other communication channels (e.g., facsimile, e-mail, or correspondence) where you rely solely on written words to transmit your message, the opportunity for misinterpretation is escalated even further. For this reason, you should carefully proof each message before sending it, or have someone else do so. Also, when reading messages, take the time to allow yourself time to adequately interpret the sender’s meaning before firing off an emotional response that you may later regret. The latter is a typical problem when people use e-mail, since it is so easy to type out a response and hit the send key.

THE IMPACT OF VALUES AND BELIEFS ON TRUST

Values and beliefs are powerful and often directly influence the outcome of a given situation. And, like interpersonal communication skills, values and beliefs are taught. Parents, family members, clergy, educators, books, television, printed materials, and many other sources contribute to what each person thinks is good or bad, right or wrong, and valuable or invaluable.

When you come into contact with others who have different values and beliefs, arguments and differences of opinion are possible. If values and beliefs are accepted and respected, positive customer relationships can develop. If left unchecked, such differences can escalate into an emotional confrontation.

What Are Values?

Values are long-term appraisals of the worth of an idea, person, place, thing, or practice held by individuals, groups, or cultures. They impact attitudes and behavior. When you challenge a customer’s values, you may lose business and face long-term resentment from the customer and those who hear about the event.

Some examples of personal values include love of family, the importance of truthfulness, commitment to doing what you say you will, and the importance of saving money.

What Are Beliefs?

Beliefs are perceptions or assumptions that individuals or cultures maintain. These perceptions are based on past experiences, memories, and interpretations. They influence how you act and interact with certain individuals or groups.

Some examples of beliefs held by individuals include the belief that one race is better than another, superiority of one organization’s products or brands over others, and the ability of one group or organization to provide better service than that offered by competitors.

Because of beliefs, customers often react to you based on presumed factors that they have faced in similar past situations. They sometimes believe that because a certain set of events occurred previously that like situations will yield similar results. Likewise, you likely react to certain people, words, phrases, and actions based on your experiences. Such approaches to dealing with others can often lead to relationship breakdowns if they are not controlled.

The key in preventing and dealing with situations in which values and beliefs differ is to maintain an open mind and to consciously remind yourself that you are neither always right nor always wrong. Also, remember that you cannot change the behavior of others; only the reaction you have to their behavior.

TRUSTBUILDING STRATEGIES

To get trust from others you must also give trust. Some simple ways of showing trust include weighing customer arguments and situations objectively, sounding nonchallenging when a customer offers information or explanations, being willing to make exceptions where you are authorized to do so, and extending whatever latitudes your organization allows. For example, sending a product along with an invoice if a customer requests such action even though most transactions are handled with payment in advance.

The following sections describe strategies for fostering customer trust.

Listen to the Customer

As you read in Chapter 4, listening is the primary tool you have for gathering customer information. It is also the least effectively developed and used skill that many service providers have. Listening to customer comments, questions, and complaints is such a simple concept and can lead to much satisfaction if done well. Since so few people listen well, if you demonstrate the ability and willingness to do so, you can gain a great deal of respect and trust from customers. Use vocal signals to let them know you are following their message (e.g., “Uh huh,” “I see,” “Really,” or “Okay”); ask questions for clarification; paraphrase; and respond and answer questions appropriately.

Also use the guidelines outlined in Chapter 4 as a guideline for listening improvement.

Be Sincere

Customer service is a people activity. It often requires unusually high levels of interpersonal communication, problem-solving and decision-making skills, along with technical and product knowledge. Customers expect you to use each of these tools when working with them. They typically trust that you are taking a sincere interest in them and their issue to try to bring about the best value and resolution possible. If you fail to demonstrate sincerity through words and deeds, you are likely to lose customer trust and ultimately business.

You can also project sincerity by spending time working with a customer on his or her issues or questions, going to extra effort to resolve issues, find information or items, or follow-up on an issue, and empathize with a customer when something goes wrong and then work jointly to help find a solution.

Remain Unbiased

While there are some customers who intentionally try to “rip off or defraud your organization, most are honest people who simply want what they pay for or are entitled to. Unfortunately, human nature is such that we often remember the negative experiences that we have and forget the positive. For example, you might recall customers who were rude, vulgar, and obnoxious and forget those who took the time to call or write a supervisor to express appreciation for the good service you provided. This inclination may relate to the concept of whether you are an optimist, and view a glass of water as being half full, or a pessimist who views it as being half empty. If you treat people pessimistically and treat them negatively because you anticipate a potential problem based on previous experiences, you can easily escalate a situation into an emotional confrontation. To counter this, the key is to treat each customer with respect and view each situation as unique.

Some additional strategies to demonstrate that you are unbiased and looking out for the customer’s welfare is to not appear to unfairly take your organization’s side of an argument. Treat each customer with respect and do not make disparaging remarks about anyone or any group. (This includes management by saying such things as, “They won’t let us.” Otherwise, customers may think, “If they say that about their management what do they say about me?”). Additionally, keep an open mind when listening to customers without saying things like, “None of my other customers have ever complained about this.”

It is important in all customer interactions that you look at the situation from the customer’s perspective. Ask yourself, “If I were the customer, how would I feel?” or “If I were the customer, what would I want done or how would I want to be treated?”

Be Truthful

Always tell the truth when dealing with customers. Do not “enhance” or withhold information just to make a sale or tell a customer something because you believe she or he wants to hear it. Most people respect an honest person. Even it might mean a lost sale, tell the truth. Chances are the customer will later return to your organization because he or she trusts and respects your way of doing business. For example, a customer asks if the warranty on a copy machine covers routine maintenance and you say “Yes,” but do not tell them that they must transport the machine to an authorized dealer location to receive the service. While you are not lying, the customer may perceive it as such since you did not tell about the exception to the policy.

Some additional strategies for displaying truthfulness include:

• Volunteering information before the customer has to ask for it (e.g., policies, warranties, special offers, or discounts available)

• Responding truthfully to questions

• Taking responsibility and admit mistakes

• Providing accurate information that you are sure of, not guesses on your part (e.g., delivery times, costs, or refund policies)

Use Facts and Figures

The more information you can provide to substantiate a point, the more comfort a customer is likely to feel about a situation. If you cannot back something up, do not say it. Be careful of using phrases like “Research shows....” If the customer challenges you on the statement and asks, “What research?,” your credibility and your trust level could be damaged if you do not have an answer.

A few helpful things about facts and figures is that they provide an accurate picture of an issue to a customer, add credibility to a discussion, and create enhanced customer confidence levels. All of these go a long way in building stronger rapport with your customers.

THE ROLE OF ETHICAL BEHAVIOR

Your behavior in dealing with customers is under constant scrutiny—by your customer, your supervisor/team leader, and your peers. The manner in which you conduct daily activities can send a powerful message to those with whom you come into contact. When you are on the telephone with a customer there is an expectation that you will be conducting yourself in a professional manner and complying with organizational policies as well as local, state, and federal laws and regulations. You will read more about this latter issue in Chapter 12.

To ensure that you are acting in an appropriate manner, before taking any action ask yourself the following questions:

• Is what I’m doing right (morally and legally)?

• Is it justified (from the standpoint of fairness to the organization and customer)?

• Is it something I would be proud to see on the front page of the local newspaper?

If the answer to all of these is “Yes,” then proceed. If not, you may want to rethink and take another course of action.

 

Trust is a cornerstone of effective relationships. Without it, your success in dealing with customers is limited and likely to fail.

The basis of trust is (1) your competence level related to having the knowledge and skills necessary to handle a variety of situations, (2) the degree of reliability which you exhibit in serving customers, (3) the perceived dependability that you and your organization exhibit, (4) your ability to openly deal with a variety of customers and situations, and (5) the way in which you conduct business from an ethical and moral standpoint.

Trust is fragile and takes a long time to establish but a short time to lose. By providing conscientious, quality service you can gain and maintain trust with your customers. From the moment you come into contact with a customer, you have to strive for sound communication and service. This includes being conscious of verbal and nonverbal messages sent.

Keep in mind that values and beliefs are powerful and often directly influence the outcome of a given situation. Both values and beliefs are taught with each person gaining his or hers from parents, family members, clergy, educators, books, televisions, and many other sources. Since each person is unique and experiences different opportunities in his or her life, differing values result. This can lead to potential clashes and ultimately relationship breakdowns.

To help build trust, try a variety of strategies. Some that may help are listening to customers, being sincere, remaining unbiased, being truthful, and using facts and figures.

Never forget that your behavior is under constant scrutiny and that all of your activities should send a message of morally and legally ethical behavior.

1. A customer with a small unresolved problem is likely to tell how many of his or her friends?	1. (c)
(a) 2
(b) 7
(c) 10
(d) 25
2. According to Dr. Mehrabian what percentage of message meaning is taken from the words spoken between two people?	2. (a)
(a) 7 percent
(b) 25 percent
(c) 38 percent
(d) 55 percent
3. The term that best describes long-term appraisals of worth is:	3. (b)
(a) trust.
(b) values.
(c) beliefs.
(d) ethics.
4. Which of the following is based on past experiences, memories, and interpretations?	4. (d)
(a) Trust
(b) Ethics
(c) Values
(d) Beliefs
5. Which of the following is not a strategy for building trust?	5. (c)
(a) Listening to the customer
(b) Being sincere
(c) Providing discounts
(d) Remaining unbiased