How to give great customer service: The L.A.S.T. method

TRANSCRIPT

Hello. My name is Emma, and in today's video I am going to teach you a very, very important thing for customer service. I used to work in customer service, and this is actually one of the most important things I learned, and this is called the L-A-S-T or LAST approach.

So, to get started, let's talk a little bit about: What is customer service? So, customer service is when you have customers, of course, and you're trying to make your customers as comfortable and happy as possible. You're also trying to meet their needs and expectations, and solve any problems or situations that they might have. So, customer service is a huge category. There's many, many different jobs where you use customer service. If you work in a hotel, for example, as a clerk, you know, in the lobby, as a bellhop, you will be using customer service. If you work at a restaurant as a server, you'll be using customer service, or as a hostess. If you're the manager of a store, you'll be using customer service. If you work in a business or even in a hospital, you'll be using customer service. So, pretty much any time you're dealing with people from the public and they're customers and you're trying to help them, you're doing customer service.

So, there are many different problems that a customer might have. What are some examples of some problems? Can you think of anything, a problem a customer might have? Maybe somebody charged them too much for something, maybe they're in a store and the lineups are too long, maybe a customer is at a hotel and they're very unhappy because the Wi-Fi isn't working or their bed's uncomfortable. So, there's so many different problems customers might have at different types of businesses.

In this video what I'm going to teach you is: What do you do when a customer has a problem? Okay? So, a very easy thing to do when a customer has a problem is called the LAST approach. "LAST", what does it stand for? Well, if a customer has a problem, the first thing you should do is listen to their problem, the next thing you should do is apologize, solve their problem, and thank them. So: Listen, Apologize, Solve, and Thank. We're going to look at expressions we use to show we're listening, expressions to apologize, expressions that can help us solve problems, and expressions to thank customers.

Okay, so the first step when a customer has a problem is to listen. So, the first thing you should do is find out what the problem is. You can ask them: "What seems to be the problem?" or "How can I help you?" Okay? Once they start explaining what the problem is, very important that you look like you're actually listening and that you do listen. Okay? So, you shouldn't look at your watch: "Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm." Okay? That's a bad idea. You shouldn't look at the sky: "Uh, when is this person going to stop talking?" Okay? You shouldn't roll your eyes. Okay? No, no, no. You need to show that you actually care about what the customer is saying.

So, showing you're listening is very important. You can repeat back to the customer what they're saying to show that you understand and to make sure that you did understand. So: "So what you're saying is, you know, there's no hot water in this hotel.", "So what you're saying is the Wi-Fi's not working and you're not happy with that." Okay? These are some examples. "So what you're saying is _________." You can also say: "Let me get this right..." "Let me get this right, what you're saying is that, you know, there's a problem at your table.", "What you're saying is that you've been waiting for your food for a really long time." So it's important to show that you are listening and you acknowledge what they have said.

Okay. Now, sometimes with customer service you get a customer who's very angry, and maybe they start swearing, they start using very bad language. Okay? So if this happens, very important that you don't get upset. Okay? When this happened to me in the past, I would actually pretend to be a computer. I would not take anything personally. I would just smile and pretend to be a computer, and that's how I got through angry customers. So, if the person is rude... You know, it's not right if somebody is saying something rude to you, if they're swearing at you, or they're making you feel uncomfortable. So, be polite. Okay?

[DanielBrownsan]

In my 25 years of customer service experience, I've found that when I have a customer that's a little upset, telling them to "calm down" is great a way of making them *VERY* upset.

[natds]

i would replace apologise with Acknowledge because you should not be sorry for something that isn't in your control. e.g ' Sorry for the long wait' to be replaced with 'thank you for waiting' it's always much more positive.

[Landon_Hughes]

One thing that Target taught me (when I was working there) is call customers, *guests* . A customer sounds just like another number walking in the store whereas a *guest* sounds like its an honor to have them. Idk, it's just something I've always remembered.
It's helped with my current BestBuy Geek Squad job for sure.

Also, this video helps!! *Listen* to them, *Apologize* for the bad experience, *Solve* their problem to the best of your ability, and *Thank* them for coming in. Got it down ✊

[flaviaburns]

Do not EVER tell a customer to calm down.

[TenaciousGaming]

In a subliminal way, this video is actually great because it's generated so much conflict of opinion, personal stories and ethics in these comments that one could simply piece together the whole customer service world and learn from it. How much you learn from it of course, depends on how dedicated you are to customer service and how willing you are to absorb constructive information.

Golden rule no. 1. Be the customer

[MrFirstGabo]

I'm learning English right now and i'm applying on a job for customer service and my English is not perfect but I understood everything she wants me to learn. Thanks.

[garycalzavara]

Kindness: A thing we have been loosing over the time and its value has been getting smaller and smaller, but we do really love when we are treated with kindness. When someone asumes the identity of a kind person, even the voice, the face will reflect it. It is really hard to be rude to someone that is kind to you. So, to get the result of this L.A.S.T. approach, it is a good idea to master the arts of being kind. Thanks for reading.

[syedatif]

Instead of "calm down", one should better say, "I am really aimed at helping you but I would appreciate you patience first. Let me check it out what's the matter. I am sure I will solve your problem"

[mouraddehbi]

Lovely session, just a feedback when you tell customers calm down, it is like when you poor fuel on the fire. This is base on my experience dealing with angry customers.

[ranniewilliams]

listen, apologize, solve, and saying thank you because yu always have to make sure the customer feel valued

[WeKnowYoureThere]

L - Lie to them about how you’re going to fix the problem
A - Ask them to shut the hell up for a few seconds
S - Slap them across the forehead
T - Tell them to never come back

[billy]

You trying to make your customer as confortable and happy as possible and you also trying to meet their needs or expectations in the best way u know how and solve any problem or situation that they might have.

[fmag]

Calm down is a killer word, never ever say that to the angry customer, you will be cooked!

[stevensontimango]

I do not agree with the statement that the customer is always right but I do believe that we can always treat customers the right way. The right way is through love and sacrifice.

[silversurfer]

Your video is excellent. I am a front desk clerk for a nice hotel, watching guest service tutorials and yours is on point. I really appreciate this free, informative video and thank you for your time. Have a great day!

[fenabra]

Seeing this prompted me to do something similar in Spanish usign the word "Edad" (Escuchar, Disculparse, Arreglar, Dar Gracias). Thanks for the tips and inspiration

[sourovbhattacharya]

Thanks a load Emma you gave a concrete idea about the LAST approach to meet the customer's requirement. Your class is breathtaking thanks once again it really helps.

[isaiasalvarado]

I wish I could’ve seen this video before. I worked in customer service for almost 5 years and even though your expressions are useful, I do have to admit that they don’t always work in real life .

[jenisethaguilar]

Hi Emma! I like the way doyou express on how to talk at the office. English is my second lenguaje and I'm forcing my self to improve my English. Even though it's no easy for me, currently I'm studying Administrative Office and Process Information at the college, so when I saw your videos on YouTube I thought, wow! it's what I was looking for, you are such a good teacher. Please continue doing the videos because you give a really good tools on how to prepare for any type of office job. Thanks 👍🏻

[Sans-qovw]

one of the best tips I learned today. I'm A receptionist in a hotel and this is very helpful. Thanks a lot!