Chapter 4. Getting the Message Across

Every time you interact with a customer, it is fundamentally a transfer of information. Whether it is as trivial as what time the movie starts or as critical as the results of someone’s medical test, sharing information is the basic currency of any customer transaction. Nevertheless, the way this information is delivered will make all the difference in the world to you; to your organization; and, most important, to your customers. It represents the central moment of truth in the encounter between you and a customer.

This chapter will teach you how to frame this information so that customers respect you, cooperate with you, and leave satisfied—even when the information itself isn’t what the customer wanted to hear in the first place.