Lessons in Listening

Listening is not a passive activity. To be a good listener, you must pay attention, ask clarifying questions and respond appropriately. Giving your full attention to someone means that you are not thinking about what you might say in response—or even worse, wondering what you might make for dinner.

A good listener is alert and listening for verbal clues throughout the conversation. This is an especially important skill if you work in customer service.

Your customers are sharing information that can help you engage and create memorable experiences. Perhaps your customers mention a recent birthday celebration, their passion for volunteering or their favorite sports team. A skilled customer service professional can use this information to create a “wow” moment or to genuinely bond with a customer. One of the Service Values at The Ritz-Carlton ensures that our employees—known as our Ladies and Gentlemen—are “responsive to the expressed and unexpressed wishes and needs of our guests.” Ladies and Gentlemen must be alert and listen in order to detect a guest’s unexpressed wishes. When you are an alert listener, your customers, colleagues and friends will appreciate your attentiveness and feel more valued, and in turn create brand loyalty – and in our world, this critical outcome help us to achieve our goal in creating guests for life at The Ritz-Carlton.

Interested in learning more about our Service Values that power brand differentiating service? Please visit our Course Calendar to learn more about our upcoming virtual and onsite course enrollment options.

• employee engagement
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• etiquette
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• listening