Customer service is paramount to any business, and has a big impact on a customer’s desire to return for more. It is easy to make customer service mistakes without even realizing. You and your team are only human after all!
Not Listening to the Customer
To have effective customer service, you must first listen to the customer. This does not mean simply nodding your head saying “uh-huh” as they speak, which is what many customer service representatives do. Instead, you have to engage in order to understand why the problem is very important to them. Listen intently to the problem and allow the client to finish voicing their concern before offering any suggestions. Asking what they expect as a solution is a great way to let them know you are working to make it better.
Not Working Together
To give clients the best service possible, all agents must work together. Technology has made it very easy for one customer service representative to gain assistance from another agent without the customer realizing it. By pooling the talents, the solution may come quicker and the problem resolved with the first contact. Even if the problem is not resolved the first time, agents working together are aware of what steps were taken to resolve the issue and can try a different track should the customer contact you again. A clear customer service training program can show you how to keep the team interacting with one another.
Not Worrying About How to Fix the Problem
Many customer service teams spend too much time worrying about what caused the problem or why something has occurred. They don’t focus on how to fix the problem. No product is produced perfectly every single time. However, customers keep coming back to the places where the focus is on the solution to the problem instead of why the problem occurred in the first place.
Not Empathizing or Apologizing
One of the first things a customer service training program should do is teach the representative to empathize and apologize to the client. Representatives who don’t empathize with their customers will make them feel misunderstood or mistreated. Apologizing for the problem can go a long way to making the client feel like you are trying to make it right, even if you had no hand in what went wrong to begin with. Sometimes hearing that someone understands and a representative of the company is sorry for the frustration can go a long way towards keeping the situation from escalating.
Not Taking the Blame
As a representative, it is understandable that you want to defend the company. However, you should never blame the client for the problem, even if they are at fault. Remember “the customer is always right,” take a deep breath, and allow the company to take responsibility for the problem.
Remember, this is the age of social media and the way you handle complaints can either help or hurt your business much quicker than in the past. How you address a problem could go viral on social media turning costly in a matter of moments. Customer service training can help your employees get it right.