One of the most common mistakes customer service staff make is neglecting the feelings of the caller and not being truly in the moment.
The Customer’s POV
When a customer calls customer support it means they have a problem with your product/service. Maybe they tried to solve the problem themself, and perhaps they asked others for advice. Maybe they even checked online for possible solutions. When nothing worked, they are left with no choice but to call your company and ask for help. Sometimes it may just be a sales call and they want more information or pricing.
If your mind is focused on other matters your caller will sense this immediately. Best customer service requires you to be 200% in the moment with your caller. Non connected engagement often results in ill feelings. Your company’s reputation can be ruined (as far as they are concerned), and in the age of the Internet and social media a negative customer experience expressed in Facebook or Twitter can easily become viral.
Proper Phone Manners
So here are some tips for your customer service personnel when they take a call:
- Always sound cheerful and helpful. You don’t want to sound like a person who’s been interrupted in the middle of something important. To the caller, nothing is more important than their reason for calling. Your problems are not their concern.
- Forget about your other tasks. Right now, you need to see it from the POV of your caller. That means their problem is the most important thing in the universe right now… to you. You actually have to pay attention, and show signs that you’re listening by responding with relevant answers instead of with generic phrases.
- Take notes. It can be truly irritating for customers to have to repeat themselves several times when explaining themselves. You can solve this by taking down notes so you can refer to them each time you need the info. Example of things you should write down: dates, names, addresses, nature of enquiry, urgency, etc
- Remember that the person on the line can’t see you. That means you can’t just nod your head—you actually have to say something. And when you’re doing something like typing or looking things up on the Web, you have to describe what you’re doing on the phone. This will reassure your caller that you’re actually doing something to help him.
You need to know that the caller is your priority. Their problems are your problems too. After all, irate and unhappy customers who have had a bad experience with your company is bad for your business. Make the first step to pacify them by making them feel that you want to help.
