Businesses commonly outsource to answering services and professional call centers because they need help providing service to their customers. Customer service representatives should be able to answer almost any questions, as well as, solve most problems. Representatives should leave the customer satisfied and happy with the interaction. Fortunately, there are some simple rules which may help guide representatives in providing the best possible customer service.
Rule 1: Customer is King (or Queen)
Live operators should remember that they are being paid to service and fulfill customer needs. This is the best context for a representative when speaking to the customer on the phone. Setting this context when training call center employees will help them understand how providing good customer service can benefit themselves, as well as, the customer.
Rule 2: Listen to the Customer
The first step in providing good customer service is knowing what the customer wants or needs. Customer service agents should not assume they already know what a customer wants. Finding out what the customer wants requires excellent listening skills on the part of the live operator. Some important things to take note of are the customer's choice of words and tone of voice. These will be clues as to the customer's level of satisfaction, as well as, how much rapport the representative has earned.
Rule 3: Always Be Courteous and Polite
Being courteous and polite with customers is essential to building rapport with customers. Live operators should be trained to carefully choose their words. An effective script can help the representative in this aspect. He or she should also pay close attention to the customer's tone of voice. The representative should never raise his or her voice or sound frustrated in any way when speaking with customers. Even if the customer is irate, the representative should remain calm.
Rule 4: Go the Extra Mile
Customers appreciate a service agent who does more than is expected. Many times it is easy for a call center representative to ignore this aspect in customer service, because he or she are not physically in front of the customer. When training call center representatives you should be sure to emphasize that going the extra mile for the customer will be recognized by the customer, as well as, the call center management team. Whatever reasonable request a customer presents, the customer service representative should always accept and fulfill the request.
Rule 5: Educate Customers
Some of the most common customer complaints stem from the customer's ignorance about how an organization's systems work. If customers are confused by a company's systems for transacting business, they can become irritated. Even the most patient of customers can become angry in these instances. Customer service representatives should do their best to educate customers on how the company's systems are designed to simplify transactions.
Rule 6: Always Apologize
An apology can go a long way in call center customer service. When a problem arises, customer service representatives should always apologize first before finding a solution. This helps build rapport and calm down the customer's emotional responses. Customer service agents should always apologize even if it is not his or her fault. They should also apologize even if the customer is the cause of the problem.
Rule 7: Value Employees
Working as a customer service representative in a call center can be stressful. Sometimes it can be difficult to maintain a positive attitude after taking hundreds of calls. Call center managers should recognize this and do what they can to keep customer service agents happy with their jobs. How call center management treats its employees will be reflected by how employees treat the customers over the phone. The last thing a call center wants are employees who are already upset before they even take one incoming call. Making employees feel appreciated will translate into customers feeling appreciated. This will cause increased business and income.
Implementing these rules will help any professional call center service elevate its level of customer service. Putting these rules into action require implementing them into the customer service representative training curriculum. Proper training from day one will build the correct context for the call center employee to effectively interact with customers.
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