Customer Service
Effective Customer Service Support: The Seven Commandments
It is every customer’s unalienable right to ask, not beg, a company for a support relative to the product and/or service bought. It is every firm’s duty to make their customers happy by providing appropriate and satisfactory services. This obligation is not only aimed to achieve high customer retention rates but to make a strong statement that customers’ value is priceless, worth more than what they paid.
In order to effectively provide customer care, there are at least seven commandments to be followed. These are directed in order to provide better customer service experience. Below are 7 rules to follow in giving customer service support.
1. Be there when customers call. Customers believe that each time they call, someone on the other line is going to answer and give the solutions they highly need. Therefore, always be there when customers initiate beeps, even if that means at midnight or as the day breaks. This then demands you to organize a 24/7/365 customer care department. Do not let them make the adjustments on when to call. Instead, take the initiative to offer all of the time daily to talk with them and iron things out.
2. Talk with them in person. Whatever the reason a customer has for calling, he/she wants to talk things over right away with a live person. Who would want to talk to a machine, by the way? I do not see how a voicemail or an answering machine can solve a problem. According to a study, 14 out of 15 customers undoubtedly want to give failing grades for automation and about 76% of them are downright angry with the set-up. The only solution is to appoint versatile live operators who are knowledgeable about your company and the products or services you are offering. It sprouts a warmth feeling to talk with a live person.
3. Employ skilled, disciplined and courteous agents. It is common knowledge how customers pour out vials of wrath when they are dissatisfied with how a live operator provides support. Some customer service representatives are rude while others are plainly ignorant about a specific product or service. So, before employing agents, polish their skills through trainings, feed them with information and teach them the proper ways to deal with customers.
Guidelines For Choosing A Customer Service Call Center
Customer service is key to retaining your clientele, but it can be a challenge to manage in operational terms. A recent study by Forrester Consulting found that consumers rate automated telephone customer service higher than live agents for some straightforward transactions. The study also found that the majority of consumers were not satisfied with their customer service experiences. Using a mix of both automated and live customer service can be the way to keep your customers loyal to you. Better still, outsourcing this process will ensure that a professional answers your customer’s queries round the clock, so that their queries are answered whenever they call for assistance.
Contracting an outside provider to manage customer support will ensure better service for your customers at an affordable cost. Here are some guidelines to follow for hiring a customer service call center-
* Look for an established company which has a reputation for prompt service. It should have a strong technical team so that there are no glitches whether the system you are using is voice based or non-voice based.
* In case you are using an overseas telephone customer support provider, it should have training provisions for its staff, so that your customers are able to communicate with them easily. If a customer finds it difficult to make the staff understand his or her requirement, you may lose the business.
* Helpdesk services are available round the clock at an affordable cost if you outsource them. However, take the time to understand the terms and conditions of the contract before you hire the business process outsourcing service provider.
* A service level agreement can help you monitor the company’s performance. If it maintains or exceeds the level of service determined upon, you may choose to renew their contract or sign up for extra services.
* Appoint a person within your company to manage the transition process, so that your customers are not inconvenienced. It is also sensible to make one of your employees responsible for coordinating with the company.
Hiring a reliable customer service call center can ensure you have the time and resources to focus on your core competency. The company you choose should have experienced staff members so that they can handle a variety of customer queries. Providence BPO has over a hundred staff members with more than twenty years of experience in the industry, and they specialize in providing customized solutions for your customer support needs!
Tips to Improve Customer Service
Outsourcing customer service may be a good option for many consumer-oriented business firms. But how are the customer service call centers handling the job? Are they really up to the task of providing world-class quality call center customer service? The answer seems to be negative, if you think in general terms. The customer service outsourcing industry leaves a lot of room for improvement. The agents have to improve the quality of their work and also upgrade themselves to the standards of work that they have to deliver. The task is especially difficult for the customer service call centers working out of third world countries. For them, the challenge is not just in the processes they employ, but also in the accent that they talk in. That is the prime reason why the customer service outsourcing industry of the Philippines are more preferred these days as opposed to the Indian ones.
There are some basic steps that the customer service call center can take to make things better for the customers and the clients. To begin with, the agents need to be well-trained. Many customer service call centers cut down on training sessions because they want the agents to hit the floor. Days spent in training rooms are considered unproductive from this point of view. That is how the training modules are cut short. But these training sessions come in handy when the agents start working. They are more capable of handling customers when they feel comfortable about the project they are working on. Since training sessions include teaching them how to handle software and equipments, along with certain soft skills, the agents taking the calls are well-trained to handle the phones with élan.
After training, research is the next important tip for outsourcing customer service. The agents at the customer service call centers need to know everything there is to know about a project. The questions asked by the customers can be anything about the product/service. It can also be about rival brands! Many consumers are interested in a comparison so that they may find out you are better than the others. Research equips the customer service call center agents with the necessary information. They will be able to answer the questions without referring to a superior. References consume time and also increases the hold time for the consumers. That is frustrating and the callers who disconnect often don’t call back again. That erodes the consumer base.
Dumb Metrics in Customer Service
The damage caused by dumb metrics is immense in the construct of the customer service call centers. Metrics are surely useful to measure the performance of a customer service call center but if you are not right about having the right metrics, the whole process can go for a toss. It’s true that the metrics required for your project will be different from any other that you have worked on. Every single customer service outsourcing project has its own requirements. However, the basics remain the same. If you try to tailor-fit a metric on your project because your rival brand is doing so, it may backfire. It’s wise if the customer service planners chalk out the metrics that are essential for the project.
Most customer service call centers like to measure performance of the agents through call lengths. The general idea is that the more calls covered at the customer service call center, the better it is. That may be true to a certain extent. Calls at the outsourcing customer service desk need to be answered immediately. If the calls go into waiting mode or there is a backlog, it reflects poorly on the customer service outsourcing unit. Clients don’t like it either when their customers are calling the desk only to find the line busy. That is why the agents have to dispense off their calls promptly and move to the next one. But in this process, the customers who are on the phone feel rushed. In an effort to welcome the next caller, you are pushing through the present one! That is not a desirable situation at all. The customer service call centers have to be very careful about such lapses in choosing the right metrics.
The same logic applies to the hold time metric of customer service call centers. Every customer service call center has a designated threshold time for a caller to be put on hold. Beyond that, the patience of the caller snaps and the call is disconnected. Such dissatisfied potential customers generally don’t call back. It is imperative that the customer service outsourcing unit reduce the hold time and process the caller’s request immediately. This is a justified metric for performance measurement. But what can you say about the outsourcing customer service unit that does not provide ample training to the agents so that they may answer questions promptly? Some of these units don’t provide the required authority to the agents to resolve issues. In such cases, you cannot question the ability of the agent to reduce the hold time.
The Secret of Customer Service Jobs
Customer service jobs, like the travel agent jobs offered by dedicated travel and tourism employment agencies, have a lot more to them than it is visible. Anyone who has ever been a customer services representative for any company can tell you that. When you work in travel and tourism, your customer service skills are called to the fore time and again, on a daily basis. If you don’t know the secret to the successful commission of customer service positions, you’ll want to.
The basic rule of customer service is this: to all intents and purposes, the customer is always right. Another way of putting that would be: the customer is only right if what he or she wants falls in line with what we are prepared to give him, or her – but don’t let her or him find out. Customer service jobs, like the travel agent jobs that New Frontiers supplies for its customers and clients, are way more subtle than simple kowtowing to the demands of every person that comes to your desk.
The whole point of customer service is to make every individual, every man and woman who comes to your terminal, feel welcome, feel special, feel that he or she is being attended to by someone who wants to make his or life run as smoothly as possible. And that is certainly true. As a customer service expert, you do genuinely want to make your customers as happy as possible.
The difference, or rather the secret, in customer service jobs, like those travel agent jobs we’ve been talking about, is this. You want to make your customers as happy as possible within the boundaries that have been set by your employer.
There is a great deal of skill involved in doing a customer service job well. Your customer will only feel good if he or she is greeted properly; and if he or she is offered all the rules and conventions of the company you work for as though they were options, personally chosen for them. The key is in the wording, and the way you do things. As a customer service assistant, you smile and you use a polite and even tone – but you do not let your desire to be polite prevent you from enforcing company rules.
Internet for Customer Service
The time has come for all customer service call centers to shift over from a telephone-only work model to including the Internet. Any call center customer service study will reveal that a major chunk of users actually want to use online tools to communicate with them. Not many of the users are willing to pick up the phone and call the customer service desk. It is more convenient for them to drop an email or contact through online chat. The customer service call center has to be open and vigilant about such forms of communication. In fact, many call centers want to integrate their CRM with the social media networks because these channels offer a lot of support as well. Users talk and share their problems with their social media contacts. Let’s check out these different modes of communicating individually.
Emails come in first. Customer service call centers are often flooded with emails from concerned customers. They write about their issues and complaints. The call center customer service must be ready to handle and respond to these emails. As obvious, the agents at the customer service call centers have to write replies with solutions, instructions and general information. The response that customer service outsourcing units give will also decide whether the customer wants to stay on with the brand. From the perspective of the outsourcing customer service, these emails have two functions. One is responding to the customer’s problems. The other one is taking the opportunity to push for cross and up selling. Of course, this does not come into the picture unless the problem of the customer gets solved.
Online chat is another communication mode at the customer service call centers. Chats are informal modes of communication, but they can be very effective. Users like to communicate through chat because it gives them an opportunity to explain the problem and get written instructions on what to do. The outsourcing customer service desk can put in an option on the brand’s home page for the users to chat online. The call center customer service has to designate agents on these online channels at all times. The number of agents deployed will depend on the peak hours. The point to keep in mind is that the online chat facility must always be manned. If the call center does not have the manpower to deploy during the leaner hours, they must deactivate the facility.
Key factors for good customer service
There are several important factors that govern the success of your business, one of which is good customer service. The ultimate goal of providing a quality customer service is to enhance your customer satisfaction. This is especially true if your business is associated with a service, instead of just a product. Client service should always be the highest priority if you’re in a service industry.
The latest trend in customer service is to offer customers with feedback loops, a method in which your company can obtain immediate feedback. While promotions and special offers can draw in customers, it is only through good customer service that you will be able to retain them and achieve customer return.
Building healthy customer relationships is the very definition of good customer service. You have to earn their trust and cater to both their needs and expectations, if you want to ensure customer return. Giving your words isn’t just enough, as they want to see real actions. It is your responsibility live up to your words and promises. These are the keys to a good quality customer service.
Listen
One essential component of good customer service practices is to listen to your customers. This includes listening and really understanding their requirements, expectations, and complaints. Listen carefully to your customer needs and any possible change in the requirements. One way to ensure that you will listen attentively is to trust your customers. Once you offer your service, see to it that you heed to their complaints and find the solutions quickly.
Offer Suggestions Politely
Your customers are your most valuable asset. When you act rude or disrespect their opinions, you may as well kiss your business goodbye. Take responsibility of a fault, if any, and offer the best solution to mend it. Never lose your cool or get angry with a customer either.
Keep Your Promises
Don’t promise your customers anything that you don’t intend to keep, as that’s simply not a good customer practice. Keeping your promises give the signals that you are reliable and can be trusted Hence, only make promises that you can keep. Do not disappoint your customers when you can’t make good of what you had promised, it will only break their hearts and drive them away from your business.
The Good Customer Service Call – Make It Easy for the Customer to Do Business With You!
A great maxim for excellent Customer service is, make it EASY for the Customer to do business with you! If the Customer finds it easy and pleasurable to do business with you, they will return, and they will also want to buy more.
Make it Easy
Using the motto, Make it EASY for the Customers will give you and your Customer Service people the right focus to deliver that extra experience. The word easy involves both aspects of the Customer service call:
1. The task side, answering the query, providing the right information or resolving the issue
2. The people side, ensuring that this Customer has an excellent experience of us and the service we provide
The word EASY stands for:
? Effective
? Action
? Speed
? YOU – the customer
Effective
The call will be effective for the Customer if it works for the Customer. An effective call is one where:
1. The Customer can easily find the right number to ring
2. They can get through to a service representative quickly, without too many buttons to press or too long holding
3. The person answering the call understands the query or issue, and check with the Caller to ensure that they have the right issue
4. They resolve the issue in a way that the Customer feels is reasonable and acceptable
All of these aspects count, and yet some are readily overlooked. Can the caller find your number? Does the person answering the phone give a positive first response, certainly I can help with that? Do they ensure they have the right issue? Do they have the skills to tackle tricky issues in a way that the Customer will feel is reasonable?
Action and Speed
Queries or issues should be addressed and resolved as quickly as possible, preferably on one single call. Ensure that the person answering the phone has sufficient knowledge, skills and responsibility to resolve the majority of issues.
If the issue can’t be addressed on one call, the Customer should be given a definite timeline for resolution of the issue and this should be a reasonably short amount of time. An issue that is left for an unreasonable amount of time will be much more difficult to resolve. Take action to reduce the amount of issues and the time it takes to resolve them.
Silly Service Has Its Serious Side: Test your Customer Service Knowledge!
Who says service is serious? Customer service can be silly too. Take this fun quiz to test your customer service knowledge. You may be a service ace if you both pick the correct answer to each of these ten questions, and understand why these answers are correct.
1. A complaining customer is:
A. Always right
B. Almost right
C. Often lying
D. Always the customer
2. Customers who complain:
A. Had unhappy childhoods
B. Are genetically predisposed to be sourpusses
C. Have trouble in their primary relationships
D. Are doing you a service in identifying what isn’t working in your business or organization
3. The best reward for your customer service representatives is:
A. Earplugs and punching bags
B. Valium or other mind-numbing drugs
C. Recognition and appreciation on your part
D. Anger management seminars
4. CRM stands for:
A. Customers Rarely Matter
B. Can’t Remember Much
C. Communicating Random Meaning
D. Customers Rudimentarily Managed
E. Customer Relationship Management
5. Customers who complain want . . .
A. Something for nothing
B. To be heard and have their experience validated
C. To vent for the sport of it
D. To be made majority shareholders in the company
6. Customer Service departments:
A. Are the afterthought that cleans up messes other departments cause
B. Build customer loyalty
C. Are leaders in understanding customer behavior patterns and market research
7. For a company to be considered service-oriented:
A. It must mention customer service in its mission statement
B. At least 18.3% of its employees must work in the customer service department
C. Its managers must at one time have been CSRs
D. Customer service must be addressed by all departments
8. A Call Center is defined as:
A. The midpoint in duration of a telephone call
B. A revenue sink hole
C. A place where middle-of-the-road calls coexist with liberal and arch-conservative calls
D. A location where complaints and problems are converted into successful saves for your customers and your company
9. Customer Care is:
A. A managed care medical program for customers
B. A nifty alliterative phrase that looks good in company brochures
C. A new program where customers care for themselves
D. A philosophy wherein the customer is wrapped in service even before a problem arises