When it comes to customer service, your business cannot afford to make any mistakes. One wrong move, and you will not only end up losing a valuable client but your image in the market will also get severely tarnished. As a matter of fact, the quality of customer service is actually what distinguishes your company from the competitors.
With that being said, in order to make sure you stand out in the market, there are a few mistakes you must avoid.
This article will help you identify those mistakes so you can build a more robust and effective customer support department.
1.Putting the Customers on Hold for Too Long
Customers run low on patience. They don’t like it when you ask them to wait. Plus, it leaves an impression that your company does not have an efficient support department or you lack staff. Thus, they end up giving negative reviews of your company and as a result, you begin to lose customers.
On the other hand, companies like CenturyLink are known for constantly attending to their customers through multiple channels. This company doesn’t make its subscribers wait too long in line, nor does it waste their time. In fact, CenturyLink Customer Service streamlines all the processes by providing you the ease to contact it via your preferred method so you don’t have to suffer through any inconvenience.
2. Losing Patience and Composure
Having a thick skin goes a long way in customer support. You have to practice the art to be patient and remain calm even during the most difficult times. A support agent comes across customers of all types throughout the day.
Some might even attack you with rude remarks and threats but if an agent responds in a similar way, then it can jeopardize the company’s reputation in the market, which is exactly what you don’t need.
So, instead of coming back with rude remarks, the representatives should practice patience and use positive language to calm the caller down so they can turn the whole argument around for the betterment of the company.
3.Passing Callers Around
Passing callers around constantly instantly leaves the impression on your part that your company is incompetent and incapable of solving issues on the spot. When agents fail to provide a solution to customers’ problems, then customer immediately makes up their mind not to do business with you again.
This thing also suggests that your business is in desperate need to hire competent agents in order to provide at least decent service. Constantly repeating the same “I don’t know” or “I’ll forward your call to another agent for this matter” basically renders the whole purpose of having a customer service department.
4.Not Listening to the Customers
An excellent customer representative does not only have the skill of communication but a skill of listening carefully as well. The agent must make sure that they are all ears and are listening to the customers to understand what they are saying not only for the sake of it.
If an agent continues to interrupt whatever the caller has to say or keeps assuming things on their own, then it can end up putting the customers off quicker than the speed of light. What’s more, if the agent on call continues to ask the customers to repeat themselves because they were not listening in the first place, then it sends a very wrong message on the part of your company.
This is why train your agents to listen to the customers with the aim to understand them. Give them their complete and undivided attention, and don’t jump to the conclusion before understanding the problem at hand.
5.Lack of Empathy
Empathy is one of the most precious virtues. Showing that you understand where your customers are coming from can make a huge difference. On the other hand, failing to validate their feelings and instead disregarding them completely is the worst thing you can do in customer service.
A representative must always try their best to put themselves in the shoe of their customers. Treat them the way you would want to be treated. It is highly necessary to let your customers know that you both are on the same team and you empathize with them completely.
Using positive language with a calm tone goes a long way. Using phrases like “We apologize for your inconvenience and understand where you are coming from. Your issues will be resolved soon and in the meantime, you can reach out to us for any problem you encounter” can actually save your company from losing another client.
Final Words
Humans do make mistakes but customer service does not have room to entertain any. A single wrong move can cost your business a lot and to avoid it, you have to prepare yourself beforehand. This article will help you in steering clear of all the mistakes we have mentioned above so you can build a robust support department.
Leave a Comment
You must be logged in to post a comment.