Customer, vendor, seller, and buyer. All of them have existed since the beginning of a business. Now fast forward to the year 2022.
It’s all about the ‘Age of the Customer’ these days. Businesses have been increasingly concerned, if not obsessed, with how their consumers are treated. And with good reason.
One negative experience is all it takes for a customer to swear off your company for good. Using the same rationale, one exceptional customer experience can turn them into lifelong brand champions.
But, customer service work can be difficult at times. It’s not easy dealing with different people and trying to meet their expectations. To navigate through the varied consumer emotions while still providing professional service, patience, sharp intellect, and even wisdom are required.
Let’s take a closer look at the few challenges and their solutions that can help you get your customer service standards up in the process:
1. Not Knowing the Answer to a Question
Customers will occasionally catch your agents off guard with inquiries they can’t answer right away. This does not, however, imply that they should simply say “I don’t know” and move on.
Solution:
This is an opportunity for your staff to guide the customer in the proper direction or, if possible, obtain the necessary information. This could be sending clients to a knowledge base or connecting them with the appropriate team member to assist them.
Recognize the customer’s concern and give out a strategy for dealing with the situation. Most importantly, keep your word and follow up when you say you would, even if it’s merely to let people know that the problem might take longer than planned to resolve.
2. Transfer Customer Calls
Transferring calls is inconvenient for all parties involved. Customers frequently become frustrated as a result of wasting time repeating information, and when numerous agents are involved, this means additional time spent waiting for incoming calls or chats to be answered.
Solution:
Explain the situation in simple terms, explain why you need to transfer the call to another team member, and how that person can make the situation better. Understanding the ‘why’ behind the move assures the customer that you understand their problem and aren’t simply transferring them. Often, the correct response is only a chat away.
3. Not Having the Right Tools
Your clients are extremely busy. They don’t have time to wait for you to meet them on whichever communication channels they prefer. The support process becomes tedious and frustrating when your customer service employees lack the appropriate tools to meet your clients wherever they are.
For example, having siloed customer information implies that visitors will have to wait while a representative searches for basic information. Worse, the customer may be required to keep repeating the same information.
Solution:
The goal here is to choose the perfect customer interaction software that fulfills both your business and your customers’ needs. Live chat and chatbots are all tools that can help improve customer service operations and overall experience. What is best for you is determined by your service goals and existing challenges.
4. Dealing with Angry Customers
Angry clients are a huge customer service challenge for support staff. The difficulty is to arrive at a satisfactory conclusion for all parties concerned calmly and efficiently. A customer may be furious for a variety of reasons, but regardless of the reason, it is your team’s responsibility to handle the situation responsibly.
Solution:
Whatever the problem is, you must apologize, explain, and reassure the consumer. With the HEARD method, take a page from Disney’s book. The acronym HEARD stands for:
- Listen: Allow customers to express their tale in its entirety without interruption.
- Empathize: Demonstrate that you are aware of the customer’s feelings.
- Apologize: Even if the cause of their dissatisfaction isn’t your fault, express genuine regret for how they feel.
- Resolve: As fast as feasible, resolve the issue and, if possible, give employees the authority to do so without escalation. “What can I do to make this right?” don’t be scared to question the customer.
- Diagnose: Determine the cause of the problem without assigning blame; concentrate on improving the process.
What kinds of customer service issues do your support employees have to deal with? Please let us know in the comments section. And if you’re not sure, this is the time to do some research.
