Dialling “E” for Ethics in Customer Service.

Think about it: The very foundations of all customer service calls - why we dial a customer care number over the phone or start a chat with a customer service agent - is because we have belief and faith that the customer service agent at the other end of the call will be able to answer a question properly or provide a trustworthy solution to a given problem, so that by the time we end the call we’re a lot less anxious or worked up about the given question or problem.

Customer service, therefore, lies at the intersection of trust, transparency, and truthfulness.

The fact is that the moral code driving the customer service agents’ response is a direct reflection of the moral code of the company itself. It reflects whether the company truly cares about the customer. This is why, so often, even one negative or one incredibly positive interaction with a customer service agent can lead us to form an opinion about the company. The values of the individual customer service operative that we have had the pleasure (or pain) of interacting with - depending on how the call went - can often define whether we want to continue our relationship with that company.

To mitigate this potential problem arising from the responses of a single customer service agent, companies have now begun to conduct personality tests to adjudge the values and principles of customer service agents responding directly to customers. By now, we’ve also got used to the message that tells us as customers that “this call is being recorded for quality assurance purposes.” Some companies even go so far as to make a list of “unethical or improper responses” that should never be uttered under any circumstance.

However, this merely scratches the surface of true “ethical” behaviour that forms the fundamentals of any successful relationship between a company and a customer. While customers realize that it is unrealistic to expect any company to be 100% flawless, consumers also expect every company to be 100% honest and ethical with them in their dealings.

These are the 9 pillars of ethics within customer service that consumers expect before dialling those “customer care” numbers:

Advocacy: Customer advocacy is the art of putting the customer first and prioritizing customer experience. Recent studies indicate that approximately 12% of people believe a company when it says: “We put the customer first.” Turns out, almost 42% of companies never conduct customer surveys or gather feedback.

Honesty: Customers and consumers will notice if people on the other end of the line are stretching the truth or trying to over-deliver without a plan. Rather than trying to ascertain what the customer wants to hear as a stopgap measure, it’s best to be honest and build credibility and trust with the customer.

Expertise: A customer service agent who has the complete know-how about the product, service, or offering and how the company operates - in terms of realistic timelines and processes on how to troubleshoot a problem - is much better equipped to deal a customer’s concern than someone who is just on the phone to “listen” and make the customer “feel heard,”

Equity: Every single customer and every single interaction that they have with the company matters - irrespective of their age, gender, nationality, or accent on the phone. Multiple studies indicate the direct correlation between customer loyalty of big brands and their customer equity.

Awareness: For customers: Perception is fact. If they perceive a brand positively, then in their minds the brand is “good”. This is why it’s very important for a customer service agent to develop a keen awareness of how the customer perceives the brand by understanding the problem, the pain points, and point out the possible solution.

Consideration: Consideration means providing customers with solutions, information, and interactions that answer their questions and make them feel valued. Customer service agents must truly be “considerate” to the issues faced by customers to deal with their concerns.

Preference & Personalization: All customers have their own individual expectations, likes, dislikes, motivations, and inclinations that drive them to engage or interact with a brand. In a world of increasing personalization, the way data is gathered about each customers’ preferences matters as much as ensuring that the customer is satisfied. For 90% of customers in 2023, the “end doesn’t justify the means.”

Etiquette: The correct etiquette over the phone or in a customer service chat speaks directly to the professionalism of a company and its employees. It’s very important to understand that you never get a second chance to make a first impression. The company’s reputation and its ability to retain customers is directly impacted by a customers’ etiquette over the phone.

Empathy: Lastly, but one of the most important, aspects is empathy. Customer service agents must truly have the ability to put themselves in the shoes of others. No matter how much Artificial Intelligence listens, learns, and responds like a human, it will never be able to truly “feel” the pain of the problem that the customer is facing. Consumers who feel a sense of empathy from the customer service agency will tend to be more patient in how their problem is tackled.

In conclusion, keeping ethics and values at the forefront of our conversations remains critical to effectual and impactful customer service.

As Potter Stewart said: “Ethics is knowing the difference between what you have a right to do and what is right to do”. In customer service, therefore, ethics calls for doing the right thing every time, in every conversation, and in every decision. It directly impacts a company’s long-term success and reputation.