Handling Customer Calls

We are the face of any company when we are working in customer service, support, success roles entrusted with the demanding task of pleasing and appeasing customers. With a myriad number of situations that may arise in a customer service exchange need to be versatile and equipped with a strong skill set to handle the complexity of the job.

The way we answer or make customer calls can determine whether the customer’s experience is positive or negative. Before we even get the customer’s reason for calling, we must establish a connection with our initial greeting.

The greeting we provide to the customer can set the tone for the entire call and determine whether the customer stays loyal or chooses not to return.

Here are ten customer service skills we should master to deliver the very best service.

Patience. 

Customers may be frustrated when they make contact, so patience is certainly a virtue every We needs to have. We should give customers a chance to explain their situation in full and never react negatively to an unhappy customer. When customers need a technical explanation for an issue, we should also put customers at ease by explaining a solution calmly and patiently while remembering that customers do not always possess the technical knowledge needed to resolve an issue.

Timeliness. 

Timeliness is critical in customer service. We should be swift in responding to inquiries and prepared to switch to another channel if a case needs more attention. Deliveries and additional tasks should be handled promptly, while brands should provide customers options such as callbacks to further ensure efficiency.

Clear communication. 

We need to strike a balance between giving thorough answers, using a professional vocabulary, and being conversational and approachable all at the same time. It’s no easy task, but We should aim to keep their exchanges concise and relevant and resist the urge to overdo small talk. Customers do need that human touch, and it’s always important to make introductions at the outset. However, always remember that they value their time, so communication should be to the point.

Empathy. 

It may seem dramatic, but empathy is among the most important customer service skills. A frustrated customer needs attention and reassurance, but even satisfied customers need attention. For example, simply acknowledging concern for timeliness (quick delivery) and relevant promotional offers (not sending too many or unwanted marketing messages) shows consideration and respect for customers.

Knowledge about products and services. 

Among the essential customer service skills is simply possessing the knowledge to discuss products and services. We need to receive thorough training to better understand what the company offers, and they should be updated regularly on important events such as recalls and promotional sales. In addition, we need to be trained to use call center technology properly (such as a CRM database) to deliver service with full confidence.

Positive attitude. 

No matter how upset a customer might be, we must keep a positive attitude. Using positive language that reflects confidence in finding a solution will reassure a customer and encourage sustained loyalty in the brand.

Attentive listening. 

If a customer wishes to explain a situation in detail, we need to be willing to listen. In addition, customers may not necessarily accept the solutions and We must offer or have questions about them, so attentive listening is critical to showing respect for customer opinions and offering them the best eventual solution.

Organizing.

During customer service exchanges, we must be organized always to deliver timely service. This means being able to navigate efficiently between different windows in a CRM database as well as switching channels when necessary. Organization is vital to taking notes in a timely manner and delivering great service.

Adaptability. 

Of the most essential customer service skills, adaptability to changing situations is crucial. We need to be ready to handle varying customer demands, possible technical issues, switching to other channels, and the like. One service interaction may completely differ from another, so a readiness to go with the flow and adapt as needed is an important skill to master.

Willingness to go the extra mile. 

Customers appreciate great service, but they love a gesture that shows real appreciation for their business. We who go the extra mile often win over customers. Such gestures might include expediting a delivery free of charge to rectify a billing error, connecting to another department or channel for better service, offering a courtesy voucher for an issue, or simply asking all the right questions to give a customer a thorough, exceptional experience.

Customer service skills should be continuously learned and refined to deliver the best customer experiences. A combination of training and motivation to learn such skills enables Us to deliver the best service for long-term brand loyalty.

Simple Sample Script

-Greet the caller (based on the culture of the organization or region e.g. Good morning, Hello)

-Say the name of the organizations (e.g. ABC Industries)

-Introduce yourself (e.g. Chethan speaking)

-Find out why the customer is calling (e.g. How may I help you?)

-Listen to the customer. Take note of key information. Repeat information to the customer to clarify if unsure.

-Provide the requested information or offer to call the customer back when you have the information.

-Thank the customer for calling. Add a pleasantry.

Tips & Inputs for better calling

1. Engage in active listening

Active listening is essential for effective communication. It allows for a better understanding of the customers’ needs and shows a willingness to help. Allow the customer to talk without interruption, reflect their main question or concern and ask clarifying questions when necessary.

2. Highlight understanding

Ensure that each customer is aware that you understood their needs. By using active listening techniques and asking relevant questions, you will communicate that you understand them and are trying to help solve their problem.

3. Be Courteous

Be polite and have respect for your customers. Always use “please” and “thank you” and create an inviting environment for the customers.

4. Call the customer by his name

Ask the customer their name and pronounce it correctly. This communicates respect for the customer and lets them know that they are important.

5. Go the extra mile

Demonstrate through actions that the customer is important by giving more than the minimum effort required. By taking the initiative to provide better service or give the customer something extra, customers will feel valued and appreciated.

6. Ask, don’t demand

Statements can sound harsh. Asking appropriate questions makes the conversation more collaborative.

7. Empower

Empower customers with adequate information to make informed decisions. When there are options, thoroughly describe each available alternative. By offering choices, customers will be more involved in solving their problems. This results in a higher level of customer satisfaction.

8. Be proactive

Engage in proactive steps to satisfy the customer’s needs. Being proactive will also help to reduce barriers when problem solving.

9. Highlight pros and cons

When describing a product or service, include both its strengths and weaknesses relative to alternatives. By providing balanced recommendations, customers will view you as more credible. This increases trust and customer satisfaction.

10. Explain

Customers are not always familiar with your company’s policies or procedures. Thoroughly explain to customers what you’re doing and why you’re doing it. A clear understanding tends to decrease customer frustration.

11. Use plain language

Avoid technical terms, jargon and acronyms. Be professional, concise and clear.

12. Refer when necessary

When the customer’s needs are beyond your expertise or level of competency, refer them to a colleague, a supervisor or manager. Always explain to the customer that they will be transferred to someone that can effectively address their problem. Ensure that the referred party is provided with the necessary information to help the customer.

13. Keep the right distance

Be aware of your customer’s comfort zone and increase or decrease your distance accordingly. Adjust your behavior when a customer shows that you are too close or too distant.

14. Summarize conversations

Summarize the main point of the conversation before engaging in the problem-solving process. This will demonstrate that you were listening attentively. It will also facilitate a mutual understanding between you and customer.

Applying the 14 techniques will increase the professionalism and effectiveness of customer interactions. If fostered within all employees, they can increase the quality of the level of customer service provided by a company and transform how employees interact with customers.

More Tips with samples:

1.When you don’t know.

You shouldn’t beat yourself up for not knowing an answer. After all, a support rep’s responsibility is to have the tenacity to make things right, not to be perfect (especially true if you’re new).

The mistake many support reps make, however, is in using the knee-jerk “I don’t know” response, which doesn’t help the customer. The customer may be sympathetic that you don’t know, but they’re not interested in hearing about it.

Instead, try the following:

Customer: Do you have XYZ feature?

You: Great question, let me find that out for you right now!”

Placing the emphasis on the customer’s needs over your own situation (“I don’t know, I’m new here…”) lets them know that it doesn’t matter that you don’t know the answer, because you’re going to do whatever you need to to find out for them.

2.When a feature isn’t available.

No support member likes to tell a customer that a feature is currently unavailable, but there is a much better way to go about it.

One of the most important skills in interacting with customers is the use of positive language to help avoid accidental knee-jerk reactions.

Here's an example: let's say a customer contacts you with interest in a feature, but that feature happens to be deferred.

• Without positive language: I can't get you that feature implemented”.
• With positive language: "That feature will actually be available if more customers are asking for it. I can place a request to our product team for further consideration.

Positive languages replace negative phrases (“I can’t…”) and instead places emphasis on the solution, which is what the customer cares about.

Try finding places in your response where a lot of negative language is present (“We don’t do that”) and see where positive language can be substituted.

3.When transferring a customer.

There isn’t a single consumer out there who likes hearing, “Please hold while we transfer you. Your call is very important to us.”

The problem is, sometimes you do need to transfer customers to better help them. The problem is that many businesses don’t seek to help customers understand why they are being transferred.

Here’s a typical unappealing response some reps use to transfer people:

"xxxx, my apologies, but I’m going to have to transfer your call to XYZ.”

Annoying! As a customer, my gut reaction is to think that the wheel of misfortune has begun, and that I’m going to get passed around and treated like another hassle.

Imagine using this language instead:

"Hello Mr./Mrs. _____! Let’s get this problem resolved for you. I’m going to transfer you to our _____ specialist who is the best-suited person to answer your question.”

Hearing that I’m being sent to the resident expert and knowing that the rep who is sending me has my problem in mind is much more reassuring than the vague “Sorry, you’re getting transferred,” response that most companies use.

Few customers will jump for joy because of a transferred call (no matter how you handle it), but it’s better to assure them that the action was taken in their favor, to solve their current problem.

4.Feature requests that won’t work

Customers can often have some valuable insights on how your product is used and how it could be improved, but your product’s vision is your responsibility, thus the final call is left to you.

If it is obvious that a feature requests a customer has sent in won’t make the cut, you must be able to tell them so. Saying, “We’ll look!” gives false hope that can end up with a customer checking in weeks later, only to be disappointed again.

The truth is, you don’t need to be worried about a mass exodus of customers just because you regularly say “no” to many product features.

As someone who regularly answers feedback requests, here is the language that I often use to tell customers a feature just isn’t the right fit:

"Hey ______, I really appreciate you taking the time to share your thoughts with us. As of this time however, [Feature X] isn’t the perfect fit, and we have no immediate plans to implement it. We do have some other exciting features on our plate, and should anything change about your request, we’ll make sure you are the first to know."

“While there’s currently no way to do that with existing system architecture, we appreciate you taking the time to let us know what you’re looking for, most of the improvements we make come from ideas and suggestions like yours, thank you for sharing this!”

“I’m so sorry there’s no way to do that at this time, but I’ll share your request with the product team! They’ll review it and scope it in relation to other initiatives. They also share how approved requests are placed on their road map, followed by coding and testing to ensure a smooth integration with the existing product.”

“I'm sorry that we are unable to customize the salary break up for taxation purpose. I wish if this was possible and unfortunately, we are unable to meet this due to system constraints. I hope you understand this limitation.”

“We are constantly trying and improvising on many features and functionalities provided by our valuable clients and I mark this to be one of them. We'll discuss on the same and try to implement based on its feasibility. We always encourage you to provide us your inputs which help us improve our product and services.”.

5.Favors that cannot be done.

"Can’t you bend the rules just this once?!”

To be frank, most requests from customers are very reasonable, and every effort should be made to make them happy.

We I call these “frugal wows,” but the idea is the same—a small request fulfilled can often leave a very positive impact on a customer, which is why it's almost always worth it to just 'give them a little.'

But what about requests that you truly cannot say 'Yes' to? Here is an example.

"Mr. and Mrs. ______, as much as I like fulfilling our customers’ requests, I’m afraid that the “xxxxx” policy we have in place is too important, as it deals with the agreement of yours and other customers. Can I perhaps call around for approval with our seniors?"

A stellar response to a wacky request (common, most people should know you modify an agreement once signed without approval). It can be tough learning how to say no, but bending too much for a single request can result in an even worse situation.

Remember that a customer's perception of your service quality is greatly affected by how attentive, thoughtful and sincere you are. In an awkward scenario where you simply must refuse a request, showcasing your empathy and a willingness to find an alternative is one of the best ways to lessen the sting of saying 'No'.

6.When customer reports an issue.

Having to find issues in software is very disheartening from the customer's perspective. I'm sure we've all ran into this scenario: after finally convincing ourselves to pull the trigger on, we wait with excitement until it’s fixed…only to have it arrive to a solution.

We all internally recognize that even great companies can’t build everything perfectly, but it’s just so frustrating to be the person facing an issue.

Showing empathy to the customer’s situation thus becomes very important, following with an immediate explanation of how you’re going to fix the situation. Consider the following example:

"I’m so sorry about that, that’s very disappointing! There might have been a slight error in the implementation, or perhaps it is broken. Can I report this to the development team and get this fixed right away?”

While long, it completes three important objectives: it empathizes with the customer’s frustrating experience, it explains what the problem might be (instead of having a customer assume, “we make crap products”), and it offers a clear and immediate solution.

7.Closing Call

One of my favorite tips in dealing with customers is to make sure that you always “close” a conversation. This has nothing to do with anything else, and everything to do with making sure the conversation with a customer is complete.

This is important because as you’ll recall, the average business only hears from few of the dissatisfied customers. You needn’t add to that harrowing statistic by leaving people you’ve helped with an unsolved dilemma.

Your willingness to ensure that a customer is leaving perfectly happy shows them three important things:

1. You care about getting it right.
2. You're willing to keep going until you get it right.
3. The customer is the one who determines what “right” is.

Try ending your conversation with a phrase like the following:

"Excellent! I’m glad we could get that sorted out for you. Before you go, was there anything else I could assist you with today? I’m happy to help.”

Believe it or not, there are some people who might walk away with another problem if they aren’t asked about it. Adding, “I’m happy to help” is a very small gesture you can make that has a big impact: it shows the customer that asking for another favor isn’t being a burden; in fact, you’d be happy to do it.

8.Talking to angry customers

Support team members are often required to act like lightning rods: to take the brunt of an emotional, angry customer even though it is not their fault.

Sometimes this anger from customers is unjustified, and other times they have a cause for their actions. Either way, it’s often quite hard to win back a severely angry customer (even the best businesses can’t make everyone happy), but we should have a great system called “ASAP” for dealing with these most difficult of customers:

Before even you start replying to these customers, make sure you "Listen" to them, and;

• Apologize sincerely: “I’m sorry” is a mandatory response in these situations, even if it isn’t your fault. Consider your “I’m truly sorry about that” as a personal apology to the customer that the experience wasn’t up to their expectations, not that you are to blame.
• Sympathize: As you might have guessed, many times angry customers are just as interested (if not more interested) in hearing that someone empathizes with their situation over getting the actual problem fixed. Even if you cannot understand a customer (“Why are they so angry?”), you can imagine how you’d like to be treated if you happened to be that upset. Even small phrases like, “I understand how upsetting that must have been,” can have an impact on getting the customer to realize that you’re on their team in this pursuit to make things right.
• Accept responsibility: As the ambassador of your company, you accept responsibility for the customer’s unhappiness. Again, this doesn’t make you “at fault,” and it doesn’t give the customer leeway to demand whatever they want, but it does give them someone to talk to instead of being angry at a faceless company (i.e., “I’m very sorry that our product has been so disappointing thus far, Mrs. _____, but if you stay on the line I’ll make sure that we get this situation fixed for you.”).
• Prepare to help: With angry customers, the actual 'fix' tends to take up a small portion of the entire support process. Placing a replacement order likely takes you very little time, but that fix doesn’t address the underlying problem of the customer’s frustration and unhappiness. These 'emotional' fixes are often the most important element: refunding someone may take you 15 seconds, but did you make sure enough time was spent trying to help them calm down and leave happy?

It’s hard to come up with a perfect solution for a customer in this state, and know that even if you handle things perfectly, some people simply cannot be appeased. Don’t let that stop you from making your best effort.

After all, Customer Service does come from the Attitude. Let's position ourselves to give them the best experience possible.

Thoughts? Suggestions?

Feel free to DM me or post your comment below.