SevenCustomer Service Skills

A Quick Reference Guide

Patience

/ Don’t rush the answer. The customer will wait. It is far better to have a definitive response than to rush to an answer that does not solve the problem. Get the details figured out, the questions answered and then respond.

Attentiveness

/ Listen…..Listen…..Listen…..Are they asking for what they really want? Do they know the correct things to ask for? Work to get to the bottom of the issue and listen to their responses. Be ready to change directions based on what you are actually hearing.

Communication

/ Communicate clearly. Communicate often. Even if you don’t have an answer, touch base with the customer to let them know that you are still working on the issue at hand. You want to get the answer in the quickest way possible but that may require taking some time to get to the answer. Let them know that and communicate often.

Knowledge

/ Have some knowledge of what you are working on for the customer. You don’t have to know everything about the product or service but a general understanding of what you are trying to solve is always helpful. You will have empathy for the customer’s problem if you understand the process.

Positive Language

/ How many times have you heard “I don’t know,” “They didn’t teach me that,” or “I am not sure?” Keep your message positive. Phrases like “I will ask Tammy who is our quality expert and get back to you,” “Let me talk to the plant and see how long their processing time is,” “I’m happy to find that out for you.” Keeping the message positive will keep the outcome positive as well and that will be the focus.

Acting Skills

/ Sometimes acting skills play a vital part of customer service. Even if the customer is not always correct, keep “acting out” the scenario until the situation is resolved. You may have a customer that has had a super bad day and is just reacting to their own mood and not the situation. You may have to put on the fake smile to get through the situation with the best acting skills possible.

Read the Customers

/ If you can see them – read their facial expression, see what their posture is, and look for signs of their mood in the moment. This is difficult to do in the technological world. Sometimes you cannot see your customer to read what they are thinking, what mood they are in, how they are feeling about what you are saying. Since email, voicemail and internet messages are not in front of the customer, use your best perception to read the situation.