In the world of customer support, skills matter – and, for the most part, these skills will go largely unnoticed by customers, of course, unless they are absent. That is to say, a customer is more likely to notice poor customer service skills before they recognize someone for their superior skills. But, regardless, it should always be a customer service representatives priority to keep their clients happy and provide superior service. These five essential skills are the things that any customer service representative must have in order to do their job to the utmost highest possible level.
Your Skillset
Being a positive force
It’s a tough job, and not one without its challenges, but it’s essential that customer service representatives remain positive, no matter what is thrown their way. You aren’t always going to be able to deliver the message that customers want to hear, but you’ve always got to make it sound as positive as possible. One incredibly impactful change that can be implemented immediately is the removal of the word ‘actually’ from your vocabulary. This simple word has a lot of implications behind it, as Carolyn Kopprasch details, most notably the implication that there’s a correction being made. So, when customers hear a response with the word ‘actually’ used, there’s an implicit message that they were somehow wrong to begin with.
Being a clear communicator
When customers come to your with their problems, what they’re looking for is a fast and simplistic answer to their problem. Whether they are calling you on the phone, speaking to you in person or writing through email, they aren’t looking for a long-winded response. They want straightforward, real answers that directly address the questions or concerns they have. It is imperative that a customer service representative have impeccable oral and written communication skills in order to properly answer questions brought to them.
Being patient
For the most part, customers are going to be coming to you when they are upset or frustrated because of a problem they are experiencing. Patience is absolutely key when dealing with sometimes volatile situations such as these. The last thing you will want to do is aggravate an already unbalanced situation, by demonstrating impatience with a customer who is upset. Help learn the steps to developing patience through these four tips, and read about how the inability to be patient can negatively impact our enjoyment of life and cause us to be worse at accomplishing things.
Being empathetic
Putting yourself in someone else’s shoes and seeing things from their point of view is what helps us experience and develop our empathy. It’s not just a matter of fixing a problem – It’s understanding why the problem had the effect it did on them, and what a solution looks like to them. Each person may have a different idea of what fixes the problem for them, and with the help of an empathetic ear, a good customer service rep can narrow down a solution that makes everyone happy. Reading other people is a huge part of empathy, and with this game developed by The Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley, you can see where you land on the empathy scale.
Being open to change and improvement
Everything is a learning experience, and customer service is no different. You will always find new ways of doing things better than before. And, you may even accidentally stumble upon a technique that works well for you. Always being open to the possibility of improvement means you know that there is always a better way out there of doing something, and you are open to accepting new ways of thinking that may indeed boost the customer service you can provide.
Your Toolkit
Use the tools available to you, in order to build your skills and provide superior customer service support.
Mail Mentor
Writing better emails will result in better feedback from customers, and happier customers overall. Mail Mentor can give you a hand in putting together those better email messages.
Email Excellence
When you’re looking to improve your business email content, look no further than Email Excellence, to help you boost your email communications.
Essayroo
Professionals on staff at EssayRoo can help you out if you’re struggling with writing customer service responses that will be well received.
Markdown Here
Get rid of the hassle of tedious email formatting when you use Markdown Here. Quickly put together beautifully formatted messages through the use of simple symbols.
Just Not Sorry
Don’t undermine your message that you want to send with wording that diminishes your voice. This app helps make you aware of the instances you are doing this, so you can make the proper changes.
Ukwritings
If you’re still working on building your customer service skills, enlist some help from UK Writings in the meanwhile, to respond to inquiries you’re receiving in a professional and appropriate manner.
Crystal Knows
Get some help from a coach with real life experience, through the networking power of Crystal Knows.
Boomessays
Put out flawlessly written customer responses when Boomessays is there to give you assistance with proofreading and editing your content.
Hemingway App
Ensure that what you are writing will be well received and understood with the help of this app that rates the level of readability of what you’ve written.
Customer service is a skill that not everyone is able to execute properly. It requires a certain skill set, coupled with constant learning and improvisation, depending on the situation at hand. Developing your customer service skills with the help of these tools can help you increase the level of support you are able to provide, making your job more fulfilling and making your customers more satisfied with the service they are receiving.
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