Customer service is about fixing problems, anticipating problems, and preventing problems so that customers and clients are satisfied and come back. Ironically, customer service has more in common with marketing and advertising than most organizations realize.
Unfortunately, many organizations look do not share this opinion. Instead, customer service departments are pressured to be profit centers. Time with customers is limited, less than satisfying solutions are imposed, and service people face anxiety and stress between angry customers and/or clients and angry or unappreciative supervisors whose only concern is the cost of solutions, not the appropriateness of the solutions. Call center customer service associates are timed and subject to punishment for exceeding allotted call time limits, other companies “work the system” for credits, and still, others cut services under the excuse that “good service isn’t affordable.”
Each of these represents a false economy, whether a for-profit or a not-for-profit organization.
The people that serve in “customer service” deserve our respect and admiration. How many of us would want to have almost every person they dealt with have a problem or be angry.
Customer Service people usually deal only inches from upset people and have to walk a fine line trying not to “give away the farm” and “rolling over” with struggling to work within the parameters set by owners and managers who may seldom ever have to listen or deal with those same clients and customer.
More importantly, not only do people in customer service departments deserve respect and admiration, they deserve as many of the tools, support, and culture that an organization can provide.
Based on working with some of the best customer service people, what follows are some of the tools and training, attitude, and culture that very successful organizations use.
(Culture) Quality customer service is everyone’s priority.
All associates regardless of the sector must understand there is not anything more important than the service provided to customers and/or clients.
For example, in a sales organization: Sales associates have to sell with honesty and integrity and not oversell their products. Logistics associates have to receive handle and deliver products in the condition the customers expect or better. Administration associates must be friendly and courteous to each customer and do everything possible to avoid mistakes. Owners and managers must set the stage, they should anticipate needs, procure products promptly, and set the culture for excellence through their example. Ironically, customer service is like the goalie on a sports team, for most sales organizations, they have to do their job as the result of someone else not doing theirs.
The same kind of situation can easily occur in a governmental or non-profit organization. Unfriendly or unhelpful service by a not-for-profit can dramatically influence donations, which are the life-blood of many of these organizations.
(Attitude) Customer Service associates should be interviewed for empathy skills and helpful attitudes.
All should receive training on what the organization can do, what other organizations are available, and how to handle upset or difficult people. These tools should also hone their abilities on understanding the latitude they have to solve problems while not bankrupting their organization.
Decisions should be made in the context of the sum of their potential purchases. For example, if a sales organization does not satisfy a customer, not only does that unhappy customer not likely ever purchase from the offending organization now but also quite likely, they will not ever come back. In the case of a 25-year-old furniture customer, an organization that does not provide quality service risks losing that customer for the next 30 years of potential business. The risk for non-profits can be equally devastating.
(Culture) Customer service is not a profit center.
Solutions must be cost-effective; however, latitude to resolve issues is important and associates should have the support of their supervisors to “go outside the box,” when necessary. Service is not black and white; each situation has nuances and circumstances that dictate creative solutions occasionally. Service organizations should try to recover costs as much as ethically possible, but insisting service turns a profit only adds to pressure, anxiety, and unhappy clients or customers.
(Tools) Train customer service associates.
Having interviewed for empathy and a friendly disposition, training is key. Unsupported customer service people can quickly become cynical if they are not given the proper tools, training, and support.
Use role-playing as a key component of any training.
Practice listening skills. Listening and allowing difficult people to explain their issues before trying to solve them.
Teach qualifying questions to ask. Use the process of “What are the facts” and, “What are the alternatives,” when working with clients or customers.
Develop and enhance their empathy skills so they can see the situation from a customer or client’s perspective. Part of any successful customer service solution is being helpful and providing choices, even if it means not having an immediate answer, if this is the case, ask permission to have more time and ensure that the client or customer is contacted when promised.
Build trust by doing what you said you would do when you said you would.
Consistency and fairness are important aspects of training, as mentioned some flexibility is important however because not every problem will fit nicely into someone’s “tick box,” too many governmental and not-for-profits can be guilty of this latter point.
Resolve the issue; this is the ultimate goal of every customer service problem. Afterward, review unusual problems as part of ongoing training: “What did they do right? What did they do wrong? Moreover, “What could they do differently next time?
(Culture) What would I want?
When I trained customer service recruits, this question always was at the “core” of how I dealt with customer service issues. The vast majority of clients/customers are reasonable once they have been given the chance to explain their issue and they have been treated with empathy and respect, and they have seen that the organization is committed to working with them. These people will be back, which is the ultimate measure of customer service success.
I helped to build a team of people into a very successful organization in a very competitive industry because we took care of our people and our customers. This philosophy works in every type of organization, profit or charity, or government, and it does not have to destroy an organization’s balance sheet or income statement. The commitment has to be real, attitude, tools and training, plus culture.
Good luck,
Paul.