Customer service is one of the most emotionally demanding jobs in the market today. This is especially so for customer service agents dealing with calls and text messages. Customer service is generally considered to be a job least suited for the faint hearted individuals. Actually a recent research shows that most customer service agents on call deal with angry and unhappy customers.
Just one inappropriate word from a customer service agent could catapult a situation further into negativity that could have far-reaching implications for any company involved. However this is not, and should never be an excuse for an agent to just humor or mollify a customer. Promising a quick fix or apologizing to the customer would only worsen the situation.
Every word a customer service representative utters must be carefully weighed despite of the situation. Numerous studies have revealed that almost 70% of customers stop supporting a company if they feel they’ve been treated indifferently .They end up taking their business to a business’s competitor. If bad customer service is coupled with high customer acquisition cost, a business is likely to collapse.
Effective training of the customer service staff or anyone that interacts with customers is critical for small-business success. This means ongoing coaching on what to say and, perhaps more importantly, what not to say when a customer calls.
The following are some of the main things customer service agents should avoid when speaking to a customer
Putting customers on hold
“Please hold” is one of the most annoying phrases to customers. Putting a customer on hold might optimize the customer service agents time. But why should the customer wait to be helped after the phone call has been answered? The agents should instead consider using statements like: “Thanks for calling, how I can help you today?” You should have systems in place that also tell holding customers how long the wait time will be or what number they are in the wait queue.
Telling the customers they are wrong
It is generally considered that it would roughly take 12 positive experiences to make up for one unresolved bad experience in customer service. Telling a client that they are just plain wrong is perhaps the worst thing that a customer service rep can ever say. This is similar to questioning the customer’s capabilities and perspective outright. It would be practically impossible to convince him to stay with your company after such a blunder. Even if a customer is truly wrong, customer service language should always be kept respectful and diplomatic.
Addressing customers in a patronizing attitude
Angry customers barely ever listen to the information customer service agents provide. Hence, customer service trigger words like “listen to me” may easily come across as condescending and impatient to a customer. This almost always leads to an escalation of emotions that could make the situation a whole lot worse. Instead of forcing a solution down a client’s throat, always allow them first to vent their anger and frustrations before offering a solution in a cool, and calm demeanor .You should never impose your beliefs on a customer.
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