When it comes to being an excellent customer service agent, there are many learned skills. Excellent agents are effective communicators. They know how to help customers and do it with a friendly and empathetic demeanor. They know the importance of being professional. They learn the best ways to handle various situations. These skilled agents know how to show customers they’re listening and they keep their cool under pressure. It takes a special kind of person to excel in customer service. It’s not a job everyone can do successfully.
One of the other things that customer service agents need to be good at is providing customers with clarity. Often, this skill requires practice. People tend to make assumptions. They assume the other person knows what they’re referring to and that they’ve provided enough information. Unfortunately, these assumptions can lead to misunderstandings. In our personal lives, misunderstandings can lead to conflict. But in business, they can cause customers to feel frustrated or stop doing business with you altogether.
Agents have to be careful when providing clear instructions, so they don’t come off as condescending. It’s all about providing detailed, specific information without saying it in a way that makes the customer feel stupid. This means using a friendly tone, giving specific details and asking if there are any questions.
How does this look in action? Here are some examples of a vague answer versus a clear one.
Vague answer: “I don’t have the answer now, but I’ll look into this and get back to you as soon as I can.”
Clear answer: “I don’t have the answer now, but I’ll look into this and get back to you by tomorrow.”
Vague answer: “We’re sending you a replacement. It should arrive sometime in the next month.”
Clear answer: “We’re sending you a replacement. It is expected to arrive by ‘insert specific date.’”
As you can see, providing specific information is one of the ways to ensure clarity. You want to make sure that anything you explain to a customer is understood. You can do this by summarizing what you went over at the end of the call and asking if they have any questions. If there are questions, be sure you take the time to answer them.
It takes special skills to be a great customer service agent. And this is something we pride ourselves in at Zedd Customer Solutions. Please connect with us if you’d like to learn more about our offerings.