Strong customer service is the best — and often only — way you’ll distinguish your company from your competitors.

Unfortunately, many customer service managers make the same common mistakes. Here’s how you can avoid them — and save your business:

 

1. Not training staff. No matter whether you have two employees or 200, you must thoroughly train each of them to deal with customers. Rude, incorrect, or apathetic service reps will send your customers running for the hills.
2. Trying to win the argument. You’ll work harder to win a new customer than to maintain an existing one. Therefore, you should never argue with customers or try to prove that you’re right. Saying “I’m sorry this happened,” will accomplish much more than saying “I’m sorry you made this mistake.”
3. Being inaccessible. Your service team must be available when customers need them. This may mean training service agents to work late evenings or weekends. However, if customers feel that you aren’t responding to them, they’ll go elsewhere.
4. Standing by your policy. Your service agents shouldn’t rely on “that’s our policy” to explain any decision or change. Explain to your customer why you made the change or how the decision will benefit him.
5. Breaking promises. When you make a promise to a customer, you must follow through. For instance, if you claim you’ll call back tomorrow, then you need to make sure you do. When you must break a promise, you should contact the customer to explain why.
6. Giving the runaround. Nothing infuriates a customer as much as being put on hold or shuffled around to different reps. Work with a customer until you have resolved his problem. If you can’t resolve it, pass him up to higher management, not to your co-worker.
7. Failure to listen. Your reps have 15 things going on, but that’s no excuse for not listening to customers’ complaints or concerns. Listen closely and then repeat what you’ve heard so that customers know you are paying full attention.

Filed under: Customer Service Corner