After a long day taking dozens of phone calls from customers, it can be easy to slip into automated responses. But staying mentally alert to each and every one of your callers is key to providing stellar customer service.

Renee Rea shares a story of poor service she heard while listening in on a call-center representative who had slipped into automated responses instead of being responsive to callers. A woman called in to change the name on her account because her husband had died, Rea told a reporter at the The New York Times last year.

Instead of offering sympathy, the representative asked for the account number. Rea, an employee of Aon Consulting, one of the nation’s largest third-party call center monitors, said she marked the representative down for failing to be empathetic.

Hearing a real person’s voice on the other end of the phone continues to be the preference of most callers seeking customer service. When agents are not attentive, callers do not get the human touch they desire.

So no matter how many calls you’ve handled, stay alert and really listen to what the customer is saying. The way you handle a single call from a customer could significantly affect how they view your agency.

Filed under: Customer Service Corner