Businesses ought to have an enthusiastic mindset in order to implement their customer service successfully. For this purpose your organization needs every employee to have a customer-first mentality.
Every individual who engages in your brand has taken time out of their busy days to do so and they desire to be treated with dignity and gratitude. Positive client experiences are a result of staff members having certain customer service qualities.
Conversely businesses that do not respect and utilize these abilities risk going down a slippery slope. In today’s post, we’ll examine some customer service qualities that are essential to look for in an applicant when hiring a customer service agent.
As we progress through the list of abilities, you’ll see how these relate to each other. Consider every capability as a thread that when tied together may form a support system that any client can use with confidence and locate what they need.
1. Good Communication Skills
Customer service representatives need to be able to clearly convey possible solutions to their customers’ concerns. Speaking without jargon is a major sign of clear communication abilities, particularly with terms unique to your business.
Effective communicators are also aware of when there is not being understood and are able to provide clarifications when necessary. Furthermore, technically speaking, those interacting with customers on the phone or in person must speak clearly.
Non-verbal cues are also important during these interactions. Skilled communicators will adopt an assured approachable stance and will effortlessly make eye-contact. Employees that are not slouching or crossing their arms come across as more approachable.
2. Ability to Solve Problems
Essentially, the core of customer service is problem solving. Even if there are several approaches to problem solving, people who work with customers ought to have quick thinking because there’s no time for brainstorming.
Your customers want their issues resolved as quickly as possible. Though your representative might have found a way to solve the issue, was the customer satisfied with it? If not then your agent must have the ability to start over from scratch and find fresh and viable answers. The cycle doesn’t end unless the problem of the customer is resolved.
3. Empathetic Listening
One-on-one contact with the customers is the best opportunity to check their empathy. It is important for anyone interacting with customers via live chat, phone or social media to realize that they are speaking with a person.
Your clients are people and not just another statistic for your spreadsheets. This fact cannot be emphasized enough. However, empathy might require you to occasionally make an exception. Should someone request you to waive the guidelines because of an emergency or another exceptional situation, and you comply; you can create a lifelong brand evangelist.
4. Patience
People working in customer service jobs are the front line of contact for disgruntled customers. They might also have worked themselves up into such a state even before talking to a customer service agent depending on the circumstance. The capacity of a customer service agent to maintain composure and avoid taking things personally is essential for defusing situations involving irate clients.
There are also situations where the customer struggles to appropriately answer the representative’s questions or they are unable to express the situation. Patience pays off in such cases if the customer service rep is less likely to lose their cool. Therefore, when hiring a customer service agent make sure to look for this ability in them.
5. Confidence
If the client is speaking with someone who is confident, they will feel even more confident about receiving the correct and workable solution. Additionally this should come easy when educating the clients on your goods and services.
Employee confidence enhances the credibility and trust that consumers will have in your business. If you have hired a customer service agent who excels in empathetic listening, and problem-solving but can use a little confidence boost, think about helping them. The confidence of clients to succeed in troubleshooting client difficulties as they arise will naturally come from proper training.
6. Individual Accountability
Workplace or not, personal accountability is essential in all interactions. While mistakes are understandable in customer service jobs, professional customer service agents are aware of when they make a mistake. We’re only human and we all are prone to making mistakes.
Taking ownership of their mistake and trying to find a viable solution to it is what sets a skilled customer service representative apart from the competition. Furthermore, this ability to hold oneself accountable, can convert an irate customer into a brand evangelist and reverse the negative feedback from the customer.
The Foundation of Good Customer Service
A customer service representative’s abilities ultimately boil down to compassion. Being empathetic towards every individual they deal with and truly wanting to assist them will make a huge difference in a customer service job.
Hiring staff members who possess these talents and enabling them to use them effectively is the best method to create a positive client experience.
