How to Be a Good Customer Service Representative

A good customer service representative serves the people with the integrity and mandate of the service they represent, while at the same time with the greatest concern for the customer. As the first face to the public, it's important that the customer service representative be professional, courteous and helpful.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

1. Understand and apply the mandate of the service for which you are representing.
2. Treat each customer with a fresh, warm greeting. Do not allow your opinion or attitude developed from a previous customer to affect the quality of service you will give to the next one. And never discuss the attitude of a previous customer with the present customer.
3. Do not allow prejudices such as racial, social or sexist to influence the quality of your service.
4. Establish the customer’s name and then address them by their name, when possible.
5. Be a good listener. Let them explain their situation before you cut in with an answer.
6. Make eye contact when you speak to the customer. This shows them respect and concern.
7. Many customers may not be as knowledgeable as you are in many areas, but do not allow their ignorance to effect your decision in the rights they are entitled to.
8. If the customer is irate and isn’t responding properly to your support, tell them that you will get someone else to help them and then get a supervisor to step in. This shows the customer that their needs are important, while at the same time, it prevents an embarrassing and antagonistic situation from getting out of hand.
9. Always keep the service on a professional level. It is acceptable and even polite to have general conversations with customers such as a greeting discussing the weather or complimenting them on their new baby or well-behaved child, but steer the conversations away from anything of a personal nature.
10. Never give out personal information. You represent the service, and any contact with the customer should be made between the service and them, not between you and them.
11. Always be upfront with the customers and never suggest or promise anything just to make them happy.

Tips & Warnings

• The quality of the service provided by the customer service rep is what most often illustrates the integrity of the company or service to the customer, and it is the mark that will keep or lose them as customers.