How to Compliment Customer Service
Customer service is an art form, and let’s be honest: Appreciation in customer service isn’t really something that happens often. Customer service representatives are pretty used to being berated by angry customers all day, especially if they’re the kind who operate over the phone. They’re the ones who are forced to smile through your bad mood and take any accidental insults you might hurl in the heat of the moment.
We live in a culture where we expect things to work. If we’re paying so much for internet service, why is there even an outage? A customer service rep’s job is to help us, whether that means fixing problems or pointing you in the right direction, but sometimes, that’s not possible.
Since reps get the brunt of our bad mood when things don’t work according to plan, it’s important to compliment customer service when it’s good. This career is one where they’re prided on helping other people, so if they’ve helped you, you should say so.
The easiest way to compliment customer service representatives is to just put it all out there when they’re on the line. After they’ve helped you with your issue, say thank you. Tell them they’ve really helped and tell them they’re good at their job.
Yelp reviews are really important to a business. They often make or break whether a new customer will try out a restaurant or shop or decide to skip it entirely. That’s why a glowing Yelp review is always appreciated, especially in customer service. How many bad Yelp reviews have to do with rude employees? It often feels like the majority.
When you write your review, make sure you explicitly deliver customer care compliments about the person who helped you. Yelp suggests remembering the “why” behind good reviews and using details to show and not tell your amazing experience. The same thing goes for TripAdvisor, Google and any other location-based user review site.
Yelp is great, but the Better Business Bureau is the be-all and end-all of which businesses are good and which ones have shady practices. You don’t only have to report bad experiences. If you have an amazing experience with a business, make sure to show your appreciation of customer service by tipping off the BBB.
Most companies have an address where they take customer comments. You might find this on the back of the packaging of your Pepperidge Farm snack or Lays potato chips. Sometimes, it’s on a customer website. Either way, real customer service representatives read these letters, so the best way to pay a formal customer service compliment is by sending in a letter (or email) of your own.
When you’re showing your appreciation of customer service through a letter, make sure to acknowledge the high level of performance, report how much it impacted your day and explain carefully how it exceeded your expectations. Let a business know that you will be a repeat customer because there’s no customer care compliment like actual business.
The best compliment to a business is word of mouth. A business is a business. They view success in terms of sales. If you’ve had a good experience with a customer service representative, it’s important to share that with the people in your inner circle. This could be as small as a tagged shout-out on Twitter or Instagram or simply recommending a business to your friends and family in person.
Most customer service calls at larger companies lead to a survey where you can rate the customer service experience. Most people generally hang up before they take the survey, but if you had a great experience, you really should take the survey. This could lead to a promotion for the person who helped you.