- Your demeanor and initial communication skills and choices are important foundational skills and will help set up a positive and productive communication with a customer. Smile and make eye contact when meeting in person. Speak clearly and with an upbeat tone. Ask how you can help, and speak and act as if you are happy to be helping. When making requests of the customer (such as asking for additional information), be sure to ask rather than order and to say "please," and "thank you," wherever possible.
- A key to effective customer service is having a spirit of determined and creative helpfulness. This means working to improve your knowledge of your company's operations and the ways in which you can help your customers. Make it your goal to not only be able to help them in matters for which they are seeking assistance, but also volunteer information in situations where it may be helpful. This also means that if you do not have the information you need to help your customer, you will ask coworkers or supervisors for help or refer the customer to the correct department. Never chastise, embarrass or express annoyance with a customer who may have sought help in the wrong place.
-
All customer service agents will, at some point, be faced with the challenge of dealing with upset customers or conflicts. Being able to successfully defuse and resolve such matters wherever possible is a mark of skilled customer-service agent.
When dealing with volatile situations, it is important to be patient and avoid taking the customer's words and actions personally. The first step in resolving a problem is to try to understand the details of the situation. In some cases, this may help calm an upset customer (because he will feel that someone is trying to help him). In other cases, this may make the customer more upset if he has had to explain the issue multiple times. In the latter case, apologize for making him repeat himself, or if he is particularly upset or frustrated, see if you can get filled in by other employees who have worked on his case before.
In general, apologizing to an upset customer is a good way to gain her trust and perhaps make her less upset. Apologize for any mistakes made by anyone in your company, even if you were not involved. In situations where a customer is upset, but no mistake has been made, you can express sympathy by saying something like, "I know this is frustrating, and I'm sorry you're having these problems." This may help the customer feel that you are on her side.
In some situations, you may not be able to resolve an angry customer's issue because no mistake has been made and the customer is simply unhappy with your business' policies. At such times, your best option may be to do your best to explain the purpose behind the policies and try to help the customer understand and accept them.
In situations where a customer is extremely upset and/or abusive, it is important to protect yourself and avoid exacerbating the situation. Do not respond with your own insults or repeat the customer's abusive words or accusations. If you can't make headway with resolving the conflict, invite the customer to speak to you again later by saying something like, "I would really like to help you, but I can see this is making you really upset at the moment. Would you like to call me back in a few minutes?" Don't be afraid to transfer the customer to a supervisor if you don't know how to handle the situation.
