Building World-Class Customer Service Agents

Having traveled the world, I’m not one to be overly concerned with dogma, rules, and regulations. But when it comes to world-class customer service, you will find no one more focused on doing the right things when it comes to interacting with and respecting the customer.

Choose the Right Language

First things first: it’s essential to use the right language with customers. The right versus wrong choice of words literally means the difference between an unhappy, angry customer and a happy, satisfied customer. For example, one must use extremely positive, definitive words with the customer. Sounding weak, unsure, or nervous will only turn the customer away. This sounds simple, but you’d be surprised how many companies and businesses consistently fail to do this. Phrasing ideas and solutions as suggestions and using the feel-felt-found technique are powerful ways to turn a problem customer into an opportunity for building stronger company-customer relations.

Every Word Counts

Every word a customer service agent says represents the company they work for and portrays a certain tone to the customer. A great way to head in the right direction with a customer is to be friendly and yourself: don’t automatically assume to know what they’re dealing with until you’ve fully listened to them, as every customer service experience is unique in its own way. Also, don’t assume that the customer is similar to you. The reality is that they are probably a very different person than you are. Ask relevant questions and truly listen to understand more about their situation.

Every Customer is a Million-Dollar Customer

Treat every customer like a [potential] million-dollar customer, even if they aren’t one of your wealthier clients. A bad customer service experience can haunt your business for years to come. Establish top-notch customer service processes by rewarding employees and ingraining a culture of service-orientation.

The Big Secret

What is the big secret of customer service? Empathize with customers and create win-win scenarios. Realize that the hardest people to deal with are the ones who offer your company the biggest opportunity for turnaround and growth. If one or some of your employees don’t align with your company culture, get rid of them by making a change. It’s like ripping off a band-aid: painful in the short-run, but beneficial in the long-run.

Fortunately, these are all learnable skills and with a little practice, exemplary customer service can be mastered. This is only basecamp of The Mountain. To Reach The Mountaintop with Jeff as a customer service organization and learn about more practical processes, techniques, and skills required to handle even the worst of customers, please explore www.jeffdspeaks.com or call his team at 800-315-4832.