Manage customer service for teams

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close your eyes for a second back to the last time you experienced great customer service was it at a restaurant with a few friends maybe the wait staff was really friendly was it at a department store where their knowledge helped you choose exactly what you needed or maybe it was after waiting on hold for quite a long time and the associate went out of their way to help you resolve a nagging problem thanks for holding each of these interactions might only last a few minutes but within that short time they can have a huge impact they can build brand loyalty better than any commercial they can turn someone's day around and for people who have chosen to work in customer service they are extremely gratifying we've built this course to help you level up your customer service skill set by the end of this video I hope you'll have a stronger understanding of what makes for great customer service as well as a few new tips and tricks that you can start using immediately at its core customer service is composed of half a dozen skills and practices that help you address customer needs and Foster a positive experience these skills will help you no matter if you work in a call center a department store a restaurant or really anywhere else so let's get into them first there is the practice of active listening the difference between plain old listening and active listening is intentionality listening becomes active when you prepare yourself to listen when you really focus on both the verbal and non-verbal language that's being communicated and when you respond in such a way that makes the speaker feel heard and validated that's the recipe I've got to tell you I've been transferred to like five different customer service agents and I'm getting really frustrated no one can give me a straight answer about what to do I can only imagine how difficult and frustrating that is I'm really sorry this is happening please tell me why you're calling today okay so the tile order arrived and some of my tiles here are broken so you sent me replacement tiles but the colors don't match I guess it's from a different dye lot whatever that is but no one ever asked me for that information okay thank you for explaining that so it sounds like you've got two different tile colors for one job do I have that right in a customer service scenario active listening communicates the message your problem is now my problem I hear you let's fix it some members of customer service teams often have a cue to help them get into the active listening Zone a call service agent might put on their headset start new ticket and say thank you so much for holding how can I help a retail team member might turn towards the customer center their weight Bend both knees and lean in just a bit practice active listening by getting in and out of the mindset again this is a habit that you form with intentionality another customer service skill is empathy let's be honest you're not always going to be dealing with people at their best moment you know like when a customer unloads on you because something is priced wrong or isn't scanning properly it's not about you that customer is just offloading you've got to remember that it's not personal or else you won't be able to really hear what they have to say you'll just hear how they're saying it maybe you haven't been in their exact situation yourself but if you try I bet you can identify with their challenges and when you can relate to just a sliver of that experience you empathize empathy makes customers feel understood and cared for don't worry I got you the third critical skill for customer service is the ability to problem solve look you've got to be on your toes during moments of crises you may have a customer who overshares their luggage didn't arrive and the flight was late and the car overheated and this is the third time in two years that this has happened so what do you do to begin identify the problem what a difficult day I am so sorry this is happening so the problem now is that your luggage is missing do I have that right next generate some solutions pick the one that works best and get started all right we've got a few different options but the best approach is to get a trace going that'll get you reunited with your luggage as fast as possible let me start the process and finally evaluate the results and if appropriate ask for feedback I am so relieved your luggage is on the next flight we'll have it delivered to your hotel by 8 pm tonight of course you can have lots of empathy and problem solving and active listening skills but if you can't communicate effectively they're not worth much at least not to a member of a customer service team effective communication is harder than it sounds it requires having an emotional balance and Technical knowledge of the products or services that you provide it also requires a clear voice written or oral that is simultaneously personable and professional here are a few ways you can start practicing your effective communication skills right now to begin when you're in dialogue with someone start to include small encouraging comments into what you're saying next wait to respond make sure you let the person complete their entire thought before you start to speak and finally acknowledge the emotions that the other person is expressing it might be frustration excitement or bewilderment let them know that you see it and you recognize it as a customer service representative you are often the initial point of contact between a customer and the company which means you have to know the correct protocol for responding to a ton of different situations got a question about an open box return that gets transferred to the returns department got a customer whose account is locked because of non-payment well that goes to the billing department got a frustrated customer who is demanding to speak to the manager yep you guessed it that gets escalated to your manager's queue to guide your decision making most companies will give their customer service team members a flowchart flowchart is a diagram that represents different workflows they might be called step-by-step diagrams or maybe a process chart but regardless of the name they typically show a series of conditional statements with different outline processes depending on the answer to be honest they kind of look like Shoots and Ladders or um maybe that's just me foreign last but not least I would definitely recommend that you take the time to learn about the products or services I can guarantee you that at one point or another a customer is going to ask which warranty package you think is a better value whether or not they should buy the sanded or unsanded grout or what the differences are between the synthetic fabric and the cotton blend having a baseline knowledge about your products or services will help you address your customers needs quickly and accurately so how can you get better at customer service aside from gaining more experience I would consider asking for direct feedback from customers colleagues and managers this can help you understand whether or not you're providing a great experience for your customers and what you can do to improve remember not to take any negative feedback personally you are not your work your work is your craft and like any master of craft your goal is to get better and better also try and track down any customer service evaluation forms or surveys they may be about you or they may be more broadly about the store or the products and services either way this feedback will give you a unique perspective compared to what you'll often hear from management or colleagues and finally practice practice practice your new skills so the next time you're engaging with a customer try really bringing your A game the tips included here can really help practice active listening also put yourself in the customer's shoes it'll help you empathize and ultimately it'll help clearly communicate finally remember your job is to problem solve so make sure you understand company policies as written out in flow charts or manuals and know your product or services so when a customer asks you a question you are ready to respond remember customer service is a set of skills skills that can be practiced and learned that's how you can move from providing good customer service to Great customer service if you enjoyed this video make sure to download the indeed mobile app well you're in luck your luggage has been located [Music] by me welcome to hats and chats my name is Barb this is a hat and this is Jack