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Customer service would be one of the
most difficult positions in a company mainly because
the majority of people miss the point of it. You see
the definition of customer service is servicing customers.
Normally, when a client calls your hotline or helpdesk,
they want clarification on a matter that wasn't clearly
explained before purchase, or let you know that the
product they bought is faulty, or find a way to solve
their problem.
The majority of people call a helpdesk
in the hopes of getting their problem resolved quickly.
Having competent people at your helpdesk to solve these
problems makes a huge difference in how well your customers
are handled. Most people don't like to complain and
hope their issue will get solved promptly.
When you get aggressive customers,
it is easy to become defensive. A great customer service
officer will react with empathy to this situation and
will investigate further with the customer of how things
have escalated this far. While some people are aggressive
thinking that their matter will be solve faster that
way, others become aggressive as a result of a bad experience
either from your company or another company's hotline.
When dealing with a 'difficult' customer
make sure you:
1. Stay calm and polite.
2. Take notes of what the complaint is about.
3. Actively listen to the customer by saying
"yes", "I see", and "I understand".
4. When the customer has finished explaining
his/herself, go through your notes with him/her to verify
if you understood him/her correctly.
5. When both your customer and yourself have
been through the notes, explain to him/her what is going
to happen next and how your company goes about dealing
with complaints. For example, you can tell him that
this matter will be taken to the manager and issues
are usually resolved in 24 hours.
6. Take responsibility. Follow up on the issue
with whom ever you passed it on before the 24-hour deadline
expires and make sure it has been resolved. If it hasn't
make a point to call your customer and let him/her know
that it is taking a bit longer then expected but that
you haven't forgotten about his/her issue. That will
keep the customer happy because he/she realises that
his/her issue matters and that someone cares about getting
it resolved. This customer will not only come back but
will most likely refer other people to your business.
7. Alternately, if your business were lucky enough
to have a good helpdesk software, these cases would
be easier to follow up with. For example, the first
level of response would take the call and type in the
complaint. If the issue isn't resolved within the normal
deadline, it is escalated to the next level - a manager.
This second level should be able to solve the complaint
and get back to the customer is due time.
Basically, customer service should
be perceived as an opportunity to go beyond your clients'
expectations and make sure that they are completely
satisfied with your products and/or services. Make it
a positive experience for everyone - your customers
and your staff, by implementing processes that insure
issues are resolved in a timely matter and that the
details of each issues are readily available in a database
that all your staff have access to.
About the Author
Paul Smith is the manager of Auratech Software, a company
that specialises in Help Desk Software to help businesses
with their customer support. If you would like to read
more articles on improving your support or would like
to check out Auratech's range of Help Desk Software,
please visit: http://www.helpdesk-support.com/better-support.htm
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