Handling difficult customers
This is not a response to my own post prior to this one (Getting around "customer service" crap). I am actually working on an assignment that I need to submit to the standards committee review.In an ideal world, there should be no irate customers and everyone should be pleasant to deal with. But oftentimes misfortunes arise that could cause some customers to be stressed out and grumpy, to the point that they become unreasonable. Fortunately for these customers, customer service representatives are in line and available to help them sort out their issues.
Providing world class customer service not only stops with establishing rapport, hearing out client complaints and finding solutions for your customer's concerns. There are 3 key things you need, to be able to deliver high quality customer service:
Excellent communication skills. Difficult customers are often picky when speaking to someone on the phone. Excellent communication skills is the key to starting off on the right foot with a very unhappy customer. Proper command of English projects a person's confidence and thus, becomes a major factor in winning the customer's trust.
Strong customer service skills. In the customer service industry, oftentimes, solutions are canned and available to every customer service representative. But before one can provide solutions, he/she need to be able to work with his/her customer. That is when customer service skills becomes crucial, especially when handling already-irate customers. The opportunity to provide "high quality" customer service is often missed, despite the fact that the customer's issue has been solved. There are 2 basic needs of a customer that should be met 100% of the time: the need for head and heart service. While it is sometimes easy to meet the need for the head, it is more difficult to meet a customer's need for a heart. This can only be met when the customer service representative has the: ability to listen, provides re-assurance and delivers feedback. Customer's would want to feel that their issues are as equally important to any business, as it is to them.
Highly analytical and above average technical skills. This usually fulfills the "head" part of the total customer service picture. When the customer service profession is able to deliver tremendous results in a short span of tim, the client is usually happy. However, this should always go hand in hand with proper delivery and excellent service.
Customer service is always on both ends of the rope in the business model. This is where the partnership between the customer takes off during pre-sales and this is also where it ends - support and maintenance. The measure of true business success is evident on 2 things that any "customer support group" is responsble for: customer retention and satisfaction.
posted by `teardrop @ 7/17/2005 01:51:00 PM
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