An Effective Communicator
How often have you read a job ad that requires someone with “excellent customer service skills”? It’s not just ads for frontline retail staff or customer service officers, but other jobs too. Customer service skills are important across roles and across business sectors. But what exactly are employers looking for?
Here are 10 top customer service skills for success, whether you’re stepping into a role for a day, a month or a year.
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Communication
The ability to communicate clearly, concisely and coherently is essential, whether you are speaking with a customer or sending them an email. If your messaging is garbled, your customer is likely to lose confidence and trust in you.
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Active listening
One of the keys to good communication is listening to what your customer is saying. What are they trying to tell you? Show them you’ve understood by asking them questions, seeking clarification, and by summarising your conversation.
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Empathy
Empathy is often described as putting yourself in someone else’s shoes. In this way, you should be able to see things from their perspective. And that’s definitely an asset in customer service! Understanding customer pain points and acknowledging their emotions and situation can help you build trust and find solutions.
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Adaptability
Forget those stock responses. There often isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution to a query or problem. Excellent customer service depends on the ability to think on your feet and demonstrate open-mindedness, flexibility and creativity. Everyone’s needs and expectations are different – you’ll succeed by responding to them accordingly.
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Product/service knowledge
It is vital to have a good understanding of the products or services you are offering, so take advantage of every opportunity to learn. If you’re just covering a role for a short period of time, you won’t be expected to know everything. You are still an important point of contact, however, who can coordinate enquiries and pass on/escalate to another person in the team.
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Conflict resolution
You’ve likely dealt with tricky situations involving angry, frustrated or disappointed customers on more than one occasion. Whether the situation is face-to-face, on the phone or over email, it’s important to stay calm, show empathy and work with the customer to find an appropriate solution. If you can’t, you can always speak with a co-worker for support and advice and/or escalate to a supervisor.
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Patience
In customer service, patience most definitely is a virtue! Sometimes, customers may take a while to explain their problem, or they may vent their anger and frustration on you. By remaining calm and collected, you are providing them with the opportunity to tell you what is going on.
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Honesty
Let’s face it, nothing is perfect. Things break down. Orders aren’t always delivered on time. What you buy isn’t always what you expect. Honesty should be at the heart of your dealings with customers. Ensure your communication is clear and transparent. If mistakes occur, don’t brush your customers off with stock responses or feeble excuses, be accountable, say sorry and try to resolve the situation as soon as possible.
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Time management
This is all about managing customer’s expectations: delivering products and services on time and resolving customer enquiries and complaints efficiently and effectively. Anticipate your deadlines and organise your time so that you can meet them. If you know you’re behind schedule, contact the customer and let them know.
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Overdelivery
If possible, overdeliver on your promises. If you tell a customer their product will be sent in one week, send it sooner. If you say you’ll have a resolution to their issue in 48 hours, aim to have it done in half the time. It might not always be possible, but when you exceed expectations, it will leave customers with a positive impression of you – and your organisation.
Excellence in customer service spans a whole range of skills. Build on them all and you are sure to set yourself up for success!
If you’re looking to put your excellent customer service skills to use, please contact the professional team at Optimal Workforce today on admin@optimalworkforce.com.au or 02 8077 7030.
