Customer service employees are the face of a company. They interact with customers more frequently than anyone else in the business, which means they need to be on top of their game. There are a lot of things you should definitely do, such as use AI chatbot and give proper customer service training, but there are also many things to avoid. Here is what not to do when it comes to customer service mistakes.
Do not tell a lie
People call customer service to get specific information, and they make decisions based on the information they were given. Nothing will make a business lose a customer faster than telling them a lie. Nearly everyone has experienced a time when they’ve called a company and been told one thing just to find out later that the other agent lied. And then, to make matters worse, customer service agents usually solve this problem by saying something like, “they didn’t know what they were talking about.”
I even knew a company that would go back on promises to customers despite recordings of past conversations that proved the customer was telling the truth about what they were promised. And if employees actually followed through with past promises instead of saying tough luck to the customer, the employee ended up getting in trouble. This is not the way to treat your customers or your employees.
Make sure and give specific training to customer service agents about what they are and are not permitted to do for customers. Also make sure they don’t ever promise something they can’t apply to the account immediately.
Do not undervalue employees
A hard working employee who can work well with customers and knows what they are doing should be extremely valuable to a business. Too often, businesses treat customer service an annoyance they have to deal with instead of realizing how valuable the department really is for the company. Make sure customer service employees know they are valued and important. Offer competitive pay rates, the proper training, and improved technology to make their jobs as easy as possible. Nobody wants to spend all day fielding complaints, which means someone who will and can do it successfully is a valuable asset.
Do not avoid new technology
A lot of companies worry that it would be too difficult to get new technology put into place and to train all their employees on how to use that technology. So, instead of providing that technology, they simply put up with whatever systems are currently in place. This type of thinking is bad for employees and customers. Without the right technology, employees won’t be able to do their job efficiently. On top of that, customers have begun to expect new technology solutions in customer service. For example, a customer expects the ability to be able to text or chat a business whenever they have a question instead of having to formulate an email or call customer service.
As part of this, agents need to have access to and training on using social media to communicate with customers, whether that is responding to a review or answering chats.
Do not ignore customer advice
Occasionally, customers will do more than just complain about their experience; they will, instead, offer up advice on how to improve. Many customer service departments simply ignore this advice or assume it isn’t something the company is interested in doing. However, the advice of a customer on how to improve should be taken seriously. They are the customer which means they know exactly what your audience wants. The advice could make a serious impact on company growth, and it’s worth considering.
Do not keep marketing and customer service separate
Most companies have a customer service department and a marketing department that do not communicate or mesh ideas. This is the wrong approach. Marketing is how you reach out to customers and customer service is how they reach out to you. Both departments come into contact with customers and need to use similar platforms and technology to function. They need to both give off the same tone for the company and have the same mission and goals. Having customer service and marketing close to each other and ready to work together on a regular basis will significantly improve the customer experience.
