No one knows more about the customer experience than front-line service professionals. So we turn to them for advice on how to get the best experience ever.
In a survey by Arvato, a third-party customer service provider, customer service reps revealed how customers can best work with them to get the fastest, friendliest, most accurate responses.
Step it up
Here’s their advice:
- Call us. Half of front-line customer service pros agree: Noting beats making a phone call to resolve a big or complex problem. Service pros want to chat with customers, build relationships and solve problems.
- Let us help. A third of service pros say the most frustrating thing customers do is think and act like they already know the answer. Service pros can best help customers if they hear the issue, have a moment to think about it, then offer solutions — rather than hear interpretations from customers.
- Escalate it. Front-line service pros are happy to escalate tricky problems. Nearly half agree that a manager is sometimes more equipped to take care of it. So go ahead and ask for a manager if you feel the issue is getting too complicated.
- Be nice. Almost all customer service pros say that dealing with friendly customers is a positive part of their job (apparently a few like the challenge of an unfriendly customer!). So customers want to be as kind as they expect their service pros to be.
- Be patient. Not all situations can — or should — be resolved in haste. So service pros suggest customers hold their horses when the issue is complex or emotional. They want to be able to take care of everything to an agreeable end — and that might take a little more time.
- Talk to us. Just 5% of service pros get frustrated with customers being too chatty. That means almost all of them want to have a friendly, rapport-building conversation. So go ahead and make small talk.
