A customer asks a stupid question, and all you want to say is, “Duhhh!” Try these responses instead.
Most customers don’t realize they’ve asked a stupid question – mostly because it came out wrong or they based it on some poor information.
So when they ask, “What time does the 3 p.m. train leave?” “Where’s the ‘any’ key on my keyboard?” or “Is there a vegetarian meat lovers special?” try one of these types of responses:
- Corrective answer. Instead of pointing out the silly question, try to answer the question they meant to ask. For instance, if customers ask about that train time, agents might say, “It usually runs right on time. But it’s best to get there about 15 minutes before that.”
- Information overload. Answer the question they’ve asked and then give more details to answer the questions that would follow. Example, agents might respond to the “any key” question like this: “You won’t see a specific ‘any’ key. I’d suggest that you hit the return key on your board. Then you should see the screen boot up again.”
- Redirection. Agents can also steer customers away from their question so they don’t even realize they asked it. Example for the vegetarian question, an agent might answer, “We have five different specials right now and they’re all superb. Let me tell you a little more about each of them.”
