If you help customers quickly, can you still be considered courteous? And if you’re friendly, will you ever be fast enough?
Yes, it’s possible, says customer service expert Peggy Morrow.
Here are three steps to helping customers quickly, even when they want to carry on a longer courteous conversation:
- Be direct. After you exchange greetings, ask politely what they want. Say, “How can I help you now?” “What can I do for you today?” or “May I please have your account number?”
- Maintain control. If customers chat too much or move the conversation in the wrong direction, wait for a brief pause to get customers refocused. Use the customer’s name to get his or her attention. Say, “Jim, It sounds like you’re having problems with … This is what I think we can do now.” Or “Marie, you said called because of … Here’s what we can do to address that.”
- Use a trial close. Instead of giving an abrupt, rude goodbye say, “Is there anything else I can help with?” It’s friendly and gives customers a chance to ask for more help, if necessary. If they don’t need help, it creates a bridge for you say goodbye.
