Customer Service jobs can be one of the most demanding and least appreciated fields of work out there. They take on all shapes and sizes from serving drinks or waiting tables, to answering phones, making sales or servicing clients. Any job where you deal with people on the outside can be termed customer service. The people you deal with daily can vary from mild-mannered and polite to rude or nasty. It just depends on the day or if it is a full moon or not. I have worked in the insurance industry for fifteen years and I have seen it all. The following five tips can help you deal with your customer service duties more efficiently and with better success.
1. Don't Take It Personal - Oftentimes this is the hardest thing to deal with. When someone is angry about something from my order was made wrong, to what do you mean my policy doesn't cover this, you can't take it personal. The truth is we are a point of contact, nothing more. We don't know what is going on in their lives but we may end up being the ones taking the brunt of it. One time a lady called me on the phone and went off about her car insurance bill being two dollars more than she thought it should have been. I informed her it was the same price she had been paying for the last three months. Later in the week when she came in to make the payment she apologized and told me she had just found out her mother had been diagnosed with cancer before she called me. Don't always expect an apology but just understand you might be dealing with anger that has nothing to do with you so don't take it personally.
2. The Golden Rule - This may sound old fashioned but in the customer service world treating others as you would want to be treated will go a long way in keeping customers happy. How many of us have ordered at a fast food restaurant where the teenager taking your order never looks at you and wears an expression of disdain as he angrily presses the buttons on the register? You are obviously a moron for disturbing his day. Don't be that person. You can do better than that. Think about what kind of person you want waiting on you or dealing with you. You can be that person that you think of, but it will take effort to do it daily. Make your mind up to do it and don't accept anything less of yourself. By following just one simple rule every day, treating others like you would want to be treated, will help you succeed.
3. Be Firm - This is the hardest point to apply, be firm but not confrontational. I once had a lady who worked with me that the very sound of her voice put me on edge. She could have asked how my weekend went and I thought she was trying to verbally assault me. Her tone and demeanor automatically put me on edge. When you work in customer service how you approach a problem goes a long way in how it will be resolved. Sound angry and you will get an angry response. A key to keeping the customer satisfied is to make them feel like you have listened to them. Even if you know the problem isn't going to change, by simply saying sir or ma'am I completely understand where you are coming from, you have at least acknowledged their point of view, and have given them the courtesy of sharing their thoughts on the matter. Our goal as the customer service agent is to always bring the situation down, not escalate it. Be firm so the customer knows that what you are telling them is the bottom line, but be understanding. Our goal isn't to win a fight, but to keep the customer.
4. Know Your Limits - Daily dealing with people is a grind. There are days when I would much prefer digging ditches then to have to hear the sound of someone's voice that needs service. That is perfectly normal. We are all human. Knowing your limits is something that you can instill both daily and overall to help with the mental wear and tear that you go through. For instance a friend of mine who also works in the insurance field has a no swearing policy. If a client calls cursing at her she tells them simply, I am here to help you but if you keep swearing at me I can't. Simple yet firm. She knows she gets angry when people swear at her, so she simply informs the client of her limit. Any good supervisor will support a reasonable limit. They want us to do a good job as much as we want to do a good job. By being honest and understanding that you may need a day off, or an extra fifteen minutes at lunch will go along ways towards keeping you mentally fresh. Take control and set your limits.
5. Game-face - You hear athletes oftentimes refer to their game-face. Once they hit the court, field or ice their only thoughts are about the game. The same is true in customer service. When it is time to go in front of the customers it is game-face time, game-on! One of the best bits of advice I ever received was about putting a mirror next to the phone. What a customer hears over the phone is what you look like in the mirror. If you smile and focus on them they can hear it, just as they can hear it if you are not paying attention to them or are surfing the internet while they are talking. You may have just gotten a text that your child is sick and needs to be picked up from school, that the car broke down, or that you somehow overdrew your bank account. When your game-face is on you can compartmentalize those outside distractions and focus just on your customer service duties. The client doesn't need to know what your are dealing with. It is not always easy to do! But remember look in that mirror with your game-face on, and you can succeed at customer service.
1. Don't Take It Personal - Oftentimes this is the hardest thing to deal with. When someone is angry about something from my order was made wrong, to what do you mean my policy doesn't cover this, you can't take it personal. The truth is we are a point of contact, nothing more. We don't know what is going on in their lives but we may end up being the ones taking the brunt of it. One time a lady called me on the phone and went off about her car insurance bill being two dollars more than she thought it should have been. I informed her it was the same price she had been paying for the last three months. Later in the week when she came in to make the payment she apologized and told me she had just found out her mother had been diagnosed with cancer before she called me. Don't always expect an apology but just understand you might be dealing with anger that has nothing to do with you so don't take it personally.
2. The Golden Rule - This may sound old fashioned but in the customer service world treating others as you would want to be treated will go a long way in keeping customers happy. How many of us have ordered at a fast food restaurant where the teenager taking your order never looks at you and wears an expression of disdain as he angrily presses the buttons on the register? You are obviously a moron for disturbing his day. Don't be that person. You can do better than that. Think about what kind of person you want waiting on you or dealing with you. You can be that person that you think of, but it will take effort to do it daily. Make your mind up to do it and don't accept anything less of yourself. By following just one simple rule every day, treating others like you would want to be treated, will help you succeed.
3. Be Firm - This is the hardest point to apply, be firm but not confrontational. I once had a lady who worked with me that the very sound of her voice put me on edge. She could have asked how my weekend went and I thought she was trying to verbally assault me. Her tone and demeanor automatically put me on edge. When you work in customer service how you approach a problem goes a long way in how it will be resolved. Sound angry and you will get an angry response. A key to keeping the customer satisfied is to make them feel like you have listened to them. Even if you know the problem isn't going to change, by simply saying sir or ma'am I completely understand where you are coming from, you have at least acknowledged their point of view, and have given them the courtesy of sharing their thoughts on the matter. Our goal as the customer service agent is to always bring the situation down, not escalate it. Be firm so the customer knows that what you are telling them is the bottom line, but be understanding. Our goal isn't to win a fight, but to keep the customer.
4. Know Your Limits - Daily dealing with people is a grind. There are days when I would much prefer digging ditches then to have to hear the sound of someone's voice that needs service. That is perfectly normal. We are all human. Knowing your limits is something that you can instill both daily and overall to help with the mental wear and tear that you go through. For instance a friend of mine who also works in the insurance field has a no swearing policy. If a client calls cursing at her she tells them simply, I am here to help you but if you keep swearing at me I can't. Simple yet firm. She knows she gets angry when people swear at her, so she simply informs the client of her limit. Any good supervisor will support a reasonable limit. They want us to do a good job as much as we want to do a good job. By being honest and understanding that you may need a day off, or an extra fifteen minutes at lunch will go along ways towards keeping you mentally fresh. Take control and set your limits.
5. Game-face - You hear athletes oftentimes refer to their game-face. Once they hit the court, field or ice their only thoughts are about the game. The same is true in customer service. When it is time to go in front of the customers it is game-face time, game-on! One of the best bits of advice I ever received was about putting a mirror next to the phone. What a customer hears over the phone is what you look like in the mirror. If you smile and focus on them they can hear it, just as they can hear it if you are not paying attention to them or are surfing the internet while they are talking. You may have just gotten a text that your child is sick and needs to be picked up from school, that the car broke down, or that you somehow overdrew your bank account. When your game-face is on you can compartmentalize those outside distractions and focus just on your customer service duties. The client doesn't need to know what your are dealing with. It is not always easy to do! But remember look in that mirror with your game-face on, and you can succeed at customer service.
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