Emily Rella
It is unnecessary to take extraordinary measures to offer effective customer service, and it is enough to exceed expectations systematically. And, for this to happen, you need a superstar team.
Adding people to your business who offer exceptional customer service is complex because you can’t just search through their portfolio or view their completed work. Yes, previous experience is important, but it comes down to a certain personality type that is hard, to sum up.
For this reason, many managers do a free interview and rely on their instinct. But according to Eileen Naughton, Google’s vice president of people operations, this is the worst way to hire.
He argues that this makes us susceptible to our own biases, meaning that we choose people who are similar to us over the person who is best for the job (clearly, we’re all a bunch of narcissists).
Have a customer service team?
There are many tactics to keep costs down while still providing excellent service if you think creatively. Fantastic staff outsourcing is a good starting point, but not the only one.
We all agree that customer service is stressful: 99% of the time, customers get in touch to vent, complain, express their confusion; there is seldom a sense of respite. It can seem endless, like a relentless tide of negativity.
However, customer service agents (hopefully) love what they do and enjoy solving problems. It’s what they’re good at, the area they thrive in, that’s why they get hired, and they’re there to help.
Therefore, applying a strict monitoring process or being behind them is guaranteed to decrease performance. For lack of a better phrase, we have to let them get to work, trust them to do their job, and encourage full autonomy.
Because customer service has many more nuances than what is allowed by following a call script or a company protocol.
Yes, a little automation can go a long way. Still, successful interactions depend on intuition, empathy, and the right words spoken at the right time— elements that only an unscripted human can provide.
For example, in convenience stores, it is common to find a wide variety of everyday items and others that are a bit more specialized such as prepaid cards, telephone recharges, electronic items, and even over-the-counter medicines, so it is common for the manager to listen to requests little out of the ordinary.
In this example, it is not feasible to have a script, because when faced with an unusual question, it is best to let people be authentic so that they can answer something like: “Here we do not offer this service (we do not have this product), but two locals further on can help.”
This human input is what customers crave in an environment that lacks it. The more trust we invest, the more independence we allow, and mutual respect will flourish.
How to improve customer service in your business?
Here we share some ideas to improve your customer service and not only depend on a specific area:
- Be empathic. If someone from your team is there to solve a problem, do not force him to ask your permission, it is best to give him total freedom of what he can do. The good idea is to empower your employees to use their initiative to delight and surprise customers, whether or not there is a problem. They probably have amazing ideas that have never crossed your mind.
- Develop. A good idea, if you have a page on the Internet, is to create a space where your customers can find the answers for themselves and reduce your staff’s stress. Also, it generates spaces for customers to share their opinions and comments about the service received. This type of feedback is of great value to your business.
- Check out. Adjust customer service processes whenever necessary, especially in times of growth. Different team sizes require different approaches.
- Organize. Set up daily or weekly meetings to catch up, discuss issues, read positive feedback, and generally share the love. When staff feels empowered, they will respond by ensuring their performance exceeds expectations.
If you harness people’s passion and talent, get off the script and allow them to think outside the box, you unlock the potential for the most extraordinary kind of customer service possible.
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