Tips on Training Employees to Make Smarter Customer Service Decisions

Customer service employees are often faced with the most challenging scenarios of dealing with angry customers, who are always asking for urgent solutions. While the problem may be solved eventually, it is the experience at the moment of interaction that is given the most importance by the customer and used as a benchmark to measure the quality of service.

Companies need to train their employees with focus and dedication. Empowering employees to cater to the needs of different kinds of customers is essential for customer retention. Let’s look at four tips which help teams train their customer service staff in order to make smarter decisions.

 

Creative Solutions

Train your staff to think out of the box and look to solve problems creatively, instead of further disappointing the customer by telling them nothing can be done, or that they need to wait for days etc. Show them that you are dedicated to providing solutions and don’t need to run to five other people to find one.

Empower your staff to come up with solutions that are instant and not ones to send the customer off to another representative or using a different channel. For example, asking them to send their complaint in through email, call a specific number or wait till they hear back from a senior etc. is only going to lead to a dissatisfied customer, who might then choose to do business elsewhere.

Customer – Focused Decisions

Employees often end up taking customers for granted and treat them casually without showing urgency or eagerness to deliver a satisfactory experience. Train employees to focus on the problem of the customer and offer solutions which are convenient.

Encourage employees to keep customer experience at the centre of their dealings and make decisions that result in satisfied customers and garner customer loyalty. Employees should let customers know how much they are valued and what extra steps are being taken by the company to solve their problem.

Customer Service Drills

An essential when it comes to training employees for enhanced customer service is training them for unexpected scenarios or high-pressure situations that require a quick and proactive approach. Carry out drills for your employees where their progress can be both tested and measured along with gaining experience of different scenarios. Carrying out drills helps employees practice what they’ve learnt and look at everyday cases with new and fresh perspectives.

Drills can also include role playing, where employees are given various scenarios, keeping the environment as real as possible. This is also a good opportunity for seniors to give the customer service staff feedback and tips, which can help them in real time customer interactions.

Showing Emotional Intelligence

Research by Mckinsey states that “70% of buying experiences are based on how the customer feels they are being treated”. Hence it is essential to stay focused on how customers are feeling and to train employees to handle customers with care and attention. Emotional intelligence is key when dealing with customers, because it is an art to understand where the customer is coming from and how to manage their problems. Make sure that your customer service trainings are designed to help staff strategically handle difficult situations and problems.

Employees should be trained to be emotionally sensitive and intelligent towards the behavior of the customer. They should empathize with them and show that their core goal is to satisfy the customer.

Employees should actively converse with customers, carefully gauging their needs and taking it forward accordingly. Research indicates that customers associate their level of satisfaction with a company depending on how they have interacted with their customer service reps or the way the company has communicated at multiple touch points.