5 Habits of Highly Effective Customer Service Representatives

No matter how good your product is or how talented your employees are, a major element that customers remember is the experience they have when interacting with a representative from your business. Your customer service representatives are the face of your organization hence it is imperative that the support they provide is impeccable. So who is the ideal CSR and what sort of traits does he/she have? Here are five habits of the most successful customer service representatives that you should know about.

Active Listener

The best people working in customer service are the ones who are great listeners. These representatives listen to what the clients have to say before offering them a solution or giving out information. In essence, this is what the job is all about. Listening is not confined to hearing what customers say out loud, you also need to pay attention to the non-verbal messages customers convey. Often when a customer is communicating their concerns, active listeners can read between the lines and determine what will ‘wow’ the customer. Understanding customer needs and expectations ultimately helps you in providing them with the best possible service.

Empathetic at Heart

We all understand corporate policies are important, but if you are only doing that with no sense of emotion involved, you will never be able to connect with the customer on a personal level. Customers don’t care how much you know, until they know how much you care. Show interest in what the customer is saying, be attentive, get involved and let them know you understand. Put yourself in their shoes and sense the emotions they are going through. By empathizing, you will more than often be able to win the trust of even the most dissatisfied customers.

Avid Learner

If you don’t seek to improve what you do, you will be left behind by people willing to invest in their skills. Steve Jobs’ tenacity was a major factor to his success, but that was not the only element. The most important underlying factor was that he focused on what really mattered to his customers, even if the customers didn’t know about it. To achieve customer service excellence, it is important to make an effort to study what your customers value most, where their frustrations lie and what you can do to make them happy. Once you know what your customers want most, focus on what your business does best and find a point where the two meet. Remember, product knowledge and continuous learning are fundamental to success in customer service.

Adaptable Attitude

In the world of customer service, get into the habit of expecting surprises. You may come across a scenario not covered in the corporate guidelines, or a customer may react in a completely bizarre manner. Not only is every customer different individually, but the same customer may also react differently during each interaction. Whatever the situation is, you need to be able to think on your feet and modify your customer service regime to each curveball thrown at you. Evaluate and adapt according to the situation.

Result Driven

Always accept when your customer is not having a good experience. Customer complaints are a golden opportunity that open doors of direct communication. Do not make excuses, instead work on providing a pragmatic solution. Look at the scenario as an opportunity to make a customer happy. A result driven approach will help you analyze the situation and get to the root cause of the problem. Offer reassurance, keep the customer in the loop and make it a habit to get their feedback once the solution has been provided. Building a strong long term relationship with clients is vital for success.