Usman Ghani (September 20, 2016)
The way customer service agents handle queries, complaints and concerns of clients greatly impacts a brand’s image. In order to build strong client relationships, a CSR needs to have emotional intelligence, he/she should know that understanding emotions of customers is necessary and choice of words is of prime importance during client communication. There are situations when a frustrated or angry client wants a customer service agent to understand and relate to the problem, therefore it is imperative for staff to be careful with the words and phrases they use. Any phrase that has negative connotation would give your clients a gesture that you do not care about them and they are likely to lose trust in your business. Remembering clients’ names and not putting them on wait for service or resolution of issues is one of the best customer service practices. Have a look at the list of things that service agents should never say to customers!
If a client complains about a product or service and though previously you never had a record of any such complaint, never use the phrase, “no other customer has complained about this.” This phrase implies that you are telling a customer that he/she is wrong. Client feedback is really valuable for a company’s growth, always take complaints as the most honest feedback and instead of defending your staff or service quality, thank the client for pointing that out, look into the matter, try to fix the issue and make sure that you improve your product and service experience according to your clients’ suggestions.
A customer wanting to exchange a delivered product or complaining about a lost product during shipping doesn’t want to hear that he/she should go talk to the concerned department. This is one of the most annoying things a service or support agent can say to a frustrated client. Transparency and clear communication is what clients really value about a business and if you fail to be honest with them, they are likely to take their business somewhere else. So make sure that your staff never say such a thing to complaining customers, instead they should talk to the relevant department themselves and sort the issue out.
Making customers wait for an indefinite time period can frustrate them to a level that they can switch to another business for better service. A client waiting for a product that he/she eagerly wants doesn’t want to hear, “you will get it delivered as soon as possible.” Saying such a thing makes you lose credibility as your clients would feel that the promises or claims you have made regarding quick service are not true. Always give them a definite time period regarding the delivery of a product, be it two days or more than that mention the time frame so that they don’t get disappointed and annoyed.
If a customer is shopping online and adds a product to the cart and after placing the order finds out that he/she has been charged for two products; while complaining about the duplication of the order the support agent says “It’s not our fault, happened because of a technical glitch”. Hearing such a thing would add to the customer’s frustration and he/she might not shop from that brand again. Many businesses receive several complaints due to service failure and issues caused by a technical glitch every day, instead of telling customers that it’s not our fault, a formal apology should be offered and efforts should be made to fix the issue in minimal time.
This phrase is often used by service and support agents when they feel the customer is not understanding the situation or their point of view. Saying such a thing can be annoying for clients, it implies that a CSR has to put an effort to make a customer understand what he/she is saying. So instead of using such a phrase, staff should try to explain in a simpler manner and if a client is too angry to listen, they should first listen to the client, apologize, then offer a logical explanation in minimum words and try to offer a solution without a long wait time.
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