Smart Business Moves: How to Make Your Customer Service the Best Possible

Meghan Belnap

January 06, 2015

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Customer service can make or break your business. No matter how great your product, how beneficial the service you provide, or how outstanding your contractors are, if you have poor customer service, you will lose business. In an ideal world, every product is flawless and every job runs smoothly, but in life, nobody's perfect--including you, your business, and your customer. Great customer service is really about acknowledging the imperfection inherent in all human endeavor, and putting a system in place to deal with those imperfections along the way.

Step 1: Have a Dedicated Team

Your customer service representative cannot under any circumstances have something more pressing or "better to do" than help resolve issues your customers are having. The last thing you want is for your troubled customer to conclude that their problem doesn't matter to your customer service representative, and by extension, your business as a whole. If you don't have a specific individual or team exclusively dedicated to providing customer service, there will invariably be times when customers slip through the cracks as your employees pursue their assorted work agendas. You can change a current employee's job description, hire a new employee, or opt for a quality outsourced service, like ROI Solutions, as long as you have a group whose only focus is making your customers happy. Your customers need a person they can call and speak to one-on-one about their problems, and that person needs to have the knowledge and tools to succeed.

Step 2: Show Empathy and Compassion

Most people approach customer service with an attitude of, "It's my job to deal with you so my boss doesn't have to." This is an incredibly detrimental attitude because it positions the customer in the role of obstacle or enemy, instead of respected ally and partner. When people call customer service, it's usually because they're experiencing a problem and need assistance. Whether their product is broken, their service isn't working correctly, or they just don't understand what's going on, your customers resort to calling customer service when they feel like they've run out of options. They're feeling frustrated, vulnerable, and maybe even stupid. They're looking for solutions, but they're also looking for validation, encouragement, and a place to blow off steam. Your team needs to approach every customer contact as a cherished opportunity to make things right, demonstrating the company's understanding and appreciation for the customer, rather than treating the issue like another fire to be extinguished.

Step 3: Kill Them With Kindness

Once you have an upset customer on the line with a dedicated customer service representative, there will usually be an emotional outpouring of frustrations, followed by a list of genuine complaints and a request for a solution. After your representative empathizes with the customer's dissatisfaction, the final step is an honest discussion of options to resolve the customer's issue. The options discussed can take innumerable forms, but usually there is some sort of act or item offered at the company's expense that alleviates the customer's dilemma. The key to outstanding customer service is to offer at least two or three viable solutions and let the customer choose the solution that satisfies him best. This accomplishes two objectives. It lets the customer know that his satisfaction matters to your company, and it allows him to shed his vulnerability and feel independent because he chose the resolution most suited to his needs.

By having dedicated individuals willing to sympathize with how your customers feel, you open a window to resolve their conflicts with dignity and respect. What freebies and compensations you offer are up to you, and honestly don't matter as much as how your representatives make customers feel when they call for assistance. Just by listening with a genuine desire to make things right, your team can offer the best possible customer service and propel your business into great success.