All week long, the MeloTel Blog has been focused on the concept of superior customer service. After all, it’s a major part of our mandate as a company. Especially when it comes to providing service over the phone, it’s important to be sharply on your game. Your customer may not be able to see you, but he or she still knows whether or not you’re smiling! Being pleasant and polite is always important. But that’s only the beginning.
In our past two blogs, we’ve pointed out the importance of attentive listening, recapping the call, putting yourself in your customers’ shoes and going the extra mile. All of these techniques serve to make your company one that has a stellar reputation for being a top-notch customer service provider. Thanks to those who have filled out our Customer Satisfaction Survey, we’ve learned that we’re certainly on the right track by adhering to all of the above mentioned techniques.
But the methods by which you can provide the best customer service in your industry don’t stop there. Being the best entails practicing a number of traits and continually finding ways to improve them. As well, it never hurts to have a “refresher course” in customer service so that you don’t fall into the trap of just going through the motions. It’s important to be genuine. Customers can tell the difference.
Here are three methods of maintaining top-notch service levels:
1. Show empathy. In some cases, you won’t just be dealing with a customer concern. Unfortunately, customer complaints are bound to happen. But when one of your clients is upset about something, consider it an opportunity to really show what your company is made of. Fixing a problem the right way can mean the difference between losing a customer for good and keeping him or her loyal for life.
Firstly, it’s important to communicate that you genuinely understand why your customer is so upset. Use language that expresses that you know what it would be like to be your customer’s shoes. Secondly, it never hurts to apologize. Accepting responsibility for a mistake is the first step in correcting it. Finally, show that you are willing to do what it takes to address the problem quickly and effectively. Your brand will shine as a result!
2. Empower through choice. People love feeling that they are in control. And, in many cases, customers can become irate when they feel that they have lost that control. Sometimes, the best solution to a problem is the one that is hand-selected by the customer. Therefore, you may want to go ahead and offer a number of options that empower your customers to locate the best solution themselves.
It’s a good idea, of course, to always have an alternative solution if the one you originally planned on proposing is deemed to be unacceptable by your customer. Empowering your customers also comes by way of providing the type of information that could help to avoid similar problems in the future. Help your clients to make informed decisions by describing the benefits of each of your options.
3. Be accessible. At MeloTel, we consider this to be one of the most important traits of a business that provides top-notch customer service. For this reason, we make sure to inform our clients that, even during the holidays, we can be reached for emergencies. In addition, we make sure that messages are promptly returned so that no client ever feels as if finding one of our representatives is a difficult task.
Put us to the test! Give us a call at 1-888-MELOTEL today!