Five Traits of a Good Customer Service Representative
We’ve all been in a situation where there does not seem to be much of a conversation when it comes to customer service; rather, a it is a dialog that seems to be on autopilot and leaves the customer frustrated rather than have the issue resolved.
For instance, if a customer calls with the intent on resolving disputed charges to his or her credit card, it is important to recognize the problem quickly but also demonstrate empathy. If the customer service sounds purely mechanical, there’s a really good chance that your client is not going to be a happy camper at the end of the conversation.
At (v)WeCare, we understand the significance and responsibility of customer service and are an call center outsourcing company located in New Jersey. Trusting someone to run customer care operations is a big step and is not a situation to be taken lightly. Often, customer service outsourcing to international countries can create more issues than resolve them, especially in light of language barriers and colloquial idioms used in every day conversation.
These are some of the hallmark traits of a good customer service representative, whether it involves email chat outsourcing, call center outsourcing or urgent back office outsourcing.
1. An ability to truly connect with the customer: This is much harder to achieve than it sounds, especially since it is not always easy to interpret the customer’s mood at the very beginning. What helps connect with the customer is more than just reading lines from a script; it involves sensing why the customer is calling in the first place. At our New Jersey call center, we always put the customer first and figure out at the very beginning why he or she is calling, rather than read paragraphs from a script.
2. Quickly finding the solution to the problem: Time is money. If the customer is calling for a resolution to a billing issue, then our focus is on providing the easiest solution to the issue. This will sometimes involve agility on the part of the customer service representative to look through historical information of the customer and pull up his or her records without delay. The very last thing we want is for the customer to hang up the phone in frustration. We at (v)WeCare take customer care to the highest level, with the ability to handle multiple call volumes and delivering consistent and quality results.
3. Ensuring the call ends with a quality outcome: We do not rush the outcome of a call but make sure that the customer is completely satisfied and all reasons why the call was made in the first place are properly addressed.
4. Ensuring proper vocabulary: The perils of customer service outsourcing to international countries is that often, English is a second language and the nuances of idioms and phrases do not sound like the call is being outsourced to another country. We cannot stress this enough: if a customer feels that the call is being answered by someone who is incompetent in English, then chances are he or she will not feel comfortable with the call. We at (v)WeCare realize the importance of trusting the contact center services and ensuring that the customer feels comfortable with the flow of the conversation, with proper attention to vocabulary and phone and e-mail etiquette.
5. Demonstrating proper etiquette: Manners, especially in the era of technology, are more important than ever. Properly addressing the customer can win you a lot of brownie points, and respect in all areas of the conversation, whether on e-mail or over the phone, is extremely important. Not only does this reflect well upon the company but it also impresses the customer to continue a meaningful relationship with the company. To be polite to a fault is never a bad thing!