Think about a time when you received outstanding customer service.  Maybe you got a bill lowered, received new product instead of something being repaired, or simply had a great connection with the person who assisted you. Now, think of an experience that wasn’t so great - how did that make you feel?  Were you less motivated to use that product again, or even use that service at all? 

It’s been proven that we remember bad experiences and how those made us feel far more than we remember positive ones, which makes great customer service imperative for any business. 

For those looking to bolster their customer service chops, here are five qualities every great customer service team should embody, as told by our team of Client Services all-stars. 

Listen to empower

The absolute, number one, most important quality of great customer service is the ability to listen. As humans, all we really want is for our voices to be heard. Nothing can be more frustrating than feeling misunderstood or not feeling heard when something is wrong or isn’t working.

As a customer service agent, it’s crucial to listen, ask intentional questions, and give clear, actionable steps for the user to follow. This may seem obvious, but it deserves to be said. 

There is always a solution

This is the golden rule of customer service - there is always a way to solve a problem. Hear us out.

From resetting passwords to replacing broken items and refunding charges, customer service agents have heard it all.  A great support team will find a solution no matter how long or how difficult the issue is. As customer service agents, it’s much more important to keep a client’s business and create a great experience for them, rather than lose their loyalty because you  didn’t have an answer. 

“To infinity and beyond!”

Have you ever had an experience where the issue at-hand was not only resolved, but the agent went the extra mile during the process?  Maybe instead of attempting to fix the product, they just gave you a brand new one, or they offered you some free company merchandise for some technical issues that arose with the service?

If your customer service team isn’t doing this...start!  This will show your customers that your customer service team values their time and support as a consumer.  

Faster than you can say "Customer Service"

Jimmy John’s slogan describes excellent service best: “freaky fast”, and there’s a reason for that. 

Needless to say, customer service requests should always be handled in a timely manner.  Whether the service be in-person, over the phone, or over email, replies should be prompt and efficient. While sometimes tech-related issues cannot be solved instantaneously, a response with a plan of action can reassure the user that something is being done. Here’s an example: 

User:  The platform isn’t working and I keep receiving an error. Can you help?

Agent:  Thank you for providing us with this feedback.  This is something our team will look into ASAP. We will keep this ticket open and provide you with updates as soon as we receive them.  In the meantime, please let us know if you have any questions, concerns, or feedback. We are eager to assist and would love to hear from you.  Have a wonderful day!

Some products and platforms offer an instant chat feature for their support tickets. This encourages and promotes more instant help (gratification), which let’s be real, we all live love. But, if your company doesn’t offer an instant chat, don’t sweat it. That being said, your email and phone service should be just as fast (if not faster).

Leave the robot on the dance floor 

It can take a lot of courage to ask for help, and nothing is worse than getting a generic or automated response and feeling like you’re talking to a robot. 

Customer retention is all about building relationships.  A great customer service department will go out of their way to personalize a customer’s experience. This is easiest to do in person, but as a completely remote customer service team, we know it can be done remotely as well.  Asking questions like “how is your day” or adding details to an email that are specific to the customer really helps to personalize the experience.  

Great customer service boils down to one golden rule: treat others the way you would like to be treated. With these tips and tricks, your client services team will be on your way to a 98% satisfaction rating, too!