5 Ingredients of Great Customer Service

Regardless if it is done in-house or outsourced, the 5 essential ingredients of great customer service apply across. 

It is not a secret that great customer service is necessary for any successful business. What will propel your business to the top is not only the quality of the products you are offering to your consumers, but also the kind of help and support you give them when they need it. It is also quite a waste of time and energy to see everything you have built crumble down with customer services as the sole liability.

Pick up the phone

It is obvious, but the first ingredient to great customer service is to answer the phone. Let these statistics speak for itself. 

• 30% of callers will not bother to leave message when their call goes unanswered. You lose a valuable prospect and a chance to make an impression.
• 62% of callers will not bother to call back if the phone is busy. Why would they bother right?
• 79% of callers will not call back if no one picks up the receiver. Who would anyway?
• And to be put on hold is the last thing any caller would want to be. 60 seconds or less is eternity. We've all been a caller at some point and to be put on hold is not in everyone’s 

Always answer the phone. Do not let it ring on purpose unless you cannot pick up the receiver immediately. 

Make no empty promises

When pacifying an angry client, promising them what you cannot deliver won't do anything good. While it is easy to over deliver just to calm them down, it is best to remain practical at all times. Deliver only what you can and what is allowed by the company. It might even get you in trouble if you promise customers of a solution or an upgrade that you are not in the right position to call. 

Listen at all times

More often than not, the reason why we fail to deliver what our customers expect from us is we fail to understand what their concern is all about. Listening is the only way to avoid misunderstanding what customers need from us. It is also true that listening calmly allows us to understand what the customer’s issue is all about. 

Be kind and respectful

Nothing will make customers warm up to you than a kind and respectful tone on the phone. The voice you keep can also help pacify them on the get-go since they know you will take their problem or request well. A kind and respectful tone will be received well regardless of the demeanour the customer currently has. 

Own the situation

Especially if there is a problem that is completely the fault of the company, you need to own the situation and make the necessary amendments. Own the situation by making the caller aware that you will personally see that the problem will get resolved the soonest time possible. If you need to escalate the issue, inform the caller about that so they know their problem is being treated seriously and with urgency.

Invest on good customer service by hiring people who are best on the job. Invest on training too so you get the customer service reps who will not disappoint you and will not disrupt the smooth flow of your business.