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Customer Service is all about meeting the needs of individuals and there are no fewer than 5.5 million of us here in Scotland alone.
So it’s a daily miracle that everyone’s unique requirements can be met.
From Granny Ina’s freedom of information request about the number of garden gnomes in her street to wee Davie’s IT problem (yes his internet is frozen . . . again!), there are numberless situations to deal with and an infinite variety of personalities that come with them.
These range from super friendly to seriously fiery, and really interesting to rather irksome.
That’s why, if you want to be successful in customer service and meet all of these needs, a one-size-fits-all approach won’t work. Very often you have to think outside the box.
Let’s find out how.
Pretend you’re the customer
Empathising with the customer – putting your feet in their shoes – will give you a greater understanding of the nature of their problem and why they feel the way they do. This opens up more possibilities about how to fix it.
This is especially true when the customer is upset or angry: looking at things from their perspective will help you keep calm and focussed on a solution.
Travel back through time
Knowing when a problem actually occurred is a great way of assessing a situation and coming up with an answer.
Just because the problem is being reported now doesn’t mean the real trouble didn’t begin at the time a service or product was purchased.
Did the customer understand the conditions of the sale? Is the product not functioning not because of a fault but because it was already damaged on delivery?
Identifying such specifics makes things easier to solve.
Always use positive language
Some customer queries, by their nature, will take time to understand and address. While this can be potentially irritating for both parties, using positive language can be a great way to avoid raising the heat of any conversation.
Although the effects may be subtle, it also helps both of you to remain hopeful this can be solved.
So talk often about the perfect outcome rather than dwelling on the obstacles currently in the way.
If you’d like to prove you’re boxing clever at problem solving, check out the latest Customer Service vacancies on s1jobs.