I think we can all pull a couple nightmare customer service stories from the top of our heads. I still shudder from a few too many endless phone calls with headache-inducing hold music and little resolution to be found. A lot of times, customers are so used to expecting bad service, they don’t want to deal with any support channel or any customer representative. People find themselves frustrated before we’ve even had a chance to respond to their support ticket.
Courtesy of Flickr user Andy Blackledge CC BY 2.0
Here at Nimble, we believe customer service is an essential aspect of maintaining our company ethos and helping our customers grow. Customer relationship management platforms are integral to our customers’ businesses and we want to be there when a user wants to add their team member or they need additional directions on exporting contacts. We don’t ever want our customers to feel like their business cannot thrive because of the tools they’re using, and we definitely understand how stress and frustration can build up. Here’s what we do when a customer gets a little angry…
Let them vent
As a customer service representative, it’s important to be an active listener and let the customer share everything they want to say. It’s therapeutic for them and gives us a better idea of where they are coming from. We also like to take an extra step and use our Smart Contacts App to gain more insights on our user and their business operations. Taking these actions helps us personalize the support channel experience while allowing us to give a more thoughtful response.
Restate the question in our answer
We always restate the question or issue our users are having. The most dissatisfied customers are ones who feel like we’re not listening or intentionally “steamrolling” their query. By organizing our responses to include their vocabulary and their perspective, we’re able to communicate back and forth on a more open and straightforward level.
Empathize and apologize
We’re human beings and we all respond to stress. Sometimes life gets chaotic and the pressure cannot be alleviated when it needs to be. We totally get that everyone has their boiling point, and it’s easier and probably a lot less consequential to vent to a support channel rather than a colleague or loved one. This rings especially true when it comes to a customer’s career, deadlines and finances. That’s why we’re ready to genuinely apologize for a customer’s frustration and move forward towards fixing the problem.
Resolve the issue
There’s no better way to console a customer than with a solution. Sometimes you can fix their issue in one email, and sometimes it takes a deeper investigation. We utilize all possible resources and team members to make sure that every email we send is working towards the easiest and quickest resolution. We want our customers to know we’re looking out for them, and our success is largely dependent on their satisfaction.
