By Sarah Close
The language you use when you talk to a customer is one of the most important things to consider, a slip of the tongue or using the wrong phrasing in a sentence could make or break a customer’s experience. Communication is the basis of being a call center agent; it is vital that you have excellent communication skills, your vocabulary is up to par and you remain professional at all times during conversation.
“I’m happy to help!”
It is always said that positivity breeds positivity. It couldn’t be truer, if you actively try to engage in a positive interaction with the customer it is more likely that your attitude will rub off on them and lead them to having a great support experience. Saying that you are happy also indicates that you are actually genuinely happy to assist them, it lets the customer know you’re a real person with emotions and reassures them that their issue is being taken care of.
Conveying a joyful and optimistic outlook helps to show the customer that the company as a whole is caring and helpful, another great benefit because this can help to affirm and boost the company’s reputation.
“I would be frustrated, too.”
This is another phrase that allows the customer to understand that you are a human too, your empathy towards the customer and their situation lets them, again, see that you truly care about their problem. Letting them know that you would be frustrated, annoyed, upset etc. too is a term of agreement. This reassures the customer on their standpoint and shows them that you believe them to be right, all the customer looks for is to be understood and for their issue to be resolved, as a result of providing this assurance this want is partly fulfilled and the customer satisfied.
Expressing your mutual agreement is a great tool to use on channels such as phone and chat in an intense discussion, it can help to calm a customer down and prevent the situation from escalating.
“I don’t know, but I can find out for you.”
It is perfectly fine to not know the answer to a question that a customer asks, it is impossible to know absolutely everything. You need to be honest though, don’t try to fluff your way out of the situation either, you can’t palm off any vague answer to them to try and get them to move on. Giving out the wrong answer is a whole lot worse than admitting you just aren’t sure, it can definitely come back to bite you and just cause further issues.
If you do ever find yourself unsure don’t blame it on being a new employee or the fact you may never have come across that question before. Your best option is to let the customer kindly know that you’re sorry you don’t know but you can easily find that out for them, and quickly. Always focus on the solution and how you’re going to fix the issue you’ve come into instead of shining a light on the problem itself.
“Is there anything else we can do for you today?”
So you’ve fixed the customer’s problem and reached the end of your conversation, that’s it right? No, you don’t want to rush the customer away, as much as you want (and should) deal with their query quickly and efficiently taking the time to see if you can do anything else for them is the key to ending the interaction on a good note.
Asking this question is great for the customer because this gives them the chance to say or ask anything they didn’t feel they had a chance to previously during your call. However, it is also good for you and the company it’s the chance to provide extra final support to make sure the customer really is happy. There is even the potential to promote another product or make a sale if you think the customer would benefit from it.