A recent business blog post described “what the best customer service reps do” and it got me thinking, if I had to detail what the best reps do, what would I say?
And try as I might to overcomplicate things, I ultimately landed on three straightforward steps that every service rep should follow:
- Handle my baggage – (Darn near) Everybody has it, so you, as a rep, better handle mine! Handling customer baggage boils down to the rep acknowledging, advocating and owning my baggage. Once a rep has done that, s/he can proceed to Step 2:
- Resolve my issue quickly and easily – Seems simple (and it should be), but many reps still struggle to deliver on this step. Whether by failing to tailor the interaction to my communication style or telling me what CAN’T be done instead of what CAN be done, all too often I leave customer service interactions feeling like I had to work harder to achieve resolution than I should have.
- Peek around the corner and resolve my next likely issue, too – You’re the expert. You know your business wayyy better than I do. Show me that expertise by resolving my initial request AND the next high-likelihood issue, rather than forcing me to re-contact the company days or weeks later when I realize that issue has cropped up.
Teaching reps this three-step process doesn’t have to be rocket surgery, either. In fact, we’d recommend baking this process into new hire training and making this feel like “just how we’ve always done business.” And, of course, CEB Customer Contact Leadership Council would love to help your reps take the first step (and steps two and three, too!) in this journey!
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