Managing a customer service team can be an interesting task. Unless you’re recording phone calls or listening in on conversations there is really no way of knowing if your team members are doing the job they’re supposed to be.
Ask yourself this question: How do you know that your clients receiving the best customer care possible?
Not knowing puts you in a bad position. If your clients are unhappy you might not find out until they’ve taken their business elsewhere. So what can you do to change this?
Hire Secret Shoppers
As silly as this may sound the concept is legitimate. You can hire a marketing research company to conduct a survey of your customer service abilities. These people will pose as customers, both average and difficult, and put your customer service team to the test. They’ll then report back and let you know what their experiences were, whether they were over the phone or in person.
Survey Your Customers
This can be done in a number of ways. You can send a postcard, email, or letter asking your clients to respond. As a manager, you might even pick up the phone and make a call to your larger clients, letting them know that you just wanted to check in and make sure their needs are being met. Most clients will open up and speak honestly if they know they are speaking to someone in an authoritative position.
Implement Technology
Technological solutions, such as call recording or running computer reports, will give you the ability to tack what your employees are doing regularly. To those who think that amounts to snooping – think again. Your client files are public record and, if your employees jobs are to keep your customers happy you have the right to make sure they’re doing their jobs.
Don’t be afraid to step up to the plate and evaluate your entire customer service team. They’re the forefront of your organisation and need to be acting as such. Taking action now will ensure your customers are always happy, and happy customers are usually very loyal!
