What do you see when you lookat your current customer service team? Do you see a highly functioning group of individuals capable of keeping your clients happy or do you see – well – something else.
I’ve spent years working with customer service representatives as well as HR managers and salesmen. We train IT helpdesk staff on how to hone their own customer service skills; we teach customer service representatives the proper steps for dealing with complaints, and we even provide customer service trainers with their own training courses.
What I’ve found, after years of watching these people in their different roles, is that there are really three core factors that make up a great customer service team. They are:
The ability to listen and communicate – with themselves, their customers, and their management teams;
Reliability – including consistent responses, fair decision making, respect for others, courtesy, and ultimate dependability; and
The ability to solve problems. That’s what they’re there for, right?
Do the members of your current customer service team exhibit these qualities and skills? Are they polite and productive at the same time? Do your customers love working with them?
You should have answers to all of these questions. If not, you need to take a closer look at your team!
