Customer service is an additional service provided by the company. It offers assistance to its current customer inquiries and attracts new potential customers.

Customer service is the linking point between the customers and the firm.

Choosing candidates for this role is crucial since they’re the ones representing the firm in the eyes of customers. With that said, there are customer service skills that candidates should acquire in order to take such a role.

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You’re now representing a firm and solving a customer’s particular issue. Your response to customers has to be clear, well-spoken, and straight to the point.

Communication is a skill you can’t turn a blind eye to, especially if you’re looking for that CSAT.

As a representative, your main tools are the headset and your trusty computer. A headset is self-explanatory. However, a computer can be a bit tricky.

You’ll be dealing with a new operating system, which will vary from one firm to another. The system will mostly include: accessing customer profiles, documenting the call, and resolving the issue.

Not only that, but you’ll be dealing with multiple excel sheets, so you need to have your computer skills on point.

In your customer service journey, you’ll be dealing with thousands of customers who are angry with you for no particular reason. Surprisingly, they might as well curse.

They don’t even want to talk to you, they just want their issue resolved. That’s why having thick skin is a skill you should consider.

For the sake of your feelings, never take the insults personally. They’re mostly mad about bad service or they’ve been waiting for someone to pick up the call for a long time.

When customers decide to call customer service, they’re expecting flawless service.

For you to be “flawless” you’ll need to work on your product/service knowledge long before hitting the phone.

Keep in mind that customers run back to you to fix their issues. If you don’t know how to do that, then you’re probably not competent enough for this role.

However, the firm will provide detailed information during the training period. So, worry no more. This is where to look when searching for knowledge.

Time management is critical, you’ll be dealing with different tasks along with handling a customer over the phone. If you don’t assign a timeframe for every task. Things can get cluttered really fast.

You're on a call with a customer, and there is an email that needs to be sent to a different customer, which one do you do first? We don’t have an answer to that since you’ll be put in that situation every day from the moment your shift starts.

Set your priorities straight, and understand what comes first and what comes last.

Empathy is the ability to understand someone's feelings.

Every now and then, there will be calls that require your empathy. When that happens, lower your tone and relate to the problem they’re having. This can build a sense of familiarity, which will guarantee customer satisfaction.

By nature, customer service is full of unpredictable requests. Don’t expect a routine job because customers can be very creative when it comes to finding new issues for you to solve.

Stay open to adapting to new complications. For a representative, adaptability is a must.

You and your team are the ones addressing the whole world’s problems, whether it’s a product or service. You need to understand how to work with a team.

Communicate with your team, assist and ask for assistance. And never forget the warm transfer.

A customer service representative will be listening to a customer’s complaint, analyzing his issue, and giving solutions. All that while he’s actually fixing the issue through the computer and documenting the process to the firm’s database.

Not having that skill can negatively affect your call’s average handling time or AHT, if you want to sound professional.

As a customer service representative, it's your job to filter out the words that matter from the ones that don't. You'll often run into people who are more likely to complain than to state their actual problem.

You should refrain from commenting on unnecessary information and ask the right questions to help your client identify his problem.

Ability to Admit You Don’t Have the Answer

We’ve actually seen this happen a lot. When a representative is cornered with overwhelming questions and needs time to look up the solution. He’d usually throw the “I’m having technical difficulties” card on the table.

Okay, we get it, you need a moment to think. Instead of throwing the blame on the computer. Admit that you don’t have the answer.

However, this is where quick thinking comes in handy. The next time you feel overwhelmed, try something along the lines of “Let me look up an effective solution for your issue, since this case doesn’t occur that often.”

They’ll respect your honesty and will give you enough time to assess things.

As a customer service representative, you need solutions to everything. When a customer states their issue, you come up with a solution. If it doesn’t work, come up with another solution. You’ll always have to have new tricks up your sleeve.

In a job full of different cases and complex issues, you need to allow yourself to accept different ideas and perspectives. Approach this role with an open mind. Having a broad perspective mindset will make you accept more and learn more.

Your mind should be like a sponge that absorbs different perspectives, issues, and advice and makes good use of it.

Essential Customer Service Skills

Customer service is the meeting point between customers and firms. That's why it’s important to build a competent team of representatives that can deliver and maintain a good image.

Customer service representatives are obligated to acquire a set of qualities in order to implement their job.

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