Time and attendance software is not the only focus we have at TimeClick. We take customer service seriously. Like most small companies, we too face the daunting challenge of meeting the needs of each customer and relate to all businesses who, with staffing stretched thin, sometimes face a hurricane coming through the phones, a tornado whipping up front and a fire starting in the bathroom. But providing phenomenal customer service is still attainable for any business. By following key principles, you can build your reputation as an incredible, friendly business. These four keys are to be shared with your employees and integrated into your office culture.
- Be Quick
- Be Real
- Be Honest
- Be Kind
1. Be Quick
It’s not always possible to pick the phone up in less than 5 seconds, especially when you’re already on a phone call and trying to help customers who just walked in the front door. But consistently and quickly responding to voicemails and emails drives your reputation of being a responsive company. For those times when the flood of calls is rising and you start falling behind, set goals to improve response speed for employees who are answering phone calls, emails, and voicemails. They might look something like this:
| Phone Calls: Those assigned to customer service, pick up the phone within 10-15 seconds given they’re not already on a call or with another customer. |
| Voicemails: Resolve all morning voicemails before lunch and afternoon voicemails by the end of that business day. Assign one or two employees to cover voicemails each day. |
| Email: Respond within 2 hours of the email hitting the inbox. On the busy, short-staffed days get those responses out by the end of the business day. Assign one or more employees to respond to emails. |
2. Be Real
Assign specific employees to respond to emails and/or voicemails, make sure they understand their responsibility and hold them accountable for it. This keeps the business organized and prevents those tasks from being forgotten on incredibly busy days. Make sure these goals are realistic for your company size and client base. Set the expectation that you get back to customers in one business day then follow through on your responsiveness.
Have you ever called in to get support for a product and the person on the other end sounded more robotic than human? That can be a long, slightly awkward call. So for your customer service team, train them to sound authentic and warm. Scripts are a popular tool though debated as to their worth. If you elect to use scripts, be sure your employees understand that they are guidelines that allow for personalization rather than something to be read verbatim with mundane, monotone delivery. Simple conversation between the script lines like the weather, what the customer is doing for the weekend, tasteful appropriate jokes about the situation, etc. is, in most cases, a great way to lighten a support call. This creates infinitely better relationships with customers because they know there is a friendly, real person on the other end with thoughts, feelings, and a genuine concern for them.
3. Be Honest
Admitting a mistake is painful, to say the least. But being completely honest in every situation builds trust. This doesn’t mean hang all your dirty laundry on your billboard, but since customers are usually keen on knowing when they get half-answers, employees must be honest about what they don’t know and are proactive in finding answers and letting the customer know they’re on the hunt for one instead of wasting the customer’s time. If there is a service you don’t provide yet, be open about that. For your sales team, if your solution won’t fit a prospective client’s needs, the salespeople need to tell them “I don’t think we’ll be a good fit for you at this point.” If a mistake was made, like forgetting an item on an order, admit it and move forward by creating a positive solution for your customer by fixing their order with no extra charge or offering a small discount on the mistaken item.
Confidence and honesty are powerful. Employees and managers who respond this way create an open, positive communication channel between your company and the customers. A highly recommended book on the topic of absolute honesty in business is called Getting Naked, A Business Fable by Patrick Lencioni. It sounds weird, but trust me, it’s great (and clean).
4. Be Kind
Anyone in customer service has experiences handling upset customers. As humans, it’s so easy to snap back and shut down positive communication between an upset customer and the company. No matter what happens though, you and your employees must be kind in a genuine way. Don’t push blame or snap. Take a deep breath and listen to the customer. Then respond gently with understanding. More often than not, when you or employees respond kindly with a listening ear, the situation cools down. Sometimes it doesn’t and the customer storms away but by holding your ground and maintaining kindness no matter what, people will see that and it will be reflected in reviews of your company. Don’t focus on factors outside of your control. You can’t control their anger, but you can control your peace of mind. You can control a smile. Despite negative factors around you, control your kindness.
Kindness is contagious so if your employees are kind and smiling, a light atmosphere can thrive in your business. People let their guard down when they meet someone is kind and caring.Customer service is about caring for your customers. This office attitude will be seen and admired by customers. They will be drawn back to working with your customer support agents again because they had a good experience before.