Receiving quality customer service seems harder and harder these days. In fact, whether in-store or online, getting the answers you’re looking for often feels like pulling teeth. But why? Has customer service as a whole really just gone downhill, or is there something more to it? Thankfully, there are some things you can do yourself to receive better customer service and find what you’re looking for faster.
Be Specific With Your Questions
Whenever you deal with someone in customer service, it can be easy to think they already know what you mean when you ask a general question. The truth, however, is that customer service reps can only base their performance on the questions you ask, so be specific.
For example, if you’re looking for aluminum washers in a hardware store, you need to specify aluminum washers instead of simply saying you’re looking for washers. The same goes for any other specific type of washer, including aluminum special flat washers, 2024 aluminum washers or 3003 aluminum washers.
The thing to keep in mind is that a customer service representative deals with all kinds of products and services every single day, so if you aren’t specific, you may only have yourself to blame when you don’t find what you’re looking for. Instead, ask specific questions and be as detailed as possible.
How’s Your Tone?
Everyone has bad days. It’s just a fact of life that negative things happen, but if you want better customer service, you might want to think about your own attitude before approaching a representative.
Sometimes, you may even give off a hostile vibe when you don’t mean to simply by having a combative tone of voice. This isn’t necessarily your fault, but it isn’t the fault of the customer service agent either.
As such, whether you’re looking for aerospace aluminum washers, fancy electronic widgets or anything in between, take a moment before speaking to think about how you’re presenting yourself. As the old saying goes, you catch more flies with honey than with vinegar.
The Representative Is Not The Company
In most cases, the customer service representative is just that – a representative. This means that they are not the company, so it pays to keep the two separate in your mind.
If the company’s policies are causing you a headache in getting what you want, remember that the representative can often only work within the parameters of their function. This means that the representative doesn’t make the rules, but instead, is only able to assist you in navigating them.
Getting angry at a customer service representative because of the company isn’t going to change anything, but it may make your interaction less enjoyable. Instead, keep the two separate in your mind, and recognize the limitations of the representative.
Give The Representative A Chance
When you’re upset about an experience with a company, it can be tempting to immediately ask for a manager or supervisor. This only makes sense since you want to skip all of the back and forth with the customer service representative only to end up needing the manager anyway.
Instead, try to give the representative a chance to help first. In many cases, the representative will be able to solve your concern before it needs to be escalated. This is especially true if you employ the tactics mentioned above when dealing with the representative.
Escalating your concern may seem like it will save time, but it can actually slow things down. There are far fewer managers available to assist customers at any given time, so you may be kept waiting. Likewise, if your concern is something that can be handled by the representative, the manager will likely delegate responsibility back to the representative, and you’re right back where you started.
