The formula for success for solving your customers' problems relies first and foremost on having motivated, caring, capable staff. But even without 5-star customer support reps, you can still teach your team to solve customer issues in a way that will leave the customer feeling satisfied. Here we break it down into 5 key to-do's that will ensure this customer touch-point ends up being a positive one.
1. Listen & Acknowledge
Whether it is a phone call, email, or instant chat, get things of to the right track and apologise if they have had a long wait. Then carefully listen to (or thoroughly read) their problem. Finally acknowledge that you understand.
If they are particularly upset, sometimes you may need to wait until there is a 2-3 second pause as your cue to step in to help. Often they need to vent and interrupting them only makes it worse. Once you have clearly established what it is that has upset them, you must then assure them that you can help, or know how to get them help.
2. Record the case
Before you start working on fixing the solution, you need to open a ticket, or a customer file, that enables you to record what their issue is. Try to do this while they are telling you, that way you aren't trying to solve their problem while recording it.
Business VoIP phone systems that integrate into your CRM provide an easy way of doing this. The callers records will pop up on screen. All you have to do is choose the appropriate one (existing case, Account record, etc), and make the necessary notes.
3. Investigation
Although instinct may tell you to resolve their issue as quickly as possible, caution must be taken. A well-investigated issue is an issue that usually stays resolved.
It is important not to skip quality probing questions that can rule in or out a diagnosis. This is one of the defining aspects of a technical support call that can make or break it. Questions like: When did it begin? How long have you had the product for? Has this issue occurred before?
Make sure you continue to document any information you get in your CRM / support ticket system.
4. Path to Resolution
When the symptoms have been clearly identified from investigation it should be clear to the support tech which issues match these symptoms, what needs to be done, and approximately how long it should take to resolve.
Explaining this in clear and direct language can turn an average experience into a great customer experience because the customer feels back in control and knows exactly what to expect.
Teach your agents to say something like: “What we are going to do is try a few steps to isolate to the root cause of the issue. Hopefully it should only take us 1o minutes. Do you have the time to do that now?’"
The customer then knows that you are being thorough, pro-active, and they have an idea of how long the first step to resolution will take. Providing the path to the resolution is key to ensuring the continued cooperation of the customer, and to develop a good relationship whilst you work together.
If the customer fully understands that cooperation is in their best interest, they may do one better than just cooperate, and enthusiastically help with whatever troubleshooting is needed.
5. Closing the call
Ideally all issues have been resolved by the end of the call, and all that remains is some admin. Call notes must be made and the ticket must be closed. Once again, with integrated CRM and telephony, this is almost effortless. Aside from admin, before the support agent hangs up, it is important to check to make sure the customer feels the issue is resolved, and that there is nothing further they would like to discuss.
A lot of these things may seem like common sense when you read them. But without a clearly defined list of steps, often support agents skip critical parts of the process, and things go wrong. Make sure each member of your team knows what to do, and give them the tools they need to succeed with the right technology and integrations.
About VTSL
VTSL is the UK & Ireland's award-winning VoIP business phone system provider, helping businesses to work smarter and faster by using technology. With VTSL's VoIP business phone system, organisations are able to integrate other software systems, such as CRM solutions, for seamless working between applications. Other benefits, including call recording, auto attendants, mobile twinning and soft client applications enable businesses to manage staff better and provide a higher level of customer service. To learn more about what a state-of-the-art VoIP business phone system can do for your business, get in touch today.
