There’s nothing worse that having to deal with difficult customer issues. This can be particularly be difficult at the high level tiers of customer service departments. Great support at the last tier is particularly is paramount for retention and satisfaction.

Customers yell, using lots of expletives or even break down and cry. Yet there is real hope even for those people. There are overarching customer service strategies that can turn poor customer service into\great success with raving fans. 

Here are 10 important secret ingredients to great customer service. Using these  strategies propelled me to the top of the heap with a ranking of  #16 out of 2,000 online customer support specialists.  These simple but powerful strategies can help you and your customer service department as well.

Principle# 1 Be a good listener. Put yourself in your customer’s shoes. Repeat back the issues to you customer.  May sure your customer feels heard, understood and acknowledged. Stephen Covey in his landmark book 7 Habits of Highly Effective Individuals implores individuals to “Seek First to Understand, then Be Understood.”  Good listening involves empathy. Put yourself  in your customer’s shoes. Think about how how you would feel if you were faced with the same situation. The better you understand  your customer’s issues and needs, the best you will be positioned  to genuinely help them and potentially turn them into raving fans.

Principle #2.  Don’t Lose Your Cool. 
This principle cannot be overemphasized. Remember an angry customer really isn’t angry with you; even though it may feel that way. Customer’s became angry when promised selling factors and benefits of using your product or service are not being fulfilled.  Great customer service representatives acknowledge customer frustrations and provide reassurance that you’re to make it right. If authentic, this kind of assurance and action will deescalate 99% of even your most explosive customer interactions.

Principle #3. KISS your Customer.
If you’ve worked in customer service for any length of time, you’ve probably heard this before. KISS = (K)eeep (I)t (S)imple, (S)tupid!  KISSing the customer simply means to using non-jargon language and imagery that you customer will understand. Check to be sure they understand what you’re saying by asking probing questions like “Does this make sense to you?” Always be careful with jargon.  In fact, customers may even sometimes act like they know what you’re saying so that they don’t feel embarrassed. That why keeping it simple is so important.

Principle #4. Be A Positive Person. Stay Positive! 
Maybe you’re working a double shift and your tired and fatigued. Maybe it’s time to  take a break. Sometimes that’s not always possible. Yet there is at least one thing that you can control. And that is maintaining a positive attitude. Not only is a key attribute for being a great customer service representative, it’s also a key to pushing yourself up to the top of  your company’s customer service ranking.

Principle #5. Work Diligently and Honor Your Time Commitments and Promises.
Being on-time and be ready to work is essential. Always follow through what you say you’re going to do. Prompt, consistent timeliness and follow through are a huge differentiator between the top customer service representatives and the rest of the pack. You want to be at the top? ALWAYS honor your time commitments. 

Principle #6. Be Ready to Break the Ice.
Great customer service requires the ability to break the ice. One of easiest ways you can break the ices is to to ask your customer friendly, probing questions about their situation. Generally even the angriest customers will be happy to tell you about their situation. You may have to take an earful That’s okay. Let them get it out. Your job is actively listen, Stay objective. Uncover the issues to be solved.

Principle #7 Be Ready for Surprises.  You may find yourself in uncharted territory. Although many customer service issues can often be handled with decision tree resolutions, there’s always potential to encounter something new. You may find yourself dealing with something that’s not covered by your established troubleshooting trees. When that is the case, isolating your customer’s issues to its smallest components may can help with the resolution. Also do not underestimate value of asking your colleagues for assistance and ideas. Just because you haven’t encountered a specific issue yourself doesn’t mean that your other colleagues haven’t  already resolved the same type of issue. Web search may also be helpful. Very often other people may have run into the same issue and figured out it’s resolution. When new knowledge is learned, be sure update your troubleshooting trees and/or internal knowledge bases.

Principle #8. Utilize The Customer Service Department For Upselling. Extended warranties, guaranteed response times, loaner equipment and replacement warranties can all be sold from within customer service department, Upselling is a great way derive additional revenue. If you don’t currently upsell services or products within your customer service department, propose the idea. Seemingly incidental upsales can become lucrative profit centers and will better serve your customers. If you haven’t added upselling in your customer service mix and need help, please feel free to reach out to me. I’m available to design your service product mix and pricing points.

Principle #9 Always Look for Additional ways to Improve Your Service Practice. Your customer service employees are the experts in the trenches. Great customer service departments actively listen to their employees and are always actively  looking for ways improve collaboration and create strong teams.

Principle #10.  Sharpen the Saw. Invest in your customer service employees.  Providing training, in-services and team meetings are crucial for team boding and updating organizational knowledge.

Written by John Gardiner, MBA. Copyright  January 2020. All rights reserved.

John is an service management expert who’s passionate about delivering excellent customer service. He has worked in the area of technical customer service support and management for the past 30 years. He also an adjunct professor of Business at Abraham Lincoln University and  holds a Bachelors degree in Information Technology from National University and Masters Degree in Business Administration from the University of Southern California.