It’s no surprise to me, since in this e-business, when the product variety is vast and with the same need we have many different options to choose from, stunning customer service is the customer-winning point beside the uniqueness of the provided product/service.
What makes customer service work for customers is the commitment from your business side to provide them the answers for their questions and satisfy their need. A super star customer service is not easy to achieve, especially in eCommerce world. Be it a live chat, forum, email or phone support, you need to stay wide awake to make sure that them support agents are doing their work properly.
Check out these 4 scenarios for your customer service team to dodge the traps on the way to a successful customer support. These tips can even be your springboard discussion when you team sit together in a meeting too.
1. Shift the blame on customers
When I worked for a Joomla software provider, I saw many cases that the customers bought the Joomla extensions we provided, customized those extensions the way they liked without asking for our side’s suggestion first, then the extensions broke. After that, these customers rushed to our site and demanded urgent support, even refund for “the products weren’t working as promised”.
If you’re in customer support team, you’ll see this situation quite often.
It’s not your fault for one person bought the product, messed it up and then took the blame on you.
However, shifting the blame on your customers is absolutely a “No” too especially,when they’re hot-headed.
Tips:
If the customers modified the product they brought and that led to a malfunction problem, encourage them to explain what exactly they did step by step and listen carefully to help them out. Never say: “It’s your fault for doing it wrong” or “we don’t provide support for self-modified product”.
If the product isn’t working properly due to a problem from your side, apologize immediately for what happened. Then, offer them another one if your policy allows exchanging product after purchase.
If not, explain the policy to your customer and discuss within your team and manager to offer them something else to make up for the mistake. If the problem is something your team can fix, do it as soon as possible.
In case the problem comes from 3rd party side like the manufacturer, you should note that for your customer and provide them an exact time of when they can get back after you contact your 3rd party partner. Or, you can guide them how to contact the 3rd party company to get support from them.
2. Remove customer’s complaint about your product
Playing the game in the eCommerce world nowadays, you’re no stranger to social media and its power, right?
Social media is a vital channel to engage and spread your brand among the prospective customers. Hence, many online stores allow their buyers to write feedback not only on their website but also on social network like Facebook fan page or Twitter.
When positive feedbacks as well as 5-star votes for your service add more authority to your brand, the negative ones destroy your brand even more quickly.
And the worst thing you can do with a negative feedback is to remove it. Of course fast response is a plus in customer support but being fast in deleting a negative comment is a punch right in the face of your brand.
Tips:
Apologize. Yes, apologize first. Then ask for more detailed information to fix the problem for customer. You must notice that all these steps, including announcing that the problem is fixed should be public for others to read as well.
If the bad review is not about a problem from your product but something your product doesn’t have (however the customer thought it does), then reply is necessary too. Say that you highly appreciate their suggestion for your product and for pointing out your product’s flaw. Be a true listener.
Sometimes, you’ll receive some bad feedback and the customer has no mercy or intention to have you fixed the problem for them (‘cuz they’re so angry – that’s why). All you can do, is to apologize for the bad experience and assure that your company is fixing the problem, or/and processing a refund for them.
How about a trolling review? Obviously they have no valid reason to be angry with you or your product (or they’re trying to promote other company’s product by bad mouthing about yours). The best reaction to this kind of feedback is to ignore it. Then, when appropriate, delete it.
3. Promise something you couldn’t do (and you know it)
“I’m sorry that our product hasn’t had this feature yet. But I promise we’re adding this new feature”.
It’s not wrong saying that to your customers – you can even ask them to signup for the newsletter or follow your social pages for the latest updates of the product – except for the case when you aren’t going to do so.
Tips:
Don’t promise something your company can’t do or doesn’t have a plan to apply it in the near future. If your customer suggests several good wishlist features – then thank them sincerely for the great suggestions. Then, if the roadmap for those features is unclear, then be honest about that. Tell them your development team will consider their ideas and prioritize them based on other customers’ demand.
4. Say “Sorry, we can’t”
One of the worst responses to a customer’s support inquiry is to say “Sorry we can’t do this and that because blah blahblah”. So, why should I spend my money with you any longer, if you can’t provide me what I need?
Tips:
“Sorry I can’t support you now, it’s closing time”
Don’t make yourself sound like a robot with this reply. Instead, tell them that it’s closing time but you’re happy to be around a few minutes with them to check out their problem. You might get a medal with your truly dedicated support.
“Sorry this problem cannot be resolved”
Wah, it hurts to hear this. Did you think twice before saying this? If the same question or problem keeps rising, you should invest time to find an alternative solution because obviously, it’s wrecking your customer’s nerve. In the meantime, let your customers know that you’re working on it, not by rejecting to offer an answer because it’s out of your responsibility. If it’s really impossible to resolve the problem, you should consider a refund.
“Sorry we can’t accept this because it’s against our policy”
Look like your customers care enough to read your terms of use and other wall of text policies? No. Saying “I can’t” in this case, needs to be followed by “but I can do something else for you” or “but I can find another way to meet your request”. Customers want to hear what you CAN do, not what you CANNOT do.
Wrapping up
It’s quite tricky to gain a five-star rated customer support service because it’s the art of handling relationships between one person to another after all. It’s not something that can be totally automated or computed.
With the customer service tips above, I hope you get the triggers for your support team and foster their power in making your brand a lovable brand for customers. Feel free to share this article among your staff and others if it taps right on your pain point. Don’t forget to put your two cents here too!
