CUSTOMER SERVICE IN THE CALL CENTER INDUSTRY

In your opinion, how important is customer service today?

Customer service is the single most important aspect of any call center organization, whether its purpose is sales or help desk support, and whether its focus is inbound, outbound, or a combination of both. Customer service is the cornerstone of my company’s philosophy, which states, ‘‘Quality can never be made up for in quantity.’’

What are the essential skills that a call center representative should possess to be successful?

One of the most important skills, in my opinion, is the ability to empathize with the customer. Doing this helps put the customer at ease, because more than likely, others have experienced the same problem. Once the caller is comfortable, the rep will have an easier time of proceeding with the nature of the call.

Listening is another essential skill for those working in a call center. A rep must concentrate on what the customer is saying and ask questions until the problem is understood. Once this is accomplished, the rep can take the necessary steps toward solving the problem. Being able to adapt to situations and solve problems on the spot while maintaining a positive attitude is another very essential skill.

Typically, call centers prepare a scripted response to most problems and issues a rep may encounter. Usually, the rep can follow the procedure for that issue, but occasionally will need to think on his or her feet for a creative solution.

What are your thoughts on customer service in the call center industry?

Call centers are growing in number across America. That is, many companies choose to contract out their customer service and sales work to companies such as ours. Today, reliable call centers are in demand from many corporations because often the only contact their customers will have with the company is through a call center. Each contact should result in a positive experience, or those customers may not buy the company’s product or use its service again. A favorable first impression is essential. The level of quality and customer service that call center reps provide keeps clients coming back and may result in referrals to other companies that have call center needs.

Call Center Activities

What are call centers? Call centers are the areas of every company where customers and prospective customers call, make website requests, and correspond through e-mail. Call center areas are where those major customer communications are received and answered.

1. What industries have call centers? Research your community, city, and state to determine where call centers are. (Usually, call centers don’t hang banners on the door, so you might have to do some investigating.) In the following table, column 1 lists some typical industries that have call centers, and column 2 lists categories or names of companies with call center areas. In column 3, list the companies that have call centers established and operating in your area. You may have to call to confirm some of your choices.

2. Size and growth of call centers. Call centers in the United States and offshore (through outsourcing) are growing tremendously. Find the Let’s Discuss activity for Part One, and visit the call center websites listed there, or use your favorite search engine to find several call center websites on your own. Provide below three items of information about call centers that you were previously unaware of.

a._______________________________________________________________________________

b._______________________________________________________________________________

c.________________________________________________________________________________

Businesses—large or small, industrial or retail, new or established—cannot survive without customers. 

Customer service is not about fancy products or intricate corporate culture, but about dedicated, trustworthy employees and loyal, satisfied customers. Today, with more and more competitors vying for customers’ attention, exceptional customer service is no longer optional—it’s essential to staying profitable in business. Although nobody would claim that customer service is simple, the basic foundations and concepts should be.

Service occupations are projected to account for approximately 18.7 million of the 18.9 million new wage and salary jobs generated over the 2004–2014 period. The approach in this book places you in the role of a service provider. If not in your current job, then sometime in the near future, much of your on the- job success may be influenced by your ability, knowledge, and willingness to provide exceptional customer service.

Part 1 of this text serves as an overview of the key aspects of customer service. This begins by describing what customer service is and how a customer is defined. Discussion then moves to identifying what exceptional customer service is and how it has changed. Finally, the goals of customer-oriented organizations and the importance of hiring the right person to perform the role of delivering exceptional customer service are addressed and dedicated to exploring the many challenges today in serving a diverse population that varies in terms of personality, generations, ethnicity, gender, and persons with disabilities. The critical topics of customer behavior, customer loyalty, and the importance of exceptional service are covered.

Defining Customer Service

Even though every customer is unique, all customers expect three things—a quality product, reliable service, and reasonable prices. In other words, customers want to receive what they feel they have paid for. A customer views you, an employee of an organization, as the company, regardless of what your job description says.

Customer service means different things to different people. In reality, however, the only perspective that matters is the customer’s perception of good customer service at the time service is needed and delivered. 

Here are some examples of good customer service:

•  For a busy traveling executive, a flight that leaves on time
•  For a harried office manager, working with an office supply store that keeps a good inventory of products on hand and delivers dependably
•  For a lonely retiree, conversation and kindness from a waitress when frequenting a neighborhood restaurant
•  For a college student entering a new school, competent and caring advice from an advisor on the best course of study.

Simply stated, customer service is the process of satisfying the customer, relative to a product or service, in whatever way the customer defines as meeting his or her need, and having that service delivered with efficiency, understanding, and compassion.

Whether online or offline, customers now have unparalleled power to research and transact with companies exactly when, where, and how they choose.

A new worldview is at work that companies must either embrace or ignore at their peril. The customer-centric service worldview simply means that business revolves around the customer. Put another way, a customer centric organization puts customers first, is service oriented, and thoughtfully develops and satisfies a loyal, repeat customer base.

To be customer-centric does not mean being a doormat. It means being respectful to the customer’s point of view and letting the customer know that his or her opinion is heard and valued before making the right decision from both the short- and long-term business perspectives. It means listening with care to the customer’s concern, then taking the time to respond to that concern reasonably. Companies that focus on creating a good customer experience will succeed far more than those that do not.

It has been said that one way to exceed customer expectations is to promise good but deliver great! In other words, go above and beyond what is expected.

Mission Statement, Values, and Goals of Customer Service

Organizations, like people, require direction and focus in order to achieve stated goals. How many times have you heard that if you don’t have any idea where you’re going, you probably don’t know where you’ve been, are confused as to where you are, and most certainly won’t know it when you get to where you ought to be? In like fashion, employees who have no idea where they are going flounder aimlessly, trying to get through the day, with no sense of purpose, loyalty, commitment, or urgency. This is not what customers who buy from organizations have a right to expect.

The quality of customer service that a customer receives is greatly influenced by an organization’s mission statement and its vision of doing business.

As simple as the statement ‘‘Good service is good business’’ can be, it may say all that is necessary to represent a company’s mission statement or general values. Another example of a purpose statement is the Ritz-Carlton Hotel’s motto: ‘‘We are ladies and gentlemen serving ladies and gentlemen.’’ If employees at this hotel follow the motto to the letter, they provide the finest personal service and facilities for their guests, who will always enjoy a warm, relaxed, yet refined hotel experience.

Common Customer Service Myths

Myth Fact

1. We are providing good service, but a perception exists outside the organization that we are not.

 You may, in fact, already be providing good customer service, but it is not good enough; you can improve it. More important, if you are providing good service but the customer’s perception is that you are not, then you have a problem that needs to be corrected; to the customer, perception is reality.

2. You can’t improve service without more people and a larger budget.

 Poor service is far more costly to provide than high-quality service. Eliminating long, repetitive customer interactions and responding to customer complaints more efficiently saves time and money.

3. Why all the concern over customer service? If customers don’t like the service we provide, they can try getting it elsewhere.

 A ‘‘take it or leave it’’ attitude is unacceptable. If enough customers receive poor service, they will eventually complain to management or an elected official in a way that can be very uncomfortable for you and/or your organization.

4. You can’t provide high-quality customer service when the requirements you must implement force you to tell customers ‘‘no.’’

 Quality customer service is not saying ‘‘yes’’ to everything customers request. People can accept a ‘‘no’’ if it is presented in the right way, but they cannot accept loss of dignity and control.

5. Our customers have conflicting objectives; we will never be able to satisfy them.

 You can do only what legal requirements authorize you to do. However, you cannot let what you cannot do be an excuse for not doing all that you are authorized to do. This includes providing warm, friendly, caring service that is responsive, efficient, and accurate.

6. I don’t need to worry about customer service because I don’t deal with the public.

 You cannot provide high-quality service to your external customers until you provide high-quality service to your internal customers.