Customer Service Training:
Staying Patient With Customers
Whether you are involved with sales, customer service, or any other aspect of business that requires contact with customers, you will always benefit with a strong sense of patience. Keeping your cool and temper in check while you do business with customers can not only reflect well on you, but also the company that you represent.
If you work with sales, you definitely need patience if you are trying to convince a person to buy a product or use your business' services. Some people take longer than others to make a decision, and this can make you feel like you are waiting and waiting for closure to a sale. However, if you become pushy and insistent, you can actually scare the potential client away. It is never a good idea to thrust a bunch of different products or service ideas on a possible client because they are obviously having a difficult time just deciding on one thing.
For customer service representatives, there are multiple times when your patience may be tested. First, the stereotypical situation is when you are dealing with an angry customer. A person may come into your office or call in, irate that a product or service from your company is not working for them. They may expect you to solve that problem instantly. However, many businesses have specific protocols in place that don't allow a customer service rep to directly take care of a customer's problems. When a frustrated customer is loudly or cruelly casting blame on you, it is tempting to lose your temper.
Another time that a customer service agent needs to develop patience is with easily confused clients. For example, if you are a rep for a computer company, you may get a call from an owner of one of your computers who cannot figure out how to connect the machine to the internet. Even after explaining step-by-step how to solve the problem, the person still cannot figure it out. It can be frustrating to try to work with a client who flat out does not understand how to use a product.
If you feel like you are at the end of your rope, there are a few things that you can do to help yourself keep an even temper. First, you can try repeating a soothing or encouraging mantra over and over in your head. Something like, "I can do this" or "This means going to the movies" may help you deal with a frustrating client. Second, you can try deep breathing or counting exercises to distract you from your irritation, soothing you and keeping you calm.
Lastly, remembering all the good parts of your job can remind you that it's not all annoying. For instance, if you are a customer service representative, you can imagine all of your previous successes and how you have time and again helped a customer solve his or her problems.
If you are a business owner, another great way to ease the frustrations of your employees is to implement a live chat service on your website. With live chat, your people resources can be diverted to managing their other tasks while you hire an external service to deal with preliminary customer service. This keeps their workload in check, leading to happier employees and eventually happier clients.
Joseph Devine:
http://www.ngagelive.com/
Article Content: Customer Service
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