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Supporting Customers, Not Individual Transactions

Customer Support Software Featured Articles

Supporting Customers, Not Individual Transactions

 
November 25, 2014

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  By Tracey E. Schelmetic, TMCnet Contributor
 


Many companies today, if not most, fall into a trap: believing the quality of customer support they offer is of a higher caliber than it really is. Studies have shown that most companies vastly overestimate the happiness of their customers and the effectiveness of their customer support program.


Part of the problem is that too many contact centers and help desk still view customers as individual transactions. Customer A is calling with a problem, so solve his problem and move on. Agents may even be encouraged to think this way, in order to get customers off the phone or Web chat session faster. They might even have job performance evaluations that depend on how quickly they get customers off the phone.

While this may seem like a good idea in the short-term, in the long-term, it can be extremely damaging to the customer relationship. Sure, you’ve just rushed a customer off the phone. But did you really take care of his concerns?

In a recent blog post, customer support solutions provider TeamSupport notes that it’s called “customer support,” and not “ticket support.” Taking the time to realign your relationship with that customer is worth the effort.

“Even if you’re just doing a quick fix, you can take the opportunity to find out any other issues the customer has had so far,” wrote the company. “This way when they are up and running again they won’t have to call back with more questions.”

Customers instinctively know when they’re being placated and rushed rather than actually served. If you make the effort to ensure you’re not terminating the call until all the customer’s problems or concerns have been handled, he or she will realize you’re doing everything you can do to improve their experience with you, and that customer will remember. He or she may even share the positive experience on social media, in which case, you’ve just won your company some free positive publicity.

“We hear of businesses claiming to go ‘above and beyond’ for their customers all the time, but how many actually do this?” asked TeamSupport. “They offer 24-hour customer service, for example, which is nice – but when it comes to actually providing customer service they fall flat on their face.”

Companies would be well-advised to take cues from customer support superstars like online retailer Zappos – famous for once helping a customer order a pizza – instead of providing the most basic effort possible to simply get the customer off the phone. 




Edited by Alisen Downey
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