Top Qualities All Customer Service Reps Should Have [INFOGRAPHIC]

What is the key quality a good customer services professional should have? Well, the best answer can never be just one. There are many traits your team needs to have, and believe it or not, more than one takes the spotlight.

You need to be a people person, problem-solver, empathetic, and also a good salesman. It is impossible to describe quality customer service by singling out just one of these traits. Moreover, there are more layers to each of these personal features.

Qualities customer service reps should have:

Attentiveness

You can be incredibly intelligent and a good problem solver, but all of these skills will go waste if you don’t listen to your customers. The reason for this is simple; customers might be telling you something without actually saying it. People are not always upfront simply because they do not want to sound rude.

So, your customer might not say “Change your UI”, but they might say “I can’t find the search bar” or “Where is the ________ section/function.” In other words, a good customer support rep pays attention to the constructive feedback because it will help generate more leads.

Patience

This deserves to be right at the top of the list because many of the customers who reach out for support are usually either confused or frustrated. If you are not calm and patient, 90% of them won’t return.

In other words, it is highly possible that you won’t resolve issues as quickly as you have hoped. Sure, a quick service is good for time management and overall efficiency, but great customer services trump fast services all the time.  

Clear Communication Skills

You need to be careful with the information you provide. Your communication style may sometimes interfere with providing quality service because you can say something that sounds ambiguous.

For example, saying that a certain service will be included in the final price may give off the impression that it is free, yet what you meant is that it will be added as an extra to the bill. The customer won’t consider it as too big of a deal, however, they may lose faith in your competence and it may botch your attempt of leaving a good first impression.

Product Insight

Knowing exactly how the product works, and its current shortcomings, allows you to be more helpful. This will let you offer superior support and sell better. Knowing all the ‘ins and outs’ of the products or services, you can adequately recommend the item that would target all of the potential customer needs.

Positive and Persuasive language

A good customer support employee knows how to be persuasive and how to use positive language to his or her advantage.

For example, if a customer requires a certain product that you currently do not have in stock, your instinct would be to respond like: “I cannot get you that product. We will not have it in stock for at least a month.” In such a scenario, it is far better to respond with a more positive answer like: “The product will be available next month and I can place an order for it now.”

Time Management Skills

Even though you should practice patience when providing customer service, it doesn’t mean that you should move at a snail’s pace. It is really important to provide your service to as many users as possible.

The best way to tackle this issue is simply to know your limits and admit them.

It is perfectly acceptable to say – “I do not know the solution to your problem. I will put you through to another team member who does.” You can also speed things up by relying on a quality knowledge base software with a ticketing system that immediately sends assignments to a support team member who can address it.  

Learn from your Mistakes

It is always good to introduce some retrospect and ask yourself, what could you have done better? You can find a lot of information online that you can put into practice and simply be better at your job.

If you didn’t know the answer to your customer’s question, look it up and learn it so that you are prepared next time.

Sweeten the Pot

73% of consumers prefer a personalized service, which is why businesses are embracing website chat. When you are able to read your customer’s emotional state based on your interaction, you will be a step closer to providing a more personalized service and create a better experience.

Be Helpful

A good customer support employee helps their coworkers. Sometimes, it can get crowded and the situation might require all hands on deck in order to resolve all customer issues. So, you need to be a team player and help out to increase the pace at which the customer queue is going.  

Rely on Social Media

Last but not the least, if you are looking for some brownie points and impress your customers, be ready to offer support on social channels.

82% of people trust companies who are active and responsive on social media pages. To increase your customer loyalty and build a better relationship in terms of trust and reliability, leveraging the social networks is a good idea.

Well, these were some of the major traits of a quality customer service.