Is customer service dead?
As brick-and-mortar stores become increasingly replaced with online experiences and as daily tasks like going to the bank, paying bills and grocery shopping are now often done from a laptop, there is one thing that is certain when it comes to customer service – it has changed.
Within a 24-hour period we spend a good portion interacting with businesses that help us run our lives – from the coffee shop, the local store and your gym to online magazines, ordering takeaway via the internet and banking online. Every place you go, every restaurant you eat at, every website you visit and every doctor’s office you go to, there is some form of customer service involved. And yes, while lengthy exchanges of face-to-face chitchat with the supermarket cashier might today be replaced with a “Thank you for ordering your shopping from our supermarket” email, customer service isn’t dead it just looks very different to how it did 10 years ago.
One thing that hasn’t changed is what makes a company stand out – it all comes down to how good the customer’s experience is and how they’re treated. While today this might not be a face-to-face experience every time, that doesn’t necessarily impact the level of the service you receive. In fact, I am sure there are plenty of people out there who prefer the nature of today’s customer service – confirmation emails, updates via text or phone call, alerts and being able to shop, peruse products or pay bills any time of the day, any day of the week, from wherever you have an internet connection. It’s all very convenient and handy for the sometimes forgetful types.
As we move into an increasingly digital world, social media’s role in the way we think about customer service, judge it and talk about it is prevailing. For example, people will often use Facebook to ask their friends for recommendations: “Who knows of a good dry cleaner in Bowral?” and they will trust their friends who then reply sharing their positive experiences. On the contrary, you will also witness people sharing their bad experiences on social media. For instance, “My flight with X airline was delayed for 10 hours, then cancelled and all they said was, ‘Sorry for the inconvenience you can rebook for tomorrow’.”
When people have a good experience they gladly share it. And for those that have had poor experience, they don’t leave any details out. In today’s social media-driven society people are increasingly talking to each other, valuing word of mouth online and learning from each other. One person’s experience, good or bad, is just a click away from going viral. Thus, making it even more important for businesses – online or with a physical space – to ensure their service is exceptional.
David Lam, the Open Training Institute’s trainer for the customer contact courses says that the necessary skills for providing good customer service are:
- “Empathising with the customer – Genuinely understand what the customer is experiencing, putting yourself in their shoes.”
- “People and communication skills – To be able to communicate in a way the customer would feel comfortable with and feel like you are more than just a customer service representative, but more so as a friend.”
- “Care factor – The lack of customer service can be easily seen on those that don’t genuinely care. Hence why it is so important for the customer service representative to genuinely care. I’m sure you all may have experience that sales person who tries to sell you a product that they didn’t believe was a good product. You see through them quite quickly.”
- “Product knowledge – One of the key elements to providing good and efficient customer service would be to know your products, policies and procedures well so that you are able to assist the customer with their queries and be able to offer them recommendations or solutions.”
- “Flexibility – This one is an interesting one as having the skill to be flexible with your approach with your customer will help provide good customer service. As we know, not all customers are the same.”
Courses like the Open Training Institute’s Certificate in Customer contact are important as they provide the foundation to be able to interact, communicate and assist customers with their queries and complaints, as well as providing the foundation to work in a customer service-type role in particular call centres.
For information about the Open Training Institute and the courses on offer, or to simply ask a question, call 1300 915 692.