It's Customer Service Week. Here Are a Few Tips to Make It Better

To coincide with Customer Service Week (Oct. 7-11), Holger Reisinger, senior vice president at Jabra, offered the following tips to correct the four most common customer service mistakes:

1. Never play the blame game: If there is a problem related in any way to your business, you must take responsibility for it, no matter what. The last thing customers want to hear is that they caused the issue. Always focus on achieving the fastest resolution and then later, examine the cause and how you can better prevent it for future customers.
2. Avoid putting the customer on hold: A good service agent will stay on the line while working to resolve customer issues. Extending customers' wait times by putting them on hold will only increase their frustration. Agents need to be able to be agile and move about the office, consulting with colleagues, while keeping the customer on the line.
3. Don’t give customers the runaround: Though customer service technologies, such as chatbots, can be extremely helpful, businesses must ensure that their tools are easy to use and intuitive. Customers should not be directed from one page to another or transferred from one department to another on the phone. If the technology is not user-friendly, don't bother implementing it.
4. Always follow-up: Customer communication shouldn't stop once the problem is solved. The role of the customer service agent has evolved beyond issue management to encompass characteristics of sales associates and customer advocates. Agents have the opportunity to continue building relationships with customers by following up with helpful information, directing them to a complimentary service or providing a surprise discount.