6 Tips For Improving Your Customer Service Skills | Indeed Career Tips

We’ve built this course to help you level up your customer service skill set. By the end of this video, I hope you’ll have a stronger understanding of what makes for great customer service as well as a few new tips and tricks that you can start using immediately. At its core, customer service is composed of half a dozen skills and practices that help you address customer needs and foster a positive experience. These skills will help you no matter if you work in a call center, a department store, a restaurant, or really anywhere else.

So, let’s get into them.

First, there’s the practice of active listening. The difference between plain old listening and active listening is intentionality. Listening becomes active when you prepare yourself to listen, when you really focus on both the verbal and nonverbal language that’s being communicated and when you respond in such a way that makes the speaker feel heard and validated. That’s the recipe. I’ve got to tell you, I’ve been transferred to five different customer service agents.

And I’m getting really frustrated. No one can give me a straight answer about what to do. I can only imagine how difficult and frustrating that is. I’m really sorry this is happening. Please tell me why you’re calling today.

OK, so the tile order arrived, and some of my tiles here are broken. So you sent me replacement tiles, but the colors don’t match.

I guess it’s from a different dialogue, whatever that is. But no one ever asked me for that information. OK, thank you for explaining that.

So, it sounds like you’ve got two different tile colors for one job. Do I have that right? Yes. In a customer service scenario, active listening communicates the message, your problem is now my problem. I hear you.

Let’s fix it. Some members of customer service teams often have a cue to help them get into the active listening zone. A call service agent might put on their headset, start new ticket, and say– Thank you so much for holding. How can I help? A retail team member might turn towards the customer, center their weight, bend both knees, and lean in just a bit.

Practice active listening by getting in and out of the mindset. Again, this is a habit that you form with intentionality. Another customer service skill is empathy. Let’s be honest. You’re not always going to be dealing with people at their best moment.

Like, when a customer unloads on you because something is priced wrong or isn’t scanning properly, it’s not about you.

That customer is just offloading. You’ve got to remember that it’s not personal, or else you won’t be able to really hear what they have to say. You’ll just hear how they’re saying it. Maybe you haven’t been in their exact situation yourself.

But if you try, I bet you can identify with their challenges. And when you can relate to just a sliver of that experience, you empathize. Empathy makes customers feel understood and cared for. Don’t worry, I got you. The third critical skill for customer service is the ability to problem solve.

Look, you’ve got to be on your toes. During moments of crises, you may have a customer who overshares. Their luggage didn’t arrive, and the flight was late. And the car overheated, and this is the third time in two years that this has happened. So what do you do?

To begin, identify the problem. What a difficult day. I am so sorry this is happening. So the problem now is that your luggage is missing.

Do I have that right?

Next, generate some solutions, pick the one that works best, and get started. All right, we’ve got a few different options. But the best approach is to get a trace going. That will get you reunited with your luggage as fast as possible. Let me start the process.

And, finally, evaluate the results. And if appropriate, ask for feedback. I am so relieved. Your luggage is on the next flight. We’ll have it delivered to your hotel by 8:00 PM tonight.
Of course, you can have lots of empathy and problem-solving and active listening skills. But if you can’t communicate effectively, they’re not worth much, at least not to a member of a customer service team. Effective communication is harder than it sounds. It requires having an emotional balance and technical knowledge of the products or services that you provide. It also requires a clear voice, written or oral, that is simultaneously personable and professional.

Here are a few ways you can start practicing your effective communication skills right now.

To begin, when you’re in dialogue with someone, start to include small encouraging, comments into what you’re saying. Next, wait to respond. Make sure you let the person complete their entire thought before you start to speak. And, finally, acknowledge the emotions that the other person is expressing.

It might be frustration, excitement, or bewilderment. Let them know that you see it, and you recognize it. As a customer service representative, you were often the initial point of contact between a customer and the company, which means you have to know the correct protocol for responding to a ton of different situations. Got a question about an open-box return? That gets transferred to the returns department.

Got a customer whose account is locked because of nonpayment? Well, that goes to the billing department. Got a frustrated customer who is demanding to speak to the manager? Yep, you guessed it. That gets escalated to your manager’s queue.

To guide your decision-making, most companies will give their customer service team members a flowchart.

A flowchart is a diagram that represents different workflows. They might be called step-by-step diagrams or maybe a process chart. But regardless of the name, they typically show a series of conditional statements with different outlined processes, depending on the answer. To be honest, they look like Chutes and Ladders.

Or maybe that’s just me.  Last but not least, I would definitely recommend that you take the time to learn about the products or services. I can guarantee you that at one point or another, a customer is going to ask which warranty package you think is a better value.

Whether or not they should buy the sanded or unsanded grout or what the differences are between the synthetic fabric and a cotton blend, having a baseline knowledge about your products or services will help you address your customers’ needs quickly and accurately. So how can you get better at customer service aside from gaining more experience?

I would consider asking for direct feedback from customers, colleagues, and managers. This can help you understand whether or not you’re providing a great experience for your customers and what you can do to improve. Remember not to take any negative feedback personally.

You are not your work. Your work is your craft.

And like any master craft, your goal is to get better and better. Also, try and track down any customer service evaluation forms or surveys. They may be about you, or they may be more broadly about the store or the products and services. Either way, this feedback will give you a unique perspective compared to what you’ll often hear from management or colleagues. And, finally, practice, practice, practice your new skills.

So the next time you’re engaging with a customer, try really bringing your A game.

The tips included here can really help. Practice active listening. Also, put yourself in the customer’s shoes. It’ll help you empathize.

And, ultimately, it’ll help clearly communicate. Finally, remember your job is to problem solve. So, make sure you understand company policies as written out in flowcharts or manuals. And know your product or services so when a customer asks you a question, you are ready to respond. Remember, customer service is a set of skills, skills that can be practiced and learned.

That’s how you can move from providing good customer service to great customer service.

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