Dealing with customer service can be a time consuming and painful experience. Some of us here at Vouchercodes.ca recently had to do it and because some got better results than others, we thought it might be a good idea to write about how to deal with customer service. So find here our best tips to get good results next time you deal with customer service.
These tips can seem pretty basic for certain people but they are the basic to get good results out of a call with any customer service department. There are certainly other ways, but here are the ones that we think could help you get the best results and should work with a majority of stores.
Prepare
The first thing you need to know is what you want to get out of this call or complaint? Some customers call customer service without knowing what they want to get and they normally end up with less than what they could have gotten. If you want a refund or an exchange ask for it and be ready to negotiate. So prepare yourself by knowing exactly what your complaint is about and clearly state what you expect from them in exchange.
It is really important that you clearly explain your complaint and explain the problem in details. The better they understand what has happened, the better they can help you with that.
Call Early
Because you want to get a fresh agent that just started his day, it’s always a good idea to call early in the morning when they begin their working day. Avoiding rush hours such as lunch time and at the end of the afternoon before dinner is also a good idea.
When I was writing this one down, I realized that this is less true than it used to be. Indeed, with most of the customer service being offshore in Asia and India now and with most of them being 24hrs/day, it’s almost impossible to know at what time they are starting to work. But as we never know where the customer service department is located, I think that it’s always worth a try.
Loyalty
Mention to the store or brand that you are a loyal customer and that you’ve always shopped there in the past. Simply mentioning that this is your third LG TV for example and that before now you’ve always been satisfied with the products, is always a good way to score points. Merchants love loyal customers and they’ll do anything to keep you satisfied because it is normally cheaper to keep the current customers happy than trying to get new ones.
Be Polite
Never forget that the voice you hear in your receptor is a person. He or She has a name and a life outside of this job. A good way to start a customer service call is to talk to them using their name. They normally answer the phone mentioning their name so write it down, just in case you forget it during the call, and start by something like ‘Hi John, how are you today?’. This could seem a bit too friendly to some of you, but it is always helpful in establishing a good relationship with the agent.
Be Patient
Getting angry at the other person on the phone won’t get you anywhere. It is really important that you stay calm and patient and that you formulate your complaint and request on a neutral tone. They all know that you’re angry and disappointed, everyone calling customer service is, but try not to lose your temper as this is not going to help your case. Believe me I got really frustrated once with an agent and I never got what I wanted.
If the agent isn’t understanding or if you think he is incompetent, ask to speak with his superior. They normally have more experience and are more professional than the other agents. But remember to always stay calm and polite with the supervisor as well.
In Conclusion
Customer services are always willing to help their customers as they want to make sure that they will keep saying good things about them. But if you start your complaint by saying that you’ll never trust their brand again, there’s no point for them to comply to your request anyway.
Stephen is probably one of the best person I’ve met that can deal with customer service and get what he wants at the end. Last week for example, he called Breville because its coffee machine was broken, he had it for years so no more guarantee and the new one he brought was defective. They told him to get a refund for the new broken one and offer to send him a brand new coffee machine for free to replace its old one! This is what we can call excellent customer service I think!
And don’t hesitate to let us know if ever you think that we’ve forgot other tips. Or share your customer service experience with us!