Four Things to Avoid When Talking to Customers

A few weeks ago I wrote a short post dealing with what I called magical phrases. These were positive words that customers benefit from hearing and should be used often. This time around, I would like to look at what one blogger calls four “no-nos” to avoid when communicating with customers.

As I have harped on time and time again, the CSR group is the face of the company – the frontline for all interaction with customers. This is the point where customers are lost or gained, so it is important that anyone in a CSR position takes special consideration for how they act, react, and interact with others. So, here are four things to avoid when dealing with customers:

1. Never Complain about Your Job, Company, Boss or Co-workers: Bad-mouthing others is never good. Passing the buck or blaming a co-worker is also not a good idea. The customer does not need to hear any negatives about the company, as that will never gain customer loyalty. Your grumbling, complaining and blaming others is not customer service, it is self-preservation or just your pride (that I wrote about last week), which should not come into play in these conversations.
    
2. Never Say You Cannot Help: While there will be some cases that there is nothing you are able to do to directly resolve and issue, there is usually always another option that may be satisfactory to the customer.  Never say can’t, always look for a can. Instead of saying “there is nothing I can do in this situation,” look for a way to instead say “here is what I can do in this situation.” Sometimes finding another solution may require consulting with someone higher up the chain than you, but in all cases, be sure you remain the contact person and relay the potential solution.
    
3. Don’t Be Trapped by Policy: One of the worst things you call tell a customer when it comes to being unable to solve their problem, is to say “that is company policy.” A company’s policy should be in place to help fix problems, and not to cause problems. If there is a policy that is too restrictive or seemingly holding you back from great customer service, then do some leg work and address management about the problems caused by their policy. It could be a policy has been in place for so long and that such a situation as what you are facing has never been brought up. You doing so could bring about a change in policy. Always go to battle for the customer, they will appreciate it. Even if in the end you still cannot solve their dilemma, they will notice the work you did in an effort to try. They key is to not just take the shortcut and blame things on policy.
    
4. Avoid the “You” Statements: Customers help, and it is not your place to turn around and point at them for a need. Saying things like “you need to bring your receipt,” or you need to fill this out” are statements that can be said without seemingly pointing the finger or belittling the customer. Twist these types of phrases around and make them more polite, take the “you” out and phrase them tactfully.

If you want a CSR related job, just remember that the customer is part of the key to your survival, and approach every instance of interaction with that in mind. Every interaction with a customer is your chance to buy their loyalty by providing above-and-beyond customer service.

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