The communication between a company’s employees and the customers they serve is what we call customer service. Customers who buy such products and services from the company can ask the company any questions about their purchase or before they buy for informational purposes.
The major role of customer service is to clarify any doubts the customers may have regarding the company’s product or service they are interested in. But maintaining great customer service is a big challenge for companies. Customer satisfaction is something a company always wants to achieve.
Difficulties and solutions to improve customer services:
Providing customers with such great service takes work. Customer handling is critical, as the company’s reputation is at stake. The future and present of customer acquisition are also affected by how a company interacts with its customers. Companies face many challenges, but they have a solution for each of them.
Following are some of the challenges faced in the space of customer service:
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Answering customers’ questions
One of the essential difficulties faced in this sector is having a proper conversation where the employee can understand the customer’s problem and suggest a solution. But sometimes, a customer’s question puzzles the employee and can make them think over it.
At this point, the employee should respond to the customer with an honest response if they can assist them with their problem. If you need help, you can ask someone to gather and provide adequate information to the customer.
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Dealing with angry customers
It often happens that a customer is not satisfied or unhappy with the product or service he received. This can make the conversation between the customer and the employee of the company a bit tense, as the customer may shout or abuse to prove their point.
The solution to this problem is to deal with the customer with patience, dignity, and capability. The team has to follow the HEARD process here to resolve the issue. The HEARD approach includes the following components:
- Hear—you must patiently listen to the customer.
- Understand their frustration and empathize with them.
- Apologize—provide an apology on behalf of the firm.
- Resolve—provide the customer with a solution.
- Diagnose: You have to understand why the issue occurred.
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Handling of service blackouts
There are times when the service or product purchased by the customer needs to be properly received by them. Unfortunately, this creates a lot of helplessness among the customers and the employee dealing with them, as, in reality, they cannot currently help the customers with their issues.
The only solution at such times is to provide real-time information or the real reason for the delay. Therefore, the employees have to act transparently and inform the customer that there is no specific estimation of the arrival of their product or service because of the cause of the delay.
The company that proved the world wrong: Apple: –
Firms often believe that achieving success in the field of customer service is a challenging task. But Apple proved them wrong by achieving great success in customer service.
For many years, Apple has released new products every year, gaining popularity and increasing customer acquisition. The company’s growth has led to converting its normal customers into loyal ones through its more progressive customer service model.
There are certain things a company can learn from Apple’s customer service strategy:
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Channels to interact with the customers
When Steve Jobs entered the market in 1997, the company moved away from being a third-party seller. Instead, Apple launched its store to communicate directly with its customers.
The third-party sellers and other outlets needed to provide them with sufficient knowledge. Therefore, by avoiding other authorized outlets and selling in one of its own, the company began their customer service.
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Employee training
Apple has been spending a lot of its revenue on employee training. The employees of Apple learned it applied psychology to deal with their customers. They invested more in their learning level because an employee if trained nicely, can bring up or even make new leads.
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The brutal hiring processes
Apple has one of the most difficult hiring processes, as candidates are chosen based on their qualifications and some distinguishing characteristics.
The company aims to hire the best professionals who will require less training, provide great customer service, and add many customers to the board.
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Humble treatment
Apple has identified a strategy for attaining more customers. First, the customers are given very special attention. Even when one comes to the store to get their devices repaired, they are greeted very well so that an impression can be created. Steve Jobs applied the Ritz-Carlton method of customer service. The company’s strategists are still following this method up.
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