Maya Angelou once said, “At the end of the day people won’t remember what you said or did, they will remember how you made them feel.” She probably wasn’t referencing customer service, but the quote could not be truer. Customer service is dealing with people and usually not when they’re at their best. It is the connection businesses have to their customers; a way to know what customers want and need. More importantly, it’s the place customers go for help, to feel important, to feel heard. Customers will remember how a business makes them feel. Businesses owe it to their clientele to offer not just good customer service but great customer service. Without a commitment to this aspect of a company, it is impossible to develop a devoted customer base.
Customer service comes in many forms depending on the business. One of the most common and important ways to help a customer is in the call centre. They are one very large customer service hub. It is also a hub of opportunity. Through contact centres, businesses have the chance to make casual customers into raving fans, cheerleaders, and the best advertising – word of mouth. People pick up the phone to reach out to call centres when something is wrong.
They are reaching out for help after they’ve tried other avenues.
They probably already don’t feel great about whatever it is that is making them pick up the phone in the first place. Contact centres can be confusing and frustrating. Some people even get anxious before making the phone call. In an age of technology, it is a relief to pick up the phone and hear a real person on the other end.
Many BPOs fail at converting customers to raving fans because they fall short. Having a real person on the end of the line is the first step to making the customer happy by the end of the interaction. The next most important thing for an outsourcing provider to have is qualified, trained, and attentive staff; they make all the difference to the company and the customer. Answering the phone with a smile sounds silly, but it does change the tone of the voice. People can tell. They can also tell when someone genuinely cares. Training staff to listen and address the issue with patience, understanding, efficiency, knowledge, and above all kindness is of the utmost importance.
A SouthEast Asian country is the world’s leading destination for call centre and more specifically customer service processes.
They have set themselves apart in this aspect because of their ability to answer the phone as a person and by putting the customer first. The archipelago in the South China Sea has spent well over a decade making a name for themselves in the customer service sector in the world economy because they can do it better than businesses’ home countries. Answering the phones with kindness and attentiveness is the number one priority. Listening, hearing, and solving customer issues and concerns has become the hallmark of the country’s customer service industry. Customers leave the conversations with a solved problem.
Treating customers well at the call centres wins over the customers everywhere else. If someone has a good experience on the phone, they don’t remember the conversation but the feeling they had after hanging up the phone. This feeling will permanently be associated with the company employing the person on the other end of the line a.k.a. your business.
If they leave the conversation happy, you have turned a casual customer into a raving fan; a supporter who will come back for years to come and, hopefully, bring their friends.
