As any customer support agent will tell you, dealing with a versatile set of customers every day is a tedious task. Every customer represents a different behavior and has various questions, and not all of them make sense. 

You need to keep your cool and handle each call query in the best possible way. But how, exactly, do you do that? That’s what we are going to talk about today. 

Let’s dive in. 

Best practices to improve customer support

Here are some practices which you should perform to be a better customer support representative. 

Use a positive and confident language

Customers don’t like support agents who aren’t confident in what they are doing. To showcase yourself as a professional, you have to be confident while you’re addressing customers’ issues. 

Furthermore, use positive language that represents there’s going to be a positive outcome of the situation. Never sound like there’s no solution and the customer must return empty-handed. 

Listen carefully

Customers love to explain their issues in detail, and they love agents who listen to their issues carefully. Never interrupt them in between when they’re talking to you trying to explain an issue. 

When you interrupt them, they might feel like you’re not interested in their issue and want to rush the situation — and that’s not a good sign. You need to sound interested in their case. 

Empathize with the customer

If the customer is upset, angry, or sad about an issue they’re facing about your product, you need to empathize with them. Never sound like their issue is not of concern and they shouldn’t worry. Instead, tell them that you’re sorry for them and you’re going to help them get out of the tricky situation. 

Get more technical skills 

You can’t help out the customers if you don’t have enough technical skills related to your industry. For instance, if the company you’re working with is selling smartphone accessories, you need to be well-aware of the field and how everything works. 

Of course, the company wouldn’t have hired you if you didn’t know the basics of the industry — but it always helps to get more skills than you currently have. 

Worst practices you could adapt

Here are some worst practices that you must avoid at all costs. 

Lie

One of the worst things you can do as a customer support agent is to lie to a customer to comfort them for a short time. For instance, you might say, “We’re already looking into the issue and will follow back to you soon” — when in fact, you’re not working on the issue. Such words can comfort the customer for a short period, but they will eventually figure out you were lying. 

Blaming the customer

We know, it wasn’t your fault that the customer faced an issue — but it’s your responsibility to help them resolve it. If the customer is upset and you’re annoyed, don’t take it personally and accept the blame on behalf of the company. Never blame the customer saying it was their fault in the first place. 

Not following back

If you say, “We will follow back to you in X hours”, you have to follow back in X hours — there’s no workaround. Never say something like that and then leave the customer in the dark — that’s one of the worst things you can do to them. 

What customers think

According to Forbes, excellent customer support is crucial for building authentic relationships with customers. 

Customers value speedy responses and industry-specific technical knowledge. Furthermore, customers say the attitude and legibility of customer support agents is a major factor in a company’s image. 

The bottom line

Top-notch customer support is essential for building a great brand image. Follow the best practices mentioned above and rest assured you will do better with your support the next time you pick a call.