Emphasize Internal Support to Improve Efficiency

An internal argument amongst co-workers or departments may not lead to a lost sale or bad review, but it will eventually lead to a negative work environment, compromising the quality of work and productivity of the employees. Unfortunately, unhappy employees cause lost sales and even bad reviews, so how can an organization deliver spectacular internal support and keep the workflow, well, flowing? 

The same features that make Mojo Helpdesk an invaluable customer service tool are also useful in enabling employees to effectively communicate internally. Employees can raise tickets for work items or future tasks and assign them to the appropriate staff member or department to resolve.  Correspondence between employees or departments is tracked in a discussion-like thread on the ticket and email notifications update staff in real-time. With Mojo, it’s easy for any employee to view the progress of tickets and take over if necessary. When internal support requests follow the same guidelines as delivering excellent customer support, internal requests are given the extra effort and priority they deserve.

Businesses that use an open-communications/tracking tool will see improvements at every level. When employees communicate efficiently, they will make sure no task falls through the cracks, and work ethics are likely to improve. Your business will be more successful with a little extra effort towards the improvement of internal operations, leading to improved customer relationships as well as employee relationships. 

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5 Tips for Providing Great Customer Service Via Email

Email has become the most ubiquitous and basic of business tools. Likely to be the first thing someone checks when starting the workday, email is now the primary method for business communication. As such, it’s imperative that a business think through the role email plays in customer service.

There are many benefits to employing email as a customer service tool, but certain risks and weaknesses as well. Most people have experienced the embarrassment of a thoughtless typo or an email whose tone was misconstrued by the recipient. Create a set of rules for email conduct that all customer service representatives are expected to follow to avoid some of the most basic email errors. Include guidelines that may seem like common sense, such as never using profanity, along with less obvious suggestions like avoiding jokes, or anything at all political. Train employees in the company’s preferred tone for use in written correspondence.

Always proofread. No email should be sent without being read over first. Typos are embarrassing, unprofessional and, in especially egregious cases, can obscure meaning. Proofreading ensures each email possesses the clarity and professionalism that shows the company in the right light. If a customer service representative doesn’t take the time for such a basic task, it sends a message to customers that they and their concerns are unimportant to the company.

As people are busy and time is one of the most valuable commodities there is, make the point you need to in the fewest words possible. Needlessly lengthy emails are likely to be only partially read or skimmed, causing important information to be overlooked. If the issue being addressed is especially complicated, determine whether a phone call would be a better approach rather than a long email.  Then follow-up after the call with an email summary of the phone conversation (in case of complex instructions, etc).

While a reply doesn’t need to be immediate, the goal for every customer service email should be to respond within a business day. This shows that the customer service representative is attentive, and helps prevent letting an issue drop off the radar. For problems that take longer to resolve, requesting customers to create a ticket in Mojo Helpdesk is an easy way to ensure that the issue will stay visible to the assigned representative until it’s solved.

To make providing customer service with email easier on representatives, create template responses to the most common customer issues. Chances are, the company encounters certain questions or problems with more frequency than others. By working out the best response to each of these frequently asked questions, and offering them to representatives in an easy to access space, such as the Helpdesk, the company can be sure that representatives provide the preferred proof-read responses and cut down on the time required to respond to many customer service issues.

As with any customer service tool, email can be used effectively or detrimentally. By implementing the proper process to ensure tone and avoid typos, and with encouragement to have your customer service team take the time to mindfully and carefully review correspondences before sending, basic email blunders can be easily avoided.

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Emphasize Customer Satisfaction Over Average Handle Time

Efficiency is a common buzz word in business, regarded by many as the most important metric for improving business practices. Unfortunately, what efficiency means and how to best measure the efficiency of your staff aren’t always easy to calculate. In customer service, it’s tempting to measure efficiency through factors that are easiest to quantify, such average handle time, but this approach misses the primary goal of customer service. Achieving customer satisfaction should be the number one focus of every customer service interaction. A faster handle time might look good on paper, but could come at the cost of customer experience.

In a business climate that emphasizes efficiency, a customer service department may be put in the difficult position of determining the best way to balance effective, considerate customer service with the expectations of reduced call times. There are methods to provide convincing data that the department is working towards greater efficiency, without sacrificing the more important goal of customer satisfaction.

If a call can be handled quickly and effectively it should be. Everyone’s time is valuable and the customer most likely is hoping for a fast resolution as well. That said, some issues necessarily take longer to resolve than others. For the sake of reporting, distinguish between simpler, standard customer tickets and the more complex customer inquiries that require more than a quick answer. This will give a more accurate sense of how long different types of issues take to resolve.

If performing an analysis of the customer support team that takes average handle time into consideration, make sure that customer ratings, feedback and the types of customer issues being handled are viewed alongside the handle times. The amount of time to solve a customer's problem is only one small piece of the larger picture and should never be treated as the most important factor in a customer service job.

If there’s still pressure to cut down on handle times after taking these other factors into account, work with the staff to develop methods for doing so that won’t impede the customer service process. Initiate a discussion in the next group meeting about some of the causes of longer call times. Evaluate as a group, which causes are valuable to the customer service experience and which could be handled better. Work together to create a document with the best responses to the most common issues to provide a reference for representatives to consult when needed.

Use the data from Mojo Helpdesk to identify those in the department that are best at resolving customer tickets quickly, while consistently receiving high ratings from customers. Encourage them to work with other team members to offer ideas for improving average handle time. If there’s a team member or two with especially long issue resolution times, have them shadow the top performing team members for a day to develop some ideas for resolving customer issues more quickly.

A blanket discouragement against longer handle times could result in worse customer service, so instead encourage team members to rethink ways to resolve customer issues that emphasize efficiency, while never losing sight of customer satisfaction as the top priority. If there’s pushback from outside the department, point out that good customer service can lead to positive reviews online and repeat business that far outweigh the time saved by pushing for shorter resolution times.

Would you like to try our free, hosted ticket tracking/helpdesk application? No long-term contracts, signup fees, or termination fees. You can upgrade, downgrade, or cancel anytime. We offer a wide variety of plans to fit any budget.

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Brand Your Helpdesk, Improve Customer Experience

Branding might seem a concept that falls more into the realm of marketing than customer service, but smart business people know that the two are highly interrelated. The main goals of a helpdesk are to bring greater efficiency to the customer support process and improve the quality of each customer service experience, but Mojo Helpdeskoffers the added benefit of customization options to help ensure that the exceptional customer service offered is consistently tied into the company’s brand in the minds of customers.

Any business that has invested in the proper resources and training to provide outstanding customer service should be eager to make sure that those positive customer service experiences are associated with the company at every step. By incorporating company branding into the helpdesk, customers are regularly reminded of the company while working with the customer service representative, and will therefore be more likely to recall their positive customer support experiences when it comes time to consider future purchases.

Helpdesk branding also provides regular customers extra confidence that their problem will be resolved, when the company's customer support carries the same branded seal of approval as the products they already know and love. As more and more larger businesses outsource their customer service to companies with little actual connection to the business and products they represent, providing an explicit visual connection between the customer service experience and the company can make a huge difference in ensuring that the customer has a positive experience.

There are several simple options available to more clearly tie a company’s brand to the customer experience in Mojo Helpdesk: 

• All Mojo Helpdesk customers receive a branded URL to direct users to the helpdesk (http://yourbrand.mojohelpdesk.com)
• Include one or more links back to your website in the main customer portal. Providing a link to an FAQ’s page could help customers find the answers they need before submitting a ticket. As an added benefit, this will increase your website’s SEO
•  Add the company logo on the customer portal mainpage
• Customize the copy included in the portal mainpage and the e-mails sent from within the helpdesk to add your company’s unique voice and writing style that your customers are already familiar with 

In addition to these simple branding options, the customer portal mainpage is also fully customizable with HTML.  Any company with an html savvy designer can get creative in finding new ways to incorporate branding and other relevant information into this space.  Use it to keep customers up to date on company and product news, current promotions, marketing materials like videos or whitepapers, and anything else a current customer might find valuable. 

Business owners and managers should always be on the lookout for ways to make the most out of the resources at a company’s disposal. Mojo Helpdesk makes it easy to use a tool designed for improving customer service to also further the company’s brand.

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Clarifying Customer Concerns

A customer service representative must hone a great number of skills to become outstanding at customer support; the ability to communicate well with customers is easily one of the most crucial. Effective communication is especially challenging when working with a customer who has a hard time expressing the problem and what is needed to resolve it. When this occurs, it becomes the representative’s job to help clarify the customer’s concerns.

Customers who know they need help, but just can’t articulate their needs begin their customer support experience frustrated. To overcome this frustration and the confusion that fuels it, a customer support representative must be calm and reassuring at every opportunity. Start by encouraging the customer to explain everything about the issue at hand. Allowing them to talk it out clarifies the issue while giving the customer the chance to vent their frustrations. Once the customer is finished, repeat back all relevant details to demonstrate that the issue has been heard and understood.

If this initial explanation doesn’t provide enough information to identify the problem, ask questions to narrow down the likely causes of the customer’s concerns. As a better understanding of the issue develops and the best course of action is determined, let the customer know exactly what steps will be taken next and their expected outcome. Make sure to address every question a customer has. Any questions ignored will add to a customer’s confusion and could lead to a misunderstanding of the issue. An assumption made with too little information can lead to an attempt to solve the wrong problem, resulting in more confusion and frustration for the customer.

In cases where a representative still has difficulty determining the issue after following these steps, it’s time to defer to a manager. Keep the customer in the loop when bringing in someone else to help. In addition to offering the assurance that someone’s working on the problem, the knowledge that a manager is personally looking into the case demonstrates that the company cares about finding a satisfactory solution.

Every customer service representative should strive to know the products he or she represents well and be familiar with the likely issues customers may experience. When a customer is confused, it is especially important to demonstrate that the company’s representative is not. Once customers know they’re in  knowledgeable, competent hands, it should give them the confidence to worry less about the problem and instead focus on the solution.

At every step, keep the customer informed of what’s being done to solve the issue, how long it’s likely to take, and the expected result. The best tool to alleviate a customer’s confusion is knowledge. With the proper attention, tone and a careful analysis of the information provided by a customer, most customer concerns should be easy to clarify and resolve.

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Tip of the Week: How to Multi-Select from the Automation Drop-Down Filters

This week's tip is a simple one, but can save time and frustration if you are unsure how to do this. Often, when creating an automation, there is a need to include more than one company, priority, status, or queue in the filters. There are a couple of ways to do this, depending on what type of computer you are on. No matter what type of computer you are using, if you want to select several files grouped together, click the first item you want included, and then hold down the shift key and click the the last item in the group. This will select all items in between.

If, however, you want to select random items in a list that are not grouped together and you are using a Windows machine, you will need to select the first item, hold down the ctrl key. While holding down the control key, select the other items you wish to include. On an Apple computer, you will need to hold down the command key while selecting non-consecutive items in the list.

It is also possible to use both of the techniques to select grouped and non-grouped items in the same list, which can make creating automations much easier.

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Top 10 Go To Words for Customer Service

As previously discussed, striking the right tone during customer service correspondence is a crucial component of ensuring a positive customer experience. Customer service professionals learn certain words over time that, when used regularly, create the right tone to present the company in the best light.

When speaking with a customer, language should always be chosen carefully with an aim to convey positivity, empathy, concern and an eagerness to solve the issue at hand to make the customer feel satisfied and keep them happy. We’ve identified the top 10 words and phrases a customer service representative should use often in communication with customers.

Yes - This is the most important word on the list, as customer affirmation is a regular must in customer service. Alternative options include: "absolutely", "definitely", "certainly" and "of course."  As much as possible, try to say these as though they’re followed by an exclamation point. Be careful, though, not to make false promises.

Thank You - Customers are the heartbeat of the company, and ultimately provide the company the ability to maintain a workforce.. Express gratitude to them for choosing the company, providing feedback, showing patience when they experience an issue and at any other opportunity that presents itself.

Sorry - Honest humility is almost always appreciated when genuinely expressed. Don’t be afraid to acknowledge and offer regret when a problem occurs, but be sure to follow every apology with an explanation of what will be done to correct the issue.

Pleasure - Part of the job as a customer service representative is regularly expressing positivity. Be quick to let customers know that helping them is a pleasure.

Please - One of the first words parents teach their children to keep communication polite, “please” should be employed regularly with customers to set tone properly for all requests you may have for the customers. (i.e. "please follow these instructions," "please contact," "please explain in detail," etc.)

Solution - Regularly talking about a problem’s solution deflects attention from the problem itself and focuses instead on the successful resolution you’re working towards.

Happy - Along the lines of #4, expressing positivity goes a long way towards setting a pleasant tone with customers. (i.e. "I'm happy to help.")

Right Now - As in, “I’ll get to that right now.” Showing urgency in reaching a resolution assures customers that they are a priority.

Appreciate - Find a way to express customer appreciation in every interaction. When they place an order, you appreciate their business. When they complain, you appreciate their feedback. Etc.

May I - Asking permission is a subtle way to let the customer know that he or she is in charge and confirms that all actions to be performed are being executed for the customer's benefit.

Setting the right tone is beneficial in most aspects of life, but in customer service it’s a daily necessity. When working with a customer expressing negativity, the ability to employ just the right words to steer the conversation in a positive direction plays a huge role in making sure the customer service interaction is resolved in a way that leaves everyone happy.

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Tip of the Week - Creating SLAs to Track Customer Satisfaction

Service Level Agreements help organizations measure response time and customer satisfaction. Defining SLA targets is a simple feature to set up in Mojo Helpdesk and can help you set goals and track your support team’s success.

To set up SLA’s in Mojo Helpdesk click the SLA link from the Manage drop down menu. Click the new button and then fill out the information for your SLA target. Each SLA can measure either response time or customer satisfaction. Determine the goal for your SLA and the compliance conditions for the SLA. The goal will be the percentage of tickets that meet the Compliance Conditions you determine.

You can then filter the tickets by type, specific companies, selected technicians and queues, before saving the SLA target. This can be useful if a company requires you to reach a certain SLA level when providing support and you want to create an SLA specifically for them.

Now that you’ve created your SLA, you’ll want to run periodic reports to track your team. Click the run reports button on the SLA targets page, select the time period and type of report to run and Mojo Helpdesk will generate a chart along with the current stats for your SLA. These are great for setting up incentives for your support team to increase their stats.

Would you like to try our free, hosted ticket tracking/helpdesk application? No long-term contracts, signup fees, or termination fees. You can upgrade, downgrade, or cancel anytime. We offer a wide variety of plans to fit any budget.

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5 Key Lessons for Customer Service Training

Once a company finds the perfect fit to join the customer service team, the first few days and weeks on the job are a crucial period for equipping the new hire with the knowledge needed to be an exceptional customer service representative. The best method for customer service training is to let trainees spend their first couple of days watching an experienced member of the team. Through shadowing an expert, the new hire will learn the systems, policies, how to utilize essential tools like the helpdesk that are in regular use, and be able to ask questions.

During the initial training period, there are a five key lessons that should be covered before your new hire begins to work directly with your customers:

1. How to Handle an Angry Customer
It’s inevitable that a customer service representative will encounter angry customers in the course of performing the job. Keep these suggestions in mind and consider doing some role-playing to give the new hire a chance to practice giving measured, calm responses on the fly.

2. Avoid Saying “I don’t know”
While no one expects a customer service representative to know everything, there are better ways to express uncertainty than “I don’t know.” Teach the trainee some alternate phrases to use, such as:

• “Let me look into that for you.”
• “I’m not entirely certain, I’ll find out more and get back to you.”
• “I’d like to do some research to give you the most informative response.”

This way, one avoids providing inaccurate information, while also showing a willingness to give the best response possible.

3. The Importance of Listening
To help solve a problem, it’s necessary to first understand it. Errors are likely if this important first step is skipped. Emphasize how crucial it is to avoid making assumptions about a customer’s issue before hearing the full explanation. If there is not a clear picture, be sure your employee knows how to ask the right questions to get all information needed to properly move forward.

4. How to Apologize
Everyone makes mistakes and it stands to reason that there will be times when the company or a representative will be at fault. If there’s already a company strategy in place for responding to mistakes, every customer service representative should be made aware of it during training. If there’s no specific company-wide plan, touch upon best methods for issuing an apology to a customer with sincerity and a clear explanation of all actions being taken to correct the problem.

5. When to Refer an Issue to a Manager
An ambitious, eager-to-please new hire might be at risk of trying to take on too much without asking for help. Make sure to cover all department policies related to what actions need to be approved by a manager before implementation and which cases should be handed over to a superior entirely for best results.

Starting a new job is simultaneously exciting and overwhelming. Encourage new customer service representatives to ask many questions, and be patient with them if some information needs to be reviewed more than once. Offering a bonus to expert employees who help with training/shadowing can provide an incentive to stay positive and encouraging to the new hire. Be encouraging throughout the process to help ease the stress of training. The first few weeks of a job will set the tone of the relationship a new representative will have with the company moving forward, strive to make it a positive one.

Would you like to try our free, hosted ticket tracking/helpdesk application? No long-term contracts, signup fees, or termination fees. You can upgrade, downgrade, or cancel anytime. We offer a wide variety of plans to fit any budget.

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How to Take Control of a Customer Service Call

Every so often, the role of a customer service representative can veer uncomfortably towards that of a therapist. For some people, when upset, the knowledge of someone on the other end of a phone line that’s willing to listen is enough to provoke a prolonged lament about general problems. When a representative finds him or herself on the receiving end of such a call, finding a tactful way to resolve the situation and move on to other responsibilities can be a challenge. While it’s important to be sensitive to the needs of the customer, it’s equally important not to allow one customer to monopolize your time at the expense of other customers and general productivity.

Taking control of a customer service call while remaining polite is one of the trickier skills a good customer service representative should have in his or her arsenal. It requires finding the right balance between honoring time management concerns and making sure an upset, overly talkative customer feels taken care of. Keep these few tips in mind to help navigate difficult situations.

Start the Call Right

Make sure the customer’s problem and desired solution are stated as early in the call as possible. If a customer has a hard time explaining the problem or desired solution in specific terms, ask pointed questions to help clarify.

Take Every Opportunity to Keep the Conversation Focused on Finding and Implementing a Solution

Certain personality types just have a hard time staying on topic. When a customer continually shifts a phone conversation to topics unrelated to reaching the desired solution, treat every response as an opportunity to nudge the conversation back in the right direction. Consider lines like: ““I’m sorry to hear that. So, in order to fix this what we need to do today is…” as a lead in to suggesting a specific action item.

Make Sure To Keep Your End of the Conversation Brief and On Point

Set an example. Don’t let yourself get off topic or you’re setting a tone for the conversation that implies it doesn’t need to be all business. It’s the job of the customer service representative to help the customer solve a specific problem related to the product or service, not to become his or her close confidante.

Once the Problem, Solution, and Needed Actions are Determined, Wrap it Up

Use language that lets the customer know it’s time for the call to come to an end.
Some suggested lines to consider:

• “Sounds like we’ve covered everything…”
• “I’ll get started on this right away…”
• "I don't want to take up anymore of your time, so..."
• "I have everything I need on my end..."

With Overly Persistent Customers, Put Them On Hold to Work Out Strategy

If all the other tips have been unsuccessful, as a last resort, put the caller on hold. This provides a few moments to organize thoughts and figure out the best way to approach wrapping up the call effectively. It also provides a second opportunity to re-establish the tone of the call and assert greater control over the situation.

Time is valuable. As a customer service representative, it’s useful to approach most situations with an accommodating demeanor, but it’s just as important to have the capability to shift into a more take control attitude from time to time, steer the conversation in the right direction, and take control of the conversation to resolve issues efficiently.

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Help Desks: Not Just for IT Anymore

New businesses are emerging all the time and struggling to stay ahead in competitive industries. It will come as no surprise to regular readers that it’s our conviction that one of the primary components in determining which of those businesses will succeed is the quality of customer service they provide. Regardless of the industry, organized and personal customer service is the key to getting and keeping customers.

Imagine a young professional, straight out of school, starting a new graphic design business. Employing the winning combination of talent, hard work and attention to friendly, personal customer service has helped the business to grow, in spite of these hard times. With the excitement of watching business take off, the graphic designer has come to the difficult realization that it’s becoming harder and harder to maintain the level of attentive, organized customer support that helped the company find success to begin with. In order to preserve their business’s hard earned reputation, the graphic designer must figure out a way to continue providing quality service to a higher volume of customers.

The above hypothetical could apply to businesses in any number of industries. With greater success comes greater difficulty in keeping up with the expectations of a growing customer base without letting any of the customer service touches that set a company apart begin to slip. How does a busy company maintain its positive relationships and keep up its brand? Whether offering goods and services in graphic design, accounting, marketing, retail or any other industry that involves customers, the same answer applies: Mojo Helpdesk.

Until recently, online help desks were largely associated with providing IT support. Increasingly, other industries are realizing how useful of a tool an online help desk can be for customer support in any number of industries. The hypothetical graphic designer can use the tickets in Mojo Helpdesk to track a multitude of design requests without losing sight of the needs of any one customer, stay in frequent communication with each client and solicit feedback once a project is complete. The whole process is documented and can be easily consulted when relevant to future customer interactions, saving time and improving service in the long term.

A marketing firm can use it to document the history of ideas and conversations that have transpired with each customer, making it easy to return to old ideas for inspiration, revisit client responses and track the general success of each campaign. A payroll department can utilize it to handle all payroll queries and help keep careful records of all issues that arise and the solutions used to resolve them within a secure environment. A retail business can keep up with a high volume of customer requests and easily pull up the history of repeat customers to check on their personal preferences and past experiences.

It would be impossible to cover the many, myriad ways Mojo Helpdesk could be put to use here; the possibilities are endless. Any business that works with customers, feels a need for greater organization or desires a better way to document interactions can quickly see an improvement in business operations with the use of a help desk. While IT businesses were the first to embrace the increased simplicity and efficiency of implementing help desks into their operations, other companies and departments would be remiss not to consider how they can contribute to making the lives of employees easier, while improving the relationships the company has with its customers.

Would you like to try our free, hosted ticket tracking/helpdesk application? No long-term contracts, signup fees, or termination fees. You can upgrade, downgrade, or cancel anytime. We offer a wide variety of plans to fit any budget.

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How To Provide Excellent Holiday Customer Service

The holidays can be a trying time for customer service representatives. People often feel rushed and overwhelmed in their efforts to complete their holiday shopping in time for celebrations with family and friends. The need to maintain excellent customer service throughout this period cannot be underestimated. When tensions are high, it becomes ever more important to handle customer concerns and inquiries pleasantly and effectively.
Businesses should make efforts to ensure the customer service staff is well prepared for any issues likely to arise in the holiday season. These seven suggestions can help make sure your company maintains the superior level of service your customers deserve and expect.

Hire Extra Seasonal Staff
The boon to business that comes with increased consumer spending during the holiday season means a greater burden on customer support staff. Bringing on temporary staff helps keep employees from becoming overwhelmed and ensures service doesn’t slow during the busy period.  

Utilize Mojo Helpdesk to Keep Up with the High Volume of Requests
Your staff is only human and when an individual’s responsibilities increase, making sure nothing slips through the cracks is especially challenging. Mojo Helpdesk makes sure every customer request is neatly organized, through custom filters and automations, as well as being able to assign to a particular representative and stays on the radar until it’s resolved.

Be Prepared for High Stress and Emotional Customers
The holidays are an especially stressful time for many and this can serve to make customer service interactions more difficult. When faced with an angry or emotional customer, keep in mind those feelings aren’t personal. Always remain calm when working through the customer’s issue and keep a levelheaded tone.

Use Mojo Helpdesk to Set Goals and Incentives for Staff Members
People work better when given a clear incentive. With Mojo Helpdesk’s ratings system and SLA targets,  it is easy to implement an incentives program to reward the representatives that receive the highest Mojo scores from customers or achieve the quickest resolution times. This can help raise spirits and encourage harder work, without making staff feel overburdened.

Keep Customers Well Informed
Make sure customers know upfront the estimated shipping times for each order, if your company ships/sells goods, and post clearly on your website and in all e-mail and helpdesk correspondence any days staff won’t be available.  If possible, direct tickets to an available staff member during days someone is out.

Be Prepared for Post-Holiday Returns
While the holiday gift giving tradition usually means an increase in sales, it also comes coupled with a period of high volume returns and follow-up calls for support. Have a system in place to handle returns that makes the experience simple for the consumer. Use Mojo Helpdesk to organize return requests.  Adding custom fields to the ticket form, and requiring customers to enter all necessary information can help ensure returns are more easily handled by staff.  For frequent requests, automations may be set up to respond more quickly to several customers/tickets at once. 

Reward your Staff
As the holidays mean harder work and higher stress for staff, it’s important to make them feel valued. Whether bringing sweets into the office for everyone, throwing a holiday party, or implementing a gift exchange program, bringing some levity and fun into the office setting will help keep spirits up. The holiday season is such an important period for businesses; some basic preparation is well worth the positive results it yields for customers and staff. Encourage staff to take note of any unforeseen issues they encounter so the team can take stock at the end of the season and better prepare for next year.  Ensuring you have a stream-lined, friendly, fast and efficient customer service system in place, even during the busiest time of the year can lead to happier holidays for everyone.

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The Trials of Providing International Customer Service

The rise of the internet has created an international marketplace unlike anything the world has experienced before. As technology progresses, geography is an increasingly minor concern in how companies do business and professional communities interact. There are many benefits to this: an expanded marketplace for products, greater opportunities for innovative collaboration between different countries and the rise of the virtual business model, just to name a few. With the territory many businesses serve expanding globally, the ability to effectively provide international customer service is a growing concern.

Positive word of mouth is one of the best marketing tools available to any company and repeat business is a crucial component to staying competitive. Social networks and online review sites have further heightened the power that a customer service experience has on future sales and branding efforts. Having a committed staff, well trained in the techniques of keeping customers happy is one of the most crucial resources any business can have.

How does a company equip staff with the proper knowledge to handle the distinct set of issues that arise with international customers? There are several primary challenges one is likely to encounter; listed below are some suggestions to improve customer service and avoid many common issues.

Language Barriers and Cultural Differences
This is probably the most conspicuous of the distinct issues a customer service representative will have to address with international customers. While it’s surprisingly common for individuals in much of the world to have some grasp of English, a company can’t depend on this and even many who have a conversational ability may have a hard time successfully communicating the problems they experience.

Utilize Bilingual Employees
Assign international customers to the appropriate bilingual employee and seek out people with a grasp of the most common languages you encounter in future hiring efforts. With Mojo Helpdesk it is possible to filter all tickets from international customers into specific queues prepared to handle the language barrier or directly to support staff that speak the language.

Use E-mail Correspondence and Mojo Helpdesk
Phone conversations are especially difficult when a language barrier is in play, but utilizing written options such as e-mail and Mojo Helpdesk affords both parties the opportunity to consult dictionaries and translating services to improve clarity.

Be Aware of Different Customs

Amongst other differences, international employees will have different holidays, different ways of addressing one another and different topics that are considered appropriate for discussion. Make sure customer service representatives are trained in the basics of the cultures of customers they’ll be working with.


Different Time Zones
International time differences are often considerable. Most customers will recognize a company’s inability to provide an immediate response to inquiries that arise, but it’s possible to take steps to ensure quick response times.

Use E-mail or Mojo Helpdesk to Communicate
Both options allow the customer and representative to send and receive messages during their respective business hours. It is important to try to respond to these customers within 24 hours to ensure their issues are handled in a timely manner.

Set Up Phone Calls in Advance
When a phone call does become necessary to work out a customer service issue, both parties can ensure availability by setting up a time in advance.

Expand Business Hours
It can be beneficial to employ a customer service representative to be available during the hours the business is traditionally closed. If the need for this is relatively light, assigning representatives particular days to be on call to respond to customer service inquiries that come in during off hours, whether from home or in the office, is an option.

Additional Costs of Doing Business
Most companies are aware that providing international customer service is going to increase their support budget. However, with technology and good planning, it is possible to lessen these costs while still providing quality customer service.

Long Distance Calling
If the company’s phone plan doesn’t allow for affordable long distance calls, Skype, or other online calling services, can offer a more cost conscious alternative and even make it easier to determine the correct country calling code.

After Hours Customer Support
Having employees work longer will increase labor costs, but it is possible to implement a system in which employees can trade out the extra hours worked for time off at another period to save the company money.  Also, hiring a night shift may be the best solution to ensure you have staff on hand for international customers.

Additional Offices
If you have enough international business to merit it, you may find it necessary to open up new offices in the countries you work with the most, requiring additional costs such as new staff, equipment, real estate costs, maintenance and office supplies. Depending on the company's needs, it may be possible to avoid many of these costs by hiring contractors who work from home.

The greater accessibility to global communication in today’s age of technology offers countless benefits in commerce, but it can also complicate the process of providing consistently exceptional customer service. A devoted team can offer positive international customer service experiences with just a little bit of extra effort and awareness of the unique trials involved in working well with customers across the globe.

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How to Turn a Hostile Customer into a Happy Customer

Working in customer service, unhappy customers are an unavoidable fact of life. No matter how experienced a representative is, there will be customers so unhappy that finding a way to turn around their experience will present a considerable challenge. It can be hard to identify how much of the anger they feel is strictly tied to their experience with the product or company, and how much can be attributed to other events that may have accumulated to ruin their day. Regardless of how unhappy a customer is, it falls to the customer service representative to calm him or her down and find a solution that’s satisfactory to all involved.

To start, it’s helpful to recognize that unhappy customers will often want to vent their frustrations and just know someone is listening. Let them have their say without interruption. Asking questions or attempting to argue will only make them angrier. Pay attention and take notes as they explain their problem so you can refer to them throughout the discussion. This will assure them that they have been heard and their concerns are being taken seriously. Repeat the problem back to them so they can feel confident their complaints are understood. If they have expressed a desired resolution, make it clear that it’s been noted and any possible steps will be taken to realize it. This not only shows the customer his or her grievances are being taken seriously, but also that everyone is on the same page.

Finding a solution to the customer’s problem is going to be the key to calming them down. If there is a simple resolution to the issue, explain it and get started working on it. However, in many cases determining an acceptable solution will present more of a challenge. If fixing the problem is against policy, or if there is no policy yet in place for it, avoid explicitly stating this. This will merely produce more frustration and possibly undo the progress made thus far. Instead, let them know a manger will personally be attending to the issue to ensure the situation is properly resolved. No matter what, don’t make excuses for the company or the product. Customers don’t want excuses, they want a solution and it’s the job of customer service to provide them with it. It’s important to stay with the customer until the problem has been resolved so they don’t feel like they are being shuffled from person to person.

No matter how intense a customer gets, keep a calm and friendly tone. Speaking calmly can help keep tensions low on both sides while encouraging a clear explanation of the problem. If a customer yells, responding in a soft and reasonable tone will likely compel the customer to eventually lower his or her voice.

The most important thing to remember when dealing with unhappy customers is to not take it personally. They aren’t angry with any individual, but rather the issue they’re experiencing with the company or product. Taking their anger personally is likely to increase frustrations on both sides and escalate the problem.

Whenever possible, follow up with the customer once the issue has been resolved. This will offer the assurance that the company recognizes that solving a particular problem is only one aspect of the larger goal of customer service: keeping customers happy. A reminder that the company cares can often be the finishing touch to turn an unhappy customer into a loyal one.

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Recovering From Customer Service Mistakes

Even the best companies stumble sometimes and offer poor customer service. It does not matter so much that a customer had one bad experience so much as it does that the company corrects its mistake before they lose the customer for good. Recovering from customer service mistakes takes more skill and ingenuity than building a good relationship in the first place.

Be honest
Customers realize that a company is run by individuals working as a team and those individuals are human. Mistakes are made and many customers are very reasonable and understand this. The part where customers feel alienated is when an error is covered up or hidden from them. The first step to recovering from a poor service experience is to tell the truth. Admit to the customer that something went wrong and you will do everything in your power to correct the mistake in order to retain their business.

Always be a helper
A hallmark of good service is to help even when a mistake that was made was not the company’s fault. Service representatives should avoid laying blame on anyone and simply set to work fixing a mistake. Although a company may extend resources it did not have to, this is a sure fire way to gain and retain a client for life. It is also good to err on the side of caution, as a customer may feel that something is the company’s fault when it really is not. Compensation in the form of money back, in-store credit, and others are also an option. A customer will be very happy to receive compensation in some form as a result of an inconvenience they have suffered.

Client service mistakes are a routine part of doing business. No matter how good a company’s systems are, there will inevitably be mistakes made. Being honest and not covering a mistake up is the best policy. Fixing problems, even if they were not your fault, is a great opportunity to build rapport with new or existing customers. Sometimes fixing an error may only involve a few extra steps, while other times it may take compensation of one form or another. Either way, companies must work hard to fix customer service mistakes to maintain a good reputation.

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Beat Your Competitors with Awesome Customer Service

When customers come back to do more business with a company, it is often not because they got a good price or even a quality product. Most times, customers return because of the awesome customer service that they received. Many businesses offer good service but there are definite distinctions between good and great service.

The difference between good and great
Service to customers will depend heavily on the type of industry in which a business operates. However, it is easy to tell when agents are doing the standard level and when they go above and beyond. For instance, it is common for online retailers to offer “no questions asked” return policies on the products they sell. This is a service that many customers expect. A company that offers great service is one that pays for return shipping on an item and expedites the new product to minimize the amount of time it takes to resolve the issue. Taking steps to make sure the customer literally has to do nothing in order to accomplish a goal or performing tasks that are not standard in an industry are what differentiate good service from that of great.

What changes can companies make now
One of the best things a business can do immediately to impact customer satisfaction is provide the tools and training for representatives to make customer experiences great. For example, giving representatives the authority to make their own decisions on how a particular transaction should be handled increases the speed at which customers get their issues resolved. Showing employees what options they have at their disposal and focusing on service as a core priority helps all parties involved get what they need faster.

Companies competing within an industry will match each other on almost every facet of the business. The thing that will separate them is how they treat their customers. Companies that empower employees to provide awesome customer service and provide the tools to do so are the ones that will come out ahead. Making sure human resources knows what tools they have at their disposal, as well as how to use them, is a sure fire way to reach customer service success.

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Avoid These Customer Service Mistakes That Send Customers Running

Customers are the lifeblood of any company, and service provided to them is what helps them thrive. Unfortunately, this is an area where many companies make common missteps that cost them future business. By avoiding these common customer service mistakes, businesses can be on the road to growth and productivity.

Over promising and under delivering
Whether it is a parent, a friend, a co-worker or a company that has promised something, no one wants to find themselves being let down. When customers know what to expect, even if it is not what they want, at least they feel secure. A common mistake made by employees is promising more than they can deliver to their clients. Especially in large companies, representatives may not be aware of the capabilities of other branches of the organization and find themselves in the trap of promising something to their client that is not achievable. It is best to take the approach of under promising and over delivering rather than the other way around.

Not being there for your customers
When a client is going through a transaction, they often have questions about the process. When they cannot get answers to their questions, they are left at an impasse. Representatives often make the mistake of not being accessible enough to their customers. Not returning emails, phone calls or other messages promptly will ensure that customers go to the competition or not return for more business. Constant and consistent communication is the key to maintaining good relationships with customers.

Bad record keeping habits
Nothing is more frustrating to clients than representatives who lose paperwork or other records. People may have been promised promotions or be relying on representatives to maintain information and when those records are lost, the entire transaction can come to a screeching halt. Keeping good records is an essential part of maintaining a good relationship with clients.

Arguing with customers
Disagreements happen during business transactions and are a common part of any industry. The important thing to remember is to treat clients with respect, understanding and patience. It costs, on average, 5 times more to gain a new customer than it does to keep a current one. Representatives may fall into a trap of arguing with clients over details or issues that arise and this should never take place. Keeping customers happy is the number one goal of any organization.

Without customers, businesses cannot survive; therefore, maintaining good relationships is paramount. Avoiding these and other common customer service mistakes ensures that an organization will have repeat business and continue to grow in the future.

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What To Do When the Customer is Wrong

In the business world there are always challenges, but most pale in comparison to the challenge of dealing with people. One of the most revered times in any customer service transaction is when the customer is wrong and employees know it. The old motto is that the customer is always right; however, this should seldom be taken literally. This motto should be interpreted conceptually as, a client should always be given patience, understanding and education to make the right decisions for themselves.

Never lose your cool
No one knows more about a company’s processes, products, services and procedures than the employees who work there every day. For this reason, it is easy for employees to get frustrated with customers who cannot seem to grasp a concept that an employee knows so well. Some customers will be adamant about being correct when they are not; this is where a client service agent must exercise patience and understanding. They must empathize and realize that this person may simply need a little more education on a subject or perhaps a different explanation approach. It is important for employees to never lose their temper or become noticeably upset or agitated with a customer. These behaviors may only enrage a person further or make a situation worse. This is also a sure fire way to lose business and begin building a reputation for poor service. Using phrases like “let me explain it differently” or “does that make sense?” are great dis-armors for agitated customers who are too frustrated to listen or understand.

Customers are not wrong
It is very tempting to tell someone they are wrong when you know you are right. This may be fine in a personal situation but in a business relationship, it is the kiss of death. Customers that are told flat out that they are wrong will feel alienated, discouraged or insulted. Once a customer feels this way, there is little that can be done to bring them back. If the relationship can be resolved, it may cost the company more than that customer is worth in most cases. That is why service representatives must never utter the words “you are wrong” to a customer. Instead, phrases like “tell me how I can help you” or “how can I help you understand” are far less volatile and prompt the individual to offer solutions to their own problem.

The underlying theory of “the customer is always right” is not that a client is correct all the time because they are not. Instead, service representatives should take this to mean that an individual should always be afforded patience, understanding and good service no matter what behavior is being displayed. Representatives should always remain calm and collected. Once employees lose their cool, the entire relationship is lost, which can have much further reaching implications for the organization. Tactics like choosing the right words or trying a different approach with a customer should be employed to maintain a business relationship even when the customer is wrong.

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The Difference Between Customer Complaints and Customer Feedback

Businesses need information from their target markets in order to improve upon the products and/or services that they offer. Sometimes this may come in the form of customer feedback surveys and other times it may come in the form of complaints from unsatisfied clientele. No matter where the data comes from, businesses must act on the information and learn from mistakes that were made.

The difference between feedback and complaints 
There are a couple key differences between complaints and feedback that come from customers. One of the clearest delineations is that feedback is warranted or sought out by a business whereas complaints come on their own. For instance, a business may conduct a satisfaction survey on a particular product after a planned release date. Customers, participants or any other relevant individuals may be contacted and asked to fill out a form answering questions about an experience. This data is then analyzed to identify trends or patterns. Complaints on the other hand may come in the form of customers calling, writing or walking into a company to voice their dissatisfaction with a product or service. Although these interactions and subsequent data are not sought out by a company, information gained from these interactions is just as useful, if not more so. Another key difference is that feedback and the data it generates is not beyond some measure of control. A business may structure customer feedback surveys depending on the type of data they are looking for from customers. In contrast, complaints are whatever a customer makes them.

Using data to tweak processes 
Whether data is drawn from customer feedback surveys or from customer complaints, it can be used to improve how an organization operates. Companies can capture data using customer complaints software or analyze information gained from surveys. The more data a company gathers, the better it is able to see trends that are occurring. Once conclusions are drawn from these trends, decisions can be made as to how to improve a customer service process. Customer complaints, as well as feedback from survey activities, should be taken very seriously no matter how insignificant they may seem. Businesses that allow customer issues to go unresolved run the risk of having these events mushroom into full-blown PR nightmares.

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How Should a Small Business Determine the Best Help Desk?

Virtually all businesses have employees that use a computer for some task or another. Computers make a variety of jobs easier, and in today’s tech rich world, they are almost a necessity. Just like with all things technical, computers malfunction or simply outwit their users. For these and other reasons, companies have help desk services to aid their employees in solving IT related issues. Small businesses must determine what the best help desk program should be for their needs based on the activities of their employees, the complexity of the network as well as the budget allotted for the system.

Who, What, Where and When?

Many software packages are great for dedicated computers and even laptops that rove around a building. Many businesses however, have employees that work remotely or perform tasks from mobile devices or laptops in places other than the company campus. The help desk software that a company chooses should be equally as mobile and flexible enough to handle requests coming in from devices other than computers. Employees working remotely will still need occasional assistance with devices and will need answers quickly.

Multi-tech environments

These days, employees may have the option of choosing from different machines, such as PC’s or Macintoshes. They may also be running differing versions of operating systems on these machines, as well as various types of software, depending on their job descriptions. This can make solving issues incredibly complex and downright confusing for help desk solutions. Ensuring that the software a company purchases can handle multi-tech environments such as these is crucial to its success.

Price

Of course price can be a driving factor in a poor economic climate even when businesses do not want it to be. Help desk programs generally charge for the license to use the product, which can be anywhere from a few hundred dollars to several thousand. Just because a system is expensive, however, does not mean that it is better for your company’s particular needs. The best help desk will be a combination of what works for the company at a competitive price.

Computers and other technology that we use in our daily work lives seem to be a mainstay. Although these machines make a lot of tasks much easier, they also tend to need fixing or expertise that a user may not have. Help desk software helps users by tracking issue requests and acting as a knowledge base for IT related problems that employees face.

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