Neran Ashkenazi http://www.helponclick.com 2m 503
The views of this article are the perspective of the author and may not be reflective of Confessions of the Professions.
Becoming a live chat customer service specialist requires more than a basic understanding of grammar and punctuation. Your ability to get your job done relies on solid customer service fundamentals, including patience, empathy and the ability to find a solution that works for both your customer and your company. Although interacting with customers through online chat may be challenging, connecting with your customers while you solve their problems will help your company to rise above its competitors.
Extensive Knowledge
To better serve your customers, you need to immerse yourself in your company’s history, products and services. For example, if you work for a luxury soap company, you need to spend time learning everything about the company’s products, including the available fragrances and the ingredients in each product. When a customer engages you in an online chat, you’ll be able to explain why they should indulge in a bar of your soap and which products they should avoid if they have allergies.
Endless Patience
In customer service, customers rarely contact you for a pleasant chat about the weather. Most customers are already irate and looking for someone to blame by the time that they contact you. In addition, when you’re serving customers over live chat, you may have to deal with the added frustration of an inept Internet user. In these situations, pack an extra helping of patience; if you can avoid showing your frustration or lashing out at the customer, the customer’s view of your company will improve.
Ability to Find a Solution
As an online chat representative, your customers expect you to help them with their problems. Solid knowledge of your company’s customer service standards will help you make decisions quickly. As you become more experienced, you’ll learn new ways to solve your customer’s problems without breaking company policies. If you don’t know how to handle a particular situation, ask your supervisor or an experienced coworker for help.
Technical Skills
If you’re not experienced with computers, using an online chat system to interact with customers may seem daunting. One bad click can accidentally terminate your chat session with a customer. However, most chat systems are easy to learn, especially if your company offers training. Experimentation can help you grasp the basics of online chatting. Spend time familiarizing yourself with the software before you try chatting with customers.
Excellent Typing Skills
Many customers choose to use online chat services because they hate waiting on hold. If you make your customers wait for your slow fingers to type out each message, however, they may wish that they had suffered through the hold queue. Practice typing to improve your speed and accuracy, and avoid overusing slang. If your messages resemble a teenager’s text messages, your customers won’t take you seriously.
Possessing a wide range of customer service skills is critical to helping your customers through an online chat system. With a little work and effort, you can improve your own skills so that your customers will feel satisfied.
Neran Ashkenazi, HelpOnClick.com Owner and CEO.
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