The Qualities of A Good Customer Service Representative

 Do you have your own story of customer service to tell? How did your experience go? Was it a good or bad experience? In every call, you will always encounter skilled professionals called customer service representatives. Think about it: Their job is to manage calls and handle customer calls and concerns every day.

Now, what does it take to become a customer service representative?

Is the job easy?

There are no hard and fast rules but the best way to become one is to learn and acquire the skills.

Here are the qualities of a good customer service representative:

PROBLEM-SOLVER.  Problem-solving skills have been one of the most important qualities of a customer service representative. This means that customer service reps should be able to analyze the situation quickly and think critically.

COMMUNICATE CLEARLY.  Communication skills help agents create interesting conversations with customers. It allows you to engage the other person on the other side of the line. It helps you understand each other.

Customer service professionals should be able to speak clearly, give clear and message and hear the information correctly.

ACTIVE LISTENER.  While listening clearly is a must, having this skill allows you to understand, manage and gather the necessary information especially when your caller is angry. From this, you can apologize if needed, you can control the call, verify information and acknowledge the need of your customer. 


ASSERTIVE. Agents should walk the extra mile.  When we talk about going the extra mile, it is about doing the right thing beyond what is necessary. This means that you're looking forward to what will the customer may need in the future so that he/she might not encounter the same problem.

 
HELPFUL. Customers find it easy when agents are helpful to them. They feel important and happy.  Multitasking is a big help. For example, when a customer asked something but unfortunately you don't know the answer, while you are in the call you can look at the knowledge base to look for the answer. 


EMPATHY.  It is the ability to sense the emotion of the person.  Having empathy to the customer simply means that you really care for what he/she is feeling. Its putting yourself in someone else’s shoe.

Having a great sense of humor is a plus; it changes the mood. Skilled agents do this so that they can manage the conversation efficiently and handle everything smoothly. You change the situation of the customer in a positive way.

TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY.  Be honest and transparent with respect to your customer. Don’t give wrong information just to make the customer at ease.  Give the right information, if it is negative, still be sound as positive and be polite to them.

If you are a business owner, do your front-liners have these qualities?