A Human Customer Service Trick We Lost Along the Way | Simply ...

Do you ever wonder why we are so disconnected in a 24/7 connected world?

Customer service flies on a wing and a prayer of technology too big to respond.

• We receive DO NOT REPLY emails
• We fill out online forms to nowhere
• We yearn for the sound of a human voice

Hear the phrase customer service and sadly, we scoff.

How can businesses change the face of customer service?

Connect to the customer.

The Human Touch

For all our technology tools, we fail to connect to the customer.

• Chris Brogan?wrote automation isn?t wrong
• What?s often missing is the best secret ? being human

?If you want to connect to the customer, be human.

Who would believe that some of us need lessons on being human?

Those that do probably won?t read this anyway. For the rest of us, here are a few suggestions for putting the human back in customer service.

Acknowledge Your Customer?s Existence

We all want to be heard.

To have that happen requires at least two humans. Okay, so maybe you could talk to yourself, but we?d like to think someone else is listening.

Has this ever happened to you?

• You dial a business? phone number
• You get connected and start talking
• Only to find out it?s a recording

Did you feel stupid? Annoyed??Embarrassed?

Not comfortable emotions. Yet, that?s how we make our customers feel when we fail to connect.

First Response

I used to be a road warrior in my corporate life.

Smartphones were a business traveler?s best?friend ??when used properly.

• You receive an email from a customer
• It needs follow-up
• What do you do?

Acknowledge the email.

One option ~

Dear Mary: Thank you for your email. I am traveling on business and will return to the office tomorrow. Will it work for you if I look into this tomorrow when I return or do you need this resolved today?

Rarely did I receive a response back that it couldn?t wait. Of course, the key is keeping your word when you return to the office.

You acknowledged the customer.

Don?t mistake your Out of Office message as acknowledgement.

• Use it
• But, remember it?s a tool
• It?s not human

Keep it Personal

Social media and technology gives us access to the world.

• You use those tools so your message can be heard
• Why would it be any different for your customer?

No one likes feeling like a number in a mass population.

If your business is too big to respond, it?s big enough to staff customer service ? human customer service.

In a post, When Success Loses Customers, I shared a story about Barbara Delinsky, a writer whose books are New York Times best sellers.

I posted a comment on her site dedicated to breast cancer (Barbara is a survivor), and received a letter in the mail with a gift. It could have been someone on Barbara?s staff, but it felt like a personal response.

That?s customer service.?

Connect to the Customer

If you want to breathe life back into customer service, remember these simple points.

• Be human
• Acknowledge your customer
• Keep it personal

Technology is a powerful tool in the (human) hands of great customer service.

What customer service tricks do you have up your sleeve?

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About Cathy Miller

Business writer with 30+ years experience helping you keep it simple, clear & uniquely yours.

Source: http://simplystatedbusiness.com/2012/08/a-human-customer-service-trick-we-lost-along-the-way/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=a-human-customer-service-trick-we-lost-along-the-way

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