General

If you stay on top of customer service industry developments, you know that customer experience is increasingly becoming the #1 differentiator for companies, as customers prioritize this aspect over all others when choosing who to work with.

Yet delivering the kind of experience customers look for requires caring deeply about their needs, and as much as you, as the founder, get that, there are other employees that can make or break this strategy – your customer service agents – and in many contact centers, they often just don’t care.

To help you make sure it doesn’t happen in your business, we listed a few reasons why it happens in large companies. Understanding the working experience from your agents’ perspective can help you become a better boss to them, and build your team more efficiently from the ground up.

It’s Hard to Get Yelled at for 6-9 Hours in a Row Every Day

It’s a known fact that most customers call in when they experience a challenge, not when things are going well. Customers who call in are often frustrated and, due to previous experience of getting poor service, are already annoyed before they make the call.

Your agents, as well intentioned as they might be, will only be able to take so much yelling and direct accusations before they disconnect emotionally or start answering back.

Customer Service Agents Don’t Think Their Job Makes a Difference

Check out this review our sister company, BuyGoods, received at the Better Business Bureau from a customer named Sofia when it outsourced its customer service to HelpGrid, and then let’s talk about why that matters:

Chances are, you have a customer like Sofia – the kind that wasn’t a good fit, but was so appreciative of the quality of service she got, she still praised you in front of other people, who might be a better fit, and will start the interaction with your company already trusting you.

You might have seen your customer’s praise when she tagged you on Twitter or Instagram, but do your customer service agents know about her?

Customer service is often seen as a minimum wage job that anyone can do, and nobody cares about. Agents come in, answer calls and emails, then go home. They don’t see the bigger impact of their work, nor do they get rewarded for quality service – only for sales.

Want to change that? Here’s a quick guide.

Management Sets a Bad Example

Just like customer service agents, shift managers often tune out the work to slack off on Facebook, make up pretend solutions to get customers to leave them alone, or don’t make sure repeat product complaints get taken care of.

Both shift managers and department heads yell or otherwise punish customer service reps whose average handling time is long, sometimes without considering the improved experience the customer got. And, as we said above, financial and other incentives often go to the best sellers, not the agents that made customers fall in love with a company in the first place, or turned an angry customer with a major tech issue into a satisfied customer that referred a friend.

They Don’t Care About Your Company, Because They Feel Your Company Doesn’t Cares About Them

At the end of the day, companies prioritize a move toward better customer service because it’s good for business. But your customer service agents don’t care about that.

Not when you’re making the big bucks while they barely make ends meet. Not when you don’t give them time off to study for exams or see their kids perform at school. Not when customers treat them badly and your management team backs the customers up, so they have to keep enduring offensive behavior.

If you want your customer service agents to care about customers’ wellbeing, you need to care deeply about your customer service agents’ wellbeing. When they feel you care, they’ll make an effort to help you meet your business goals.

Running Customer Service Operations is Hard, But You Don’t Have to Do it Alone

There’s a huge learning curve when you’re just starting to build a team. Chances are, you’ll deal with both professional and emotional issues you’ve never had to think about when you were a one person show.

If you’re feeling overwhelmed by all these new responsibilities, feel free to reach out to our team at support@helpgrid.com. We’ll give you a free consultation with no upfront obligation. If it’s a good fit, we could help you with anything from an outsourced receptionist to a full, well trained, empathetic customer service team.