How to restore the human appearance of customer support?

Support staff write many phrases on autopilot. This is not surprising, because when processing a large number of similar appeals, it is quite difficult for each client to formulate the same idea in different ways. However, this state of affairs leads to a decrease in the quality of responses. Therefore, from time to time they need to be revised and think what can be simplified and improved.

For example, take quite harmless and frequently encountered phrases:

• Please let me know if you have any questions.
• If you have any problems, let me know
• If you still have questions, write

At first glance, there is nothing wrong with them, but when considering specific situations, the picture changes.

1) The most ridiculous of these phrases look in the signatures of employees. Especially when the employee has not solved (or cannot solve) the client’s problem, and the latter sees such an “encouraging” end to the answer:



Of course, most customers will guess that this is just a signature, but in this case the use of such a signature remains unreasonable.

2) If such phrases are not inserted into the signature, but written by employees, they can still confuse and direct the thoughts of customers in the wrong direction:



After such an answer, some of the customers involuntarily ask themselves: “Well, some kind of Problems?".

3)In standard cases, almost nothing is striking:



Not bad, right? Not really. Firstly, this is a kind of attempt to make the client understand that the issue is closed. However, the decision to close the question should be made by the client himself, so this answer is more like a desire to put an end to it as quickly as possible. You need to help here and now, and not try to show that you are always "ready for work and defense."

Secondly, when every second uses such phrases, they completely lose their effect, despite the fact that the employee could have the most good intentions.

What can be improved?

First you need to understand what we are trying to achieve when we help clients. Aptly and succinctly, this moment was described by Seth Godin:

The sole purpose of customer support is to change feelings. Not facts, but how your customers feel .

Changing the feelings of clients for the better is possible only through a humane approach and a sincere desire to help. Robotic answers that are found everywhere can easily leave an unpleasant aftertaste, even if the employee is responsible for the case.

The question immediately pops up: “What then should be with response templates? Should they be abandoned? ” No, templates are very necessary, because they save time on the description of fixed data and facts . In addition, each answer must be personalized. It should be obvious that the employee wants to help the client . We are talking about genuine desire, which cannot be conveyed using the prepared text.

Returning to our phrases, it is much more appropriate, instead of standard statements, to ask questions:

• Did my answer solve your problem?
• Can I help you with anything else?
• Do you have any requests or wishes?

In this way, customers will feel that employees want to figure it out and help, rather than disconnect from them. Employees should encourage clients to communicate in order to get a complete picture of their problems. In this case, they can not only “shower” clients with facts, but also help to find alternative options if there are no direct and obvious solutions.

Do not forget that the business is built around customers, so the support service with which they contact every day should not be like dull and predictable robots . Encourage employees to write lively answers. That's why customers come back to you again and again, and that is why they recommend you to their friends / acquaintances / colleagues.