La La Land Mommy: 5 Tips To Getting Great Customer Service
Yesterday I called to check my phone/internet bill and got the shock of my life when I realized that it was a little over $200.00. Let’s just say I was not a happy camper. I immediately called. When the customer service rep answered I have to admit I wasn’t too nice. There is no excuse but I had been dealing with my provider for over a month because I hadn’t had adequate service from them in over a month. So I have to admit I called with an attitude already. Mainly because it took 3 techs to come out and find out that I needed new cables on the outside of my home. This was after they sent me a new modem. So it was a little annoying to hear that my bill was way more than it should have been. The rep tried to help me but for whatever reason I couldn’t understand the information that she was giving me so I just asked to speak to a supervisor. She placed on hold and then returned to the phone saying that her supervisor was busy and couldn’t come to the phone. She told me that she would call me back in 20-30 minutes. I said okay and hung up. Well no one called in 20-30 minutes so I wound up calling back. I got yet another rep. She too tried to explain what was going on with the bill. I understood a little better. They were actually charging me $100 for the modem that they sent me to replace the prior one plus $19.95 shipping and handling. Then I found out that they were charging a reconnection fee for when they turned off my service for a misunderstanding last month. This was supposed to be waived because it was their mistake. She then told me that she had to get a supervisor’s approval. But nope the supervisor wasn’t available yet again so I was supposed to get yet another call in 20-30 minutes. Okay, so I was super upset by the third call because they didn’t call me again in the time frame that they promised. Then I waited in the line for a good 30 minutes because they had a high call volume. In fact, I even thought of looking for other internet providers for my area.
So after a long wait, I decided that instead of flying off the handle, I was going to try a different tactic and remain calm. I wound up getting the nicest customer service representative ever. Not sure if he was part of their in-house team or if the process was outsourced to a reliable company like Peak Support. Not that I really cared though. He had me pull up my bill online we went three months back and he showed me how I wound up with a bill over $200. He saw what was going on and he fixed it. He got everything removed. He said I shouldn’t have a problem next month. I realized that after I approached the situation differently I got the results that I wanted.
So with that being said here are 5 tips to getting great customer service:
- Remember that the representative is doing their job and that they are not at fault for your problem.
- Remain calm
- Clearly explain what your problem is. Trust me if you are cussing and yelling your problem is not going to get solved any faster.
- Be Respectful.
- Be sure to have as much information as possible at hand for the representative so that you can move quickly.
Okay I have one more listen to the representative and remember they are human and have feelings. Put yourself in their shoes. Would you want someone to speak to you the way that you are speaking to them? They deal with customers for 8+ hours a day and deserve respect. I had to remember that yesterday. Plus don’t forget to add a thank you. If you want great customer service you have to be a good customer.
Are you usually nice to the customer service reps that help you?
