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STOP Fighting for Customer Service! (Do This Instead)
What would you do right now if you had to call the cable company?
Scream? Run away? Smash the phone? Okay, maybe nothing that dramatic. But you’d probably want to, right?
Recently, I wrote about how amazing it can feel when a company makes you feel valued and taken care of. But what do we do when the opposite happens? Think about it: When was the last time you had a horrible and frustrating customer service experience?
One time at an event, I asked people to describe these experiences. One woman described an experience from over 10 years ago, but it still made her raise her voice and get heated. She remembered almost every detail, and she was still frustrated by it.
We just get triggered by these situations, and they can stick with us for 5, 10, 20 years. Can you relate? We get into the fight-or-flight portion of our brain and rational thought goes out the window.
At the heart, communication is to blame for these awful experiences. That rep said something during that conversation to make you feel like your needs would not be met. And then you probably started to get frustrated, which made them defensive, and the whole conversation just went downhill from there.
As you probably know, my company has a positive reputation for bringing in even more revenue while getting fewer complaints. The secret behind how we do it is that we know every conversation is either creating connection or driving disconnection.
We know that people come into the conversations already triggered, so we treat each consumer like a valued guest. Now, we don’t just give in and get every consumer every single thing they want. But it’s about communicating the solution you can provide without them getting even more triggered.
So here are a few simple rules that are part of my Communication Code, which you can use today:
Validate their experience.
Even if their frustration has nothing to do with the situation at hand, let them know that you hear them and you appreciate that they’ve shared this with you.
Plant positive seeds.
Let them know that you’ve got this covered. They’re in great hands, and you’re going to do everything in your power to help them. This will give them that sigh-of-relief moment.
Say what you can do.
A lot of times, your solution is not what the consumer is asking for. But it’ll make them happier, nonetheless. So steer the conversation away from the problem and towards the solution.
By the way, these are all things you can do as a consumer on the phone too. These are guaranteed to ease that feeling of needing to win the conversation. Want to take these deeper? Head over here to learn more. How are you going to create connection now?
To read this article as originally written, visit MaryShores.com