How to return the human face of customer support?

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

For example, we take quite innocuous and frequently encountered phrases:
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• 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 these phrases look in the signatures of employees. Especially when the employee did not solve (or cannot solve) the client’s problem, and the latter sees such an “encouraging” end of 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 are written by employees, they can still be confusing and direct customers' thoughts in the wrong direction:



After such an answer, some of the clients will unwittingly ask themselves the question: “And what, some problems may arise?”.

3) In standard cases, almost nothing catches the eye:



Not bad, right? Not really. First, it is a kind of attempt to make the client understand that the question is closed. However, the decision to close the question must be made by the client, so this answer is more like a desire to put an end as soon as possible. It is necessary to help here and now, and not to try to show that you are always “ready for work and defense”.

Secondly, when every second person 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 helping clients. Seth Godin described this point accurately and concisely:

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

It is only possible to change the feelings of clients for the better with the help of a human approach and a sincere desire to help. Robotic responses that are ubiquitous can easily leave an unpleasant aftertaste, even if the employee is responsible for the case.

Immediately the question pops up: “What about the response templates? Do they need to be abandoned? ” No, templates are very necessary, because they allow you to save time on the description of fixed data and facts . In addition, each answer must be personalized. It should be clear that the employee wants to help the client . This is a genuine desire that cannot be conveyed using the prepared text.

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

• Did my answer solve your problem?
• Can I still help you with something?
• Do you have any requests or requests?

This way, customers will feel that employees want to sort things out and help, and not get out of them. Employees should encourage customers to communicate in order to get a complete picture of their problems. In this case, they will be able not only to “shower” customers with facts, but also help to find alternative options if there are no direct and obvious solutions.

Do not forget that business is built around customers, so the support service with which they are in contact every day should not be like dull and predictable robots . Encourage employees to write live answers. This is why customers return to you again and again, and that is why they recommend you to their friends / acquaintances / colleagues.