Customer service quick-wins! Quick improvement with these 6 Quickwins

1. Watching

It can be enlightening to take a look at customer service. Just observe how the work is done. Often, customer service staff have had training and do things a certain way. Sometimes things are done because that is the way they are done or because someone has told them to do it that way. By just watching along, you often get valuable information that you cannot get from listening back to conversations. If you watch objectively and without prejudice, you often notice things quickly. Things that could possibly be done better or faster, or things that are being done when they are not actually needed. Customer service quick-wins can be fun too!

2. Reports

This ties in with the first point. Reports are often created, sent and viewed. However, analysing what is reported, to whom and why is often not done enough. Moreover, most systems can often report much more. Go back to the drawing board when it comes to reports. See who wants to know what, so you can do something with that too. Reporting for the sake of reporting is pointless. Reports should provide insight into performance against certain standards and should also show improvements or deteriorations as a result of certain interventions or changes. Customer service quick-wins can sometimes also mean less work.

3. Offer - Day/week/month profiles

Most of the customer service organisations we encounter have little insight into the actual supply of contacts. Let alone on the distribution of these contacts over a given period. The reports from point 2 should be able to give you a good picture of this. Only then can you make rosters that are geared to the actual supply. Over time, you will be able to recognise patterns and get a better idea of the internal and/or external factors that influence the number of interactions.

4. Dynamic FAQ

Frequently asked questions should not be static! When customers call too often about the same topics, something goes wrong. Make sure you avoid those frequently asked questions. At some webshops, 50% of the questions are about the delivery time of the order. It then seems desirable to adjust that process so that customers no longer have questions about that. That way, your FAQ becomes dynamic because you are constantly working to avoid the most frequently asked questions.

5. Get input from your employees

They work with your customers and with most other departments in the company. They know where things go wrong and where customers are dissatisfied. They are the best source of input on how things are going internally. They can pinpoint what they need to do their jobs better. Take your time and talk to customer service staff regularly about their work and what they encounter on a daily basis.

6. Ask your customers for feedback

Besides your employees, your customers are also a valuable source of information. Ask your customers what they think of customer service. Maybe they like being able to chat with your customer service, but you don't offer that channel at all. Maybe they find your hold music cracklingly irritating and it's a small effort to change that. If you don't ask your customers anything, you won't know anything and you won't be able to serve them better.

Hopefully you can get started with our Customer Service quick-wins!