5 Ways to Provide Good Customer Service

Good customer service seems to be getting scarcer these days. It never ceases to amaze me as to why good customer service is so difficult to provide. I've worked as a customer service representative and it is not that difficult to be cordial, helpful and professional.

My son recently had an incident with the water company that displayed a total lack of good customer service. After speaking with four different representatives and a supervisor it was painfully apparent that none of them even had a clear knowledge of the accounts in their database. They were abrupt and totally oblivious as to solving the error. He was given four different amounts for the balance of the bill. They were all incorrect. Even the supervisor provided incorrect information.

It took from 9:37 in the morning, which was the time of the first phone call until 2:00 that afternoon to finally get the situation resolved. My son was furious and I can't say that I blame him. The whole situation left me shaking my head at the poor customer service and wondering how many people are paying utility companies for service they didn't even use.

One of the main problems with poor customer service occurs right from the gate in the training class. In many cases, the training is inadequate. Customer service representatives don't normally require extensive training but in some cases the training is decidedly lacking and representatives are ill prepared for their positions. This also explains why many supervisors are unable to solve issues or provide proper information.

Here are a few tips to help provide the best customer service possible.

Put yourself in the customer's place.