Whether you work for a business or you’re working with a business, the chances that you’ll have to communicate with a customer service representative are pretty high. But sadly for those customer service reps, most people aren’t calling or making contact to tell them they’re doing a great job. The majority of calls received by CSRs are regarding problems with functionality, billing, or other areas of the product or service received. So whether you’re stopping in at your local market to exchange a product or calling into a software company for business assistance, here are three tips for getting the help you need from customer support representatives.
Be Prepared For the Conversation
While you might be so fed up with your problem and that you can’t solve it on your own that you instantly want to call customer service for assistance, this may not be the best way to ensure you get the help you need. According to WikiHow, you should gather all the information you may need to answer any of the representative’s questions before you call them. This could include billing information, credit card numbers, account numbers and more. Not only could this help save you time, but it could also make it a lot easier for your problem to get handled to your satisfaction and the satisfaction of the company.
Know How To Reach A Human
One of the biggest complaints of people trying to get customer service help over the phone is that they can’t get through to a person. Getting stuck in a phone tree where you have to listen to option after option can make anyone more frustrated than they already were when they called. To combat this, Whitson Gordon, a contributor to LifeHacker.com, recommends ignoring the phone tree’s options and listening for the option that will most likely bring you to an actual person instead. The most likely options for reaching a human could include “for other questionsâ€, pressing the number “0â€, or saying the words “customer service.â€
Find Out Their Opinion On Your Situation
When talking to the customer service representative, it can be hard to get your point across at times or to know what your best options are for your situation. If you find yourself in this predicament, Paul Michael, a contributor to WiseBread.com, advises asking the representative what their opinion is of your situation and what they would do if they were having the same troubles. Michael shares that this helps more easily put the representative in your frame of mind while simultaneously using their knowledge of the system to find the best option for you.
The next time you’re tasked with reaching out to a customer service representative, consider using the tips mentioned above to make your experience much easier on yourself.