Well, there should be no doubt that agents have always been the pulse of the call centres. To deliver a good quality customer service, it is imperative that call centre agents should possess all the required skills. The surprising fact is that 79% customers prefer to switch to other company within a week after experiencing poor customer service.
Today, we come up with the list of top 5 customer service skills that agents should possess to deliver the best service:
Timeliness
Time is the factor that is significant for both customers and outsourced call centres. Customers always want desired resolutions within a short period of time. On the other hand, it is imperative for the agents to close the call as soon as possible to keep the average handle time in check.
All in all, quick responses not only boost the business’s productivity but also ensure a high CSAT score.
Patience
Do you know the quality that makes outsourced call centre agents special? Any guesses? The answer is ‘Patience.’
This is so because whenever an irate customer makes a call, agent’s patience plays a very crucial role in handling the whole situation. Apart from that, agents are always supposed to listen to customer’s queries patiently as this aspect somewhere decides the quality of customer service.
In addition to this, a good agent always explains a solution calmly and patiently to ensure that nothing will lead to a high customer attrition rate.
Empathy Â
The aspect that will leave you amazed is that 65% customers are more likely to cut ties with a brand after getting an unpleasant customer service experience. Sometimes agents think that solving issues can do the trick to win the customer’s hearts. However, this aspect is not 100% correct.
This is so because it is imperative for the agents to show that they really care about the customers while providing the desired resolutions. This aspect will help in establishing the bond of the trust, which, in turn, leads to long-term association with the customers.
Communication skillsÂ
Well, communication skills have always been deemed as the strongest virtue of the best outsourced call centre agents. There should no surprise in that communication skills of both customers and agents always set the tone for a positive interaction. In addition to this, a good agent always tries to keep the discussion with customers concise and relevant to keep the average handle time in check.
Apart from English, agents should also possess good command over other dialects so as to avoid any language barrier.
Knowledge related to products and services     Â
Another most significant customer service skill is having the knowledge about products and services. This aspect cannot be ignored because looking for the minor product or service related information into the databases not only leads to the wastage of time & efforts but also raises a question on the agent’s productivity.
Therefore, it is imperative for the agents to know at least common product or service related information.
