Flexible Answers to Tough Customer Queries

Scripts are the easiest way to get customer service agents to say what you want, and how you want it. However, as many experts in the industry will tell you, heavily scripted calls ring the death knell for great service. That is to say, customer service should be an interactive dialogue and not a one-sided, lifeless conversation.

When dealing with customers, tough scenarios are a dime a dozen. Consequently, support staff can certainly benefit from some forward-thinking strategies. In this regard, flexible responses—not scripted ones—can prove very useful. Here are two tried-and-tested responses to challenging customer questions that your agents can apply and tweak as they see fit when providing customer service.

When staff doesn’t know the answer

Good support reps know that answering “I don’t know” is no way to deal with a difficult query. Rather, they assure customers that they’ll do whatever needs to be done to provide the right answers and solutions.

When a product isn’t available

Positive language is one of the most important skills a customer rep should have. Instead of saying that an item is unavailable, your reps should inform customers when it will become available. Positive language does away with negative words like ‘not’ and ‘can’t’ and instead places emphasis on solutions, which is all customers really care about.