I’d like to think that every time I call for customer service I’m going to have my question answered quickly and on the spot. I’m sure I’m not the only one who thinks this. So, in the spirit of good customer relations I try to do the same when someone calls with a question. Now granted, I know I’m not going to be able to answer everything that comes through, so I know my limits and quickly pass the customer on to someone who can answer the question. Recently I’ve been wondering how I could speed up the answering process and if our clients sometimes experience the same problems.
There are the questions that you know are coming and could answer them without even opening the account information. Then there are questions that take a little more time and effort. These are the questions for which I’d like to improve my customer service. Usually there is some sort of account research involved and a little bit of problem-solving to figure out what went wrong. Once you’ve got it figured out, you give yourself a little pat on the back for solving the mystery. Then you continue on with your next customer or your next task and forget all about it.
Although these questions might be infrequent, you know they are coming. I’ve decided to stop reinventing the wheel. With my new cheat sheets I’m creating as Word documents and writing my own help in the customizable help screen in our Utility Billing Software application. So instead of just giving myself a pat on the back, I’m going to increase my efficiency and help myself.
