How to Improve Your Customer Support (Not Ticketing Efforts)

If you had to rate your customer’s happiness level out of 10 after they leave the conversation they had with you, what number would it be? You would probably say most of your customers are at a 10, but would they agree? What if you had the wrong idea about helping them in the first place?

This wouldn’t necessarily be your fault – many businesses operate with the idea that you should simply do what you need to get the customer’s problems solved as quickly as possible (aka “out of your hair”). However, that shouldn’t be the end of the relationship, not by a long shot!

Instead, you should be taking the opportunity to speak with your customer to find out how to make their day better. If they started out at an 8, then fell down to a 5 because their software didn’t work, don’t just strive for your help desk experience to get them back to an 8 when you fix their issue. Get them to a 10, or if possible, break through to an 11.

Fix an Unexpected Issue

Even if you’re just doing a quick fix, you can take the opportunity to find out any other issues the customer has had so far. This way when they are up and running again they won’t have to call back with more questions.

For example, let’s say there was a software glitch. After getting the issue resolved, you notice in the backlog of notes on Team Support that the customer had called in the past about a problem with their integrations. Instead of hanging up, see if they have any questions about the integrations they’ve been using. You could uncover another issue they’ve been having.

Now the customer knows you’re not just trying to placate them so you can close their ticket and get on with your holiday festivities. They realize you’re doing everything you can do to improve their experience with you.

True Meaning of Above and Beyond

We hear of businesses claiming to go “above and beyond” for their customers all the time, but how many actually do this? They offer 24-hour customer service, for example, which is nice – but when it comes to actually providing customer service they fall flat on their face. Remember it’s called customer support, not ticket support.

Surely you’ve heard the famous story of Zappos’ customer service? Basically, the CEO of the company wanted to prove how great his reps were, so he had a vendor call and ask about ordering pizza. While confused, the rep immediately helped the customer find the pizza place they wanted and even offered to text or email the info.

That story sounds crazy to most people because that’s the TRUE meaning of going above and beyond. When your customer service department truly cares about the customer, they will do anything to help them out. This includes finding ways to make their day much better than it was before they ever thought about calling to fix an issue.