Customer care is a serious business and you have to remember this basic fact that you can’t always say “yes” to every customer’s request. Learning to say “no” is an art that needs a lot of personal training and control. Sooner you learn this is better for you because it is one of the most important skills when it comes to customer handling in a call center outsourcing company.
This brings us to the most important question. How to say “no” without compromising your customer service experience? Let us find out.
Always choose positive language
Saying “no” to a customer is construed by your customers as if you don’t want to help. This is definitely going to upset your customer. However, there are different ways of saying “no” and by saying it in a positive manner you can control your customer’s hostility to a great extent.
Let’s discuss a situation where a customer wants multiple outsourced live chat agents to be able to use his live chat license and company rules allow this facility only for a Premium Member. Now, there are two ways of doing it:
a) You will say “no”. You need to become a Premium Member to have multiple live chat agents use the same license and currently you don’t fulfil the requirements.
b) You say “of course”. Do you know if you open a Premium Account you can have multiple outsourced live chat agents use the same live chat license? Here is the link to become a Premium Member.
So, by giving the second option to your customer, you aren’t bringing your conversation to a dead end. Instead, you are creating a further opportunity of business by encouraging your customer to open a Premium account. The cardinal rule in the business of customer care business is simple- positive communication is the only communication.
Find the closest solution
Call center outsourcing company often faces a situation where they can’t provide what the customers ask in the first place. The solution lies in finding something closer to what they want. That may not be enough for your customer but they will still appreciate your effort for taking this initiative. This will keep a check on the numbers of unhappy customers.
Suppose, as a call center outsourcing company agent you face a situation where your client wants a particular product that your company doesn’t offer. You have two possible answers.
a)We cannot proceed with this order since we don’t deal in this particular product.
b)We don’t have this product, but we do have something similar to what you are looking for.
By opting for the second answer, as a call center outsourcing agent, you are giving yourself a second chance of earning an otherwise lost sale.
Come with an explanation
The requirement of every customer is different and they won’t understand your product the same way. Some take lesser time and effort to get convinced while others need a more nuanced and detailed explanation.
For instance, take an example of a home appliance company where a client is facing difficulty in using a product he purchased from you. There are two choices available for call center outsourcing company to approach this problem:
a) Customer service outsourcing solutions agents can give a stock reply telling your customer to follow the instructions and everything should be fine. You can also suggest him to check the problem at his end to shift the blame.
b) The other option is to suggest him and follow the instructions together step by step. In most of the cases, the problem could be rectified and if it still persists call center outsourcing company agents can always tell your customer to get back to him after consulting yours in house expert.
Find alternative ways to provide a solution to your customers’ problems. If an example is required, come up with one and if he or she needs a demonstration, don’t shy away from it.
Saying “no” by making it less painful
You can make your “no” seem less painful if you cushion it suitably to show them you understand and care for their concerns. In fact, call center outsourcing company agents can avoid saying a “no” directly. The beauty lies in flavouring your “no’ with some positive content in order to avoid rubbing your customer the wrong way. Here are a couple of tips to make your “no” appear less hurtful:
Elaborate your refusal: If you don’t agree with your customers’ request, it shouldn’t appear as if you do not want to do this. Call center outsourcing company has to explain carefully to your customers that your company does not provide for this.
Focus on positivity while saying “no”: Find a reason to say “yes” to something without agreeing to the customer’s request. Even when you refuse to entertain their request, you could still find something important to say “yes”.
Begin with showing sympathy
We are all human beings and so empathetic statements make an immediate connection with people we deal in our daily lives. These statements play an important role in building up trust as well as mutual understanding with your customers. It becomes even more pertinent when are about to break negative news to your customer.
In such situations, there is nothing better than beginning your conversation with empathy and compassion to show your care for your customer. The message from you should be loud and clear that as a call center outsourcing company you are here to help your customers. There are specific ways of communicating with your customers to show your concern:
a)“If I was in your place, I would have felt the same way. Let’s try to sort it out…..”
b) “We know this particular feature is important for your company and to offer the same is also our objective”
Call center outsourcing company should ensure that all customer support outsourcing solutions agents are trained in such soft skills.
Listening to customers with a focus on customer experience
The most important aspect of providing a good customer service experience begins with listening to your customers which saves you from saying a flat “no”. You may be too busy in your work; still, you should listen to the customers and try to understand their issues and apprehensions.
Make an effort to show your empathy while listening to customers. If you fail to give an impression that you are truly engaged to understand their problem, be prepared to lose them to your competitors who may provide better customer service. Listening is probably the most important feature of an excellent customer service experience. Customer service outsourcing companies should attentively listen to your customers even if the best solution is not available at that point in time.
Try your best to find the solution
The best way to win your customer’s trust is by giving the impression that you are truly engaged and caring. It is besides the point whether you find a solution or not as what is important is that you are trying your best to offer an alternative. Even after trying your best, you are unable to offer a solution; customer service outsourcing company agents can assuage your customers’ apprehensions by giving the following answers:
a)“It’s true that right now I am not able to offer you something but let me check with our management and find if we can do this in future.”
b)“I am sorry our festive offer is over but as a special gesture, we will still give you an additional 15% discount considering our long association with you.”
Don’t allow your customers to bully you
There are limits in yielding to your customers’ requests as you cannot always agree to what your customers want. But even when you refuse, make sure that you are polite and empathetic and customer should never feel that you have been rude to them.
Let’s consider a situation where a particular client wants to return an item that was purchased long back and is way past its normal return date. So, how does your call center outsourcing company approach the job? You have two different options:
a) You will tender your apologies saying the company’s policies don’t allow you to do this since the return date is long over and you can’t help.
b) You will be sympathetic saying you understand their situation and in spite of having a well laid down policy against entertaining such requests, you still raised this particular issue with your superiors. Since it wasn’t allowed as per company’s policy, you cannot accede to their request. At the same time call center outsourcing company agents can also apologise for not doing the needful.
Actually, it’s less to do with your “yes” or “no” reply and more to do with how you say it and what kind of impression your customers carry in the end. You have to communicate your feelings to your customers say ing you tried your best to help him or her within your company’s rules and even beyond. More often than not, a customer will always appreciate the effort and reward you by being a loyal customer.
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