If there’s a saying that every call center in the Philippines should have its employees take to heart, it should be the one from renowned Swedish businessman, Jan Carlzon. In his wise words, the former CEO of business analytics and intelligence company SAS summed up why every role in a company impacts customer satisfaction.
He said: “If you’re not serving the customer, your job is to be serving someone who is.”
True enough, this thinking is the groundwork for seamless customer service delivery of some of the most established brands today. Every department must understand the role of each other and know how one’s function affects another. This is why call centers need to align the work of their frontline people with the actions of those who work in the background to provide every customer a smooth and consistent transaction.
The IT or engineering unit, in particular, should work hand in hand with agents because customer experience doesn’t just lie in the hands of the representatives who interact with customers. The reliability of the communication channel and the equipment the agents use also contribute to the overall customer experience, and keeping these aspects topnotch is part of the tech unit’s responsibility.
Given the fact that the customer service and the engineering teams have completely different functions, how can they collaborate for the benefit of the customers? For starters, the agents can let engineers know about several things that would make customer support easy.
1. Empower us
A survey conducted by Phone.com revealed that customer service representatives (CSRs) want to have the power to understand and fix a customer’s problem by themselves. Since engineers are not expected to speak and work directly with customers, it’s best for CSRs to have basic knowledge about the company’s technical operations and products so that they can take ownership of a case.
2. Be accessible
In line with empowering CSRs through training, agents also want tech people to be more accessible whenever they need clarifications or assistance regarding a product issue. Results of the same Phone.com survey said that whenever they approach engineers, CSRs expect nervousness about feeling incompetent, anxiousness about arguing with a customer, and frustration after getting sent away. But what agents would rather want to feel is confidence that they will receive technical enlightenment and eagerness that they will learn and be guided.
3. Have some customer service skills
Since it is part of the IT or engineering department’s duty to attend to technical problems within the call center, tech experts should display the same traits that CSRs use in dealing with customers. Empathy, optimism, and willingness to help go a long way in everyday calls. So engineers would likewise have more success in solving tech issues if they emulate the essential attitudes of an ideal CSR.
At the end of the day, all it takes is clear communication between the two departments in order for them to understand one’s role from the other’s perspective. Customers have demands that both front-liners and background workers must meet, so CSRs and engineers must work hand in hand to deliver the best customer experience possible.