A1 Customer Service Roles and Teamwork
Any member of staff who comes into contact with a customer has a role to play in delivering good customer service due to the impact they will have on the customer experience.
Chatbots are artificial intelligence (AI) systems that can respond to customer enquiries without the need for a human response. These are often available as pop up messenger applications on a website. Chatbots can make use of a set of pre-programmed responses to queries to answer customer questions but can also evolve to learn how to answer more queries or similar queries that are worded differently. They can operate 24/7 and can respond to queries from multiple customers at any time.
Store staff are the staff that work in the physical location where a business’ goods and services are sold. They may be responsible for restocking shelves, keeping the store tidy, making sales, creating store displays or they may be managers. These staff are likely to have a high amount of contact with your customers and as a result can have a large impact on whether they have a positive or negative experience. An example of customer interaction with store staff is if they can’t find a product, can’t find the size they want or if they have question about some of the product features or deals. If they receive an efficient, friendly and informative response, they are more likely to make a purchase and have a good perception of the brand leading to positive word of mouth and repeat purchases.
A customer service desk is a point of contact between customers and staff who are specifically appointed to respond to customer queries. This may be a physical counter within a store, a call centre or email centre. Customers may have queries about products they are planning to buy, need to make a return or make a complaint. Staff on a customer service desk will be trained to deal with queries and may have access to software which can help them access product information. They will also be trained on how to deal with customer complaints. This will include what they can offer them, e.g. refunds and how to calmly deal with an unhappy customer.
Teamwork in Customer Service
Good teamwork between customer service representatives is essential as a result of its impact on the customer experience. This is because with good teamwork, queries can be resolved much more efficiently, customer service is more consistent and team members are likely to be more motivated and less stressed.
Teamwork can be improved through a range of strategies including incorporating the ability to work in a team into the recruitment process, good team leadership, staff training, instilling a positive culture and good communication.
It is important that all staff follow organisational rules and procedures related to customer service as it affects the customer perception of the brand. When all staff have a consistent approach to customer service, customers know what to expect and the whole organisation is working towards a common goal.
