Explain the importance of effective communications in a customer service environment. (150 words Minimum)
Communication is a key part to any effective business. Without
communication, the business will lack a healthy foundation. For example,
if I owned my own business and had my workers sign an agreement to
agree to a schedule being closed on Sunday, but my co-owner was unaware
of this policy, and had the workers work on Sunday, this would be a
disaster in the work environment. While that seems like a simple example
and fix, it is a crack in the foundation. Companies that have spotty
communication will miss things they need to work on because
communication is the biggest key to all efficiencies. When there is a
lack of communication, there is a lack of interest to make anything
better.
In my current job, we must communicate effectively to the agents who
support the consumer. The reason this is so important is because if the
information that is given is faulty or not complete, we end up having a
bad customer experience and that can cause greater issues down the line.
Having all the information available to the agent and easily given to
the customer will help with the overall experience.
Commincation is key!
3.
Respond to this (50 words Minimum)
To run a successful business, you need customers. Without them, you
will not have a business. Keeping them is the next priority. People have
many choices nowadays and how you treat them can easily make or break
your business. Communication from both the customer and business is key.
You have to be clear and concise in what you say, and continually
provide great customer service because all it takes is one bad time for a
customer to say – no more, not going back. Making sure you listen to
the customer and let them know they are valued as a customer. If they do
not feel valued, they will not come back.
I worked from home for a transcription company and it had the most
ineffective communication I have ever seen and dealt with. This company
had thousands of accounts all over the U.S. A few years ago, the company
was hit with a Malware attack that brought the company to its knees. We
could not transcribe anything but the doctors could still dictate as
that software was on a different platform, so work was coming in but
none was going out. In the end, the company lost almost $100 million in
revenue. For over a month we had no nothing from them – no calls, no
emails. If you called and got through, you got the standard “just hang
on, we are working on it.” That does not pay bills so a lot of people
went to other companies. When the system finally did come back up, it
was a new system we had no training on, management never apologized, but
they did make a lot of empty promises on pay and overtime so that we
would work to get caught up. After all of those empty promises and not
following through on them, a lot of us left permanently. I can also say
that it was not just employees who left, but long term clients who had
no faith in their company anymore.
How you treat your employees or even your customers counts if you
want to retain them. You want to make sure that effective communication
is done so that the client feels valued. Be clear and concise in how you
deal with them. Don’t be afraid to tell them the truth, treat them with
respect. In the end, you want customer loyalty and your customer to
stay.