by anthony w. hill & course technology1 chapter 3: customer service skills for user support

By Anthony W. Hill & Course Technology 1

Chapter 3:Customer Service Skills for User Support


Communication Skills and Customer Service

Customer Service Ethics– Dissatisfied Customers generate

• Lengthy calls – the call might took lots of time and the time wasted can be used for entertaining other customers.

• Repeated callbacks – unsatisfied customers will get to you every time until they are satisfied.

• Complaints and ill-will among clients – your company reputation will get worse if they tell to each other.



Customer Service Ethics– Dissatisfied Customers generate

• Rerouting of calls to higher-level support specialists – instead of forwarding their problem to the customer support, they might go beyond that.

• Product returns for refund – this will reduce the profit for the company.



Customer Service Ethics– In pursuit of customer service excellence, support staff

members:• Provide users with information, service or a solution.• Explain to customers what can be done for them if a

problem can’t be solved.• Treat customers and potential customers with respect



Customer Service Ethics– In pursuit of customer service excellence, support staff

members:• Communicate to callers how long they are likely to be on

hold and provide time estimates on how long it will take to solve a problem.

• Return calls when promised, even if just to report that no progress has been made.


Key ConceptsTo be an articulate User Support Specialist– Listen Carefully

• Listen/observe the language being used by the user to describe the problem• Listen to how the user describe the problem (the tone sound angry or frustrated)

– Build Understanding• Empathy – is an understanding of and identification with another person’s

situation. • How to measure empathy ? You can express user’s problem with your own

words BUT doesn’t mean you should take the responsibility or ownership of that problem.


Key ConceptsTo be an articulate User Support Specialist– Speak Effectively

• Sincere Greeting– ie : “Hello, this is Anne from Customer Support. Thank you for calling. How can

I help you?”• Scripts Appropriately

– A script is a prepared sequence of questions and statements that covers the important parts of an incident. Can be used for training.

– FAQ (Frequently Asked Question)• Tone and Style Effectively

– Avoid using empty phrases, use positive tone and effective communication


Incident Management Strategy

Is a collection of tools, techniques, and approaches that successful support specialists use to move through a call effectively and efficiently. Goals are:

1. Provide user with information he or she needs2. Manage stress levels for both the caller and the support specialist3. Ensure that the call progresses from start to finish in an effective and

efficient way4. Make the user more self-reliant


Ask goal-directed diagnostic questions– Each diagnostic question should be designed to move an incident towards

successful resolution

Be honest– Explain about product limitation, features, known bugs rather than trying to

cover or hide the product problems

Say “I don’t know” when you don’t know– If the problem cannot be handled, admit it rather than your wasting time.

However, you can refer the customer to another expert.

Apologize– Apologize to the user for any inconvenience such as putting him on hold for

a long time

Incident Management Strategy (cont)


Say thank you– Say thank you at the end of a conversation to show respect to the

caller

Use Incident management, not caller management– Manage the incident not the user, don’t justify the user by how well

they communicate. Don’t be offended by their attitude, just try to help them to solve their problem

Teach self-reliance– Explain the solutions to the user so that they understand and later they

can fix/do it their self.

Incident Management Strategy (cont)


A difficult client is the one who requires special handling for example an angry customer, customer who are rude or power user.How to handle the incident if you receive a call from :1) User who complain

• User just want to complaint rather than explaining the problem• Give the user time to voice out their complaint, don’t overwrite the

conversation instead use empathy.• Example: “I understand your situation sir, you must be upset because

your laptop is not working”

2) Power Users• Power users are those who are technically knowledgeable (or think) that

they need special attention because they have personal connection with significant people in the organization

Strategies for Difficult Calls/Users


2) Power Users (contd)• One way to handle them is by using inclusive language takes makes

them feel like a member of a team• Use pronouns like “we” to refer the problem solving process• Example: “I think we can solve this problem if we work together”

3) User That get off track• The user/caller tend to change the topic or statement because he is

confused about the problem• Try to refocus back to the root of the problem, summarize the steps

that has been taken and what are the things that can be them to solve the problem

Strategies for Difficult Calls/users


4) User Who are upset or angry• The user may be angry because of the long waiting process or have to repeat

the problem so many times• First, to handle this user is by letting them to express their anger, listen to their

frustration first rather than offering the solution to soon.• Second, assure them that their problem is important and you are willing to help

them• Third, the angry user may be hard to cool down, use polite questions such as

“How can we resolve this situation to your satisfaction”• Remember to avoid defensiveness and don’t sound patronizing

5) User Who abuse• User of this type is rude, they use inappropriate language and make personal

attacks to support agent• To handle them is by transforming them to be just angry user and then try to

solve the problem accordingly

Strategies for Difficult Calls/users


Strategies for Difficult Calls/users6) User Who won’t talk / reluctant to respond

• Users who are reluctant to answer are those who are confused or don’t understand the question

• They may be inexperienced computer users• To handle them is by using simple language and avoiding technical jargon• For example : “Is there a Start button in the lower-left corner of the screen”

7) User Who won’t stop talking or hang up• This type of user have a hard time of letting go of a problem, even though

the problem has been solved. They will keep saying on how similar the problem with others

• To handle them is by summarizing the incident/problem and describe the conclusion

• Thank the user for calling and reassure them that the problem has been solved


Client Friendly Support website- A support website purpose includes:

- Provide product information- Take sale orders- Contact technical support- Provide software updates and downloads- Communicate with end users

- 4 general criteria of a client friendly Support website1) Content2) Organization3) Format4) Mechanics

by anthony w. hill & course technology1 chapter 3: customer service skills for user support

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