Call center services act as customer support as well as a means to market a business. Call center support is an integral part of businesses that primarily rely on it for their sales. No matter how big or established a company is, call center services are not always as seamless as one might expect. Call center agents can make numerous mistakes.

At times, certain slip-ups or mistakes can negatively impact the company. While it is but human to make mistakes, there are mistakes that ought to be avoided at every cost for the overall brand reputation.

So, what are these mistakes that we are talking about? Let’s get to a few most common ones that could be detrimental to your business.

Assuming the problem

Call center agents are trained to quickly resolve the issues and take as many calls as they can within a given period of time. This naturally develops their skill to guess the common problems. They then quickly jump to resolving the issue without even listening to the problem properly. This can lead to wrong assumptions of the problem. The customer can get frustrated and a bad exchange of words can also take place.

Not actively listening to the customers can look very bad for the company. Call center agents who work for extra hours tend to do this. Moreover, when these agents are trained to be quick in responding this could happen. The call center agents ought to be trained to not only be quick in responding but also be proactive in listening. Active listening is the key to better understanding.

Always going by the script

Call center agents are required to follow a template when it comes to answering the calls. For each type of query, they are provided with the script they are supposed to follow. It is a smart move as it saves a lot of time and brings a sort of consistency that is required. But not always.

At times, these call center agents rely way too much on the script. They fail to put in any effort on their own. Going by the script is not always wise. You should empower your call center agents to figure things out on their own. They should be given the liberty to improvise according to what is asked of them. Respect that the customer’s time is also precious. Narrating the entire script and then coming to the main point can be a big turn-off. So, get the script out of the way wherever necessary to value your as well as the customer’s time.

Overpromising

One of the most frustrating yet common mistakes call agents to make is overpromising. It is very common in call center services to see agents blatantly making false promises to the customers. While the goal should always be to satisfy the customer, it should not come at the cost of making a promise that can’t be fulfilled.

The call center agents need to be honest with the customers and give them a clear picture of the status of their complaints or query. When they overpromise, the customer might get out of their hair for a while but the consequences can be detrimental later on. Call center agents should be trained to be transparent with the customers and not engage in any manipulative schemes just for the sake of satisfying the customer temporarily.

Making the customers repeat their issues a gazillion times

We won’t believe you if you have not experienced it yourself. Almost every person who has suffered at the hands of getting their call transferred over and over again knows how it feels. The frustration is real and the company could even end up losing the customer.

If a customer support representative does not have any clue about a certain problem, they must be aware of who would be the right person to transfer the call to. One transfer is okay as long as it serves the purpose. Multiple transfers mean that the customer will have to explain their problem multiple times. It could ruin the customer experience and may make them never register their complaint again. A seamless and well-planned workflow is the only solution to avoid such hiccups. Every representative in the call center services department ought to know about the expertise of others.

Final word

Call center services can either make or break your brand’s reputation. It is important to empower your call center agents with the right kind of training. Call center support staff must also be monitored to make sure that they are on the right track. Occasional checks or workshops to polish their skills have become all the more important as the market becomes highly competitive.

With that, we will leave the rest to you. Do let us know what you think in the comments section below.

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