Live chat etiquette in customer service

Customer Service for Live Chat

Operators

Chat etiquette plays an important role in customer service. Nowadays, authentic interaction with clients goes far beyond the opportunity to make a sale and the benefits that your brand can get from a more professional and human level can be exponential.

Customer Service for Live Chat

Operators

Customer service training is the most important part in achieving these goals. Professional line of communication is not that obvious to expect your service agents to get at it intuitively.

It is especially true with new employees who often need help finding the proper style of communication which would stick with your business objectives and allow them to maintain their authenticity.

Use a proper greeting. It may sound very basic, but actually not everyone does it right. Greeting is important, as it sets the tone for the whole conversation. It should

be professional, while remaining friendly and personal at the same time.

1. How to start a chat

“Hello John, thank you for calling Provide Support. How may I help you?”

Or you can start with a shorter but more personal greeting: “Hello John! How are you doing?”

It instantly sets the rep on friendly terms with the customer and the conversation becomes less formal and template based while keeping a business tone.

1. How to start a chat

If the customer starts the chat with a description of his problem, you can respond in the following way: “Hello Mary. I understand the problem and will be happy to help you. Let’s see what I can do.” If the customer did not provide his name, you can ask for it. It will show your concern and attention: “Hello! May I have your name please?” Once you have the name, make sure to spell it correctly.

After the customer confirms his wellbeing you can move on with: “Perfect, I am really glad to hear that! How may I help you today?”

or you can express your sympathy if the customer is not doing well: “I am really sorry to hear that. Is there anything I can do to help you?”

2. How to ask for more information

or verify your understanding To avoid any confusion and a long chat, make sure you understand the customer’s issue before giving your instructions or offering solutions. There are many ways you can ask for clarification politely:

“Let me see if I have this correct, you want me to…” “If I understand you correctly…” “Tell me more about…” “So you are saying that…correct?”

3. How to say “I don’t know”

If you don’t know the answer to the customer’s question, be frank about it, however, avoid using the too straightforward “I don’t know”.

“That is a good question, let me find out for you.” “I’m sorry, I don’t have the information on that. May I put you on hold for a few minutes? I will clarify this with our manager.”

“I’m sorry, I don’t have the information on that. May I have your email/phone number? I will find this out with our accounting department and get back to you shortly.” “I’m sorry, this question would be out of my expertise, but Daniel from the tech support department will be able to help you. Would you like me to connect you with him?”

4. How to put on hold If you need some time to investigate the problem, ask the customer’s permission to put them on hold. “Would you mind holding on for a few minutes while I am checking this with our administrator/ while I am checking your order?”

On receiving their consent, make sure to thank the customer before leaving the chat. When you are back, thank them again for waiting. “Thank you for waiting/holding. I have the details of your latest payment, let me send it over to you.”

If you feel resolution of their problem is going to take a longer time, ask the customer whether they would like you to call or email them back rather than waiting on hold. “Jan, I will need to put you on hold for a few minutes to run a few tests and see if I can reproduce the problem. Would that be ok with you or would you prefer I call/email you back with the details?”

5. How to admit fault Be direct and clear about the fact that you made a mistake. If it is your personal mistake, say that. “Rob, I’m sorry, I made a mistake and gave you the wrong price for this item. The correct price is…”

If it is someone else’s mistake, say that it was “our” mistake attributing it to the company rather than to the individual person who is not present in the chat room with you.

6. How to say “No” Saying a blank “No” to the customer may appear quite rude. One of the best approaches is to use the “Compliment Sandwich”, adding two positive statements on either side of a bad one.

If the customer is asking to be connected with a team member who is not available for a chat, you would usually say: “I’m sorry, Joan is not available right now. May I help you with something?” First you express empathy that the customer’s desire cannot be fulfilled at the moment – “I’m sorry”. Then you make the actual negative statement – “Joan is not available”. After that you complete your response with something positive, an offer of help – “May I help you with something?”.

7. How to follow up If you promised the customer to call or email them back, it is desirable that you do that within a 24-hour time-frame, even if you don’t have an answer to their question yet.

“Rob, I just wanted to let you know that we are still investigating the problem. We don’t have a solution yet. I will email you as soon as we have found the bug.”

If you missed a chat request and have the customer’s contact information, your client will no doubt appreciate it if you follow up with them right away: “Hello Tom. I’m sorry we have missed your chat. Is there anything we can help you with?”

8. How to handle complaints and

angry customers Start by showing sincere sympathy and understanding, acknowledge the customer’s feelings. “I am really sorry this has happened. Let me see if I can find a solution to it.”

“I’m really sorry about that. Tell me what happened.”

“I’m sorry you are having this problem. Let’s see if there is anything we can do to help the situation.”

I’m sorry this has happened. I understand your frustration, and I will do my best to help you.”

9. How to deliver on a promise Sometimes it happens that a customer has been promised something which is impossible to accomplish, either through lack of knowledge or misinformation. Instead of direct denial “We could not have promised anything like that”, reassure the customer that you are going to verify that which he had been promised and offer him apologies and or make it up to him if there was a mistake.

“If I understand you correctly, you were promised… It appears there has been a mistake. Let’s figure out how we can resolve this”

10. How to handle several clients

simultaneously When you have to deal with several clients at the same time do not give the impression that you are rushed. If it is necessary, take the extra time for yourself by telling the customer that you are going to check the information for him and asking him to hold for a few minutes.

“Let me review your transaction history. Please bear with me for a few more minutes.”

If your responses are delayed and the customer enquires about it, never tell them you are dealing with other clients. The customer should always have the impression that he is the only one you are dealing with at that moment. If there are any delays, attribute them to your checking up the information for the client.

“I’m sorry for the delay on my part. I am pulling up your account details. Please allow me another minute. I’ll be back with you right away”

11. How to treat those who contacted

the wrong chat It is important to treat all callers with respect, even if they are not your clients or potential customers. Most people who are contacting you by chat have some sort of online presence and if you are rude with them or reluctant to give them a clear answer, they can leave false negative comments about your company in online forums or on social media. To avoid such situations, make sure to come up with a friendly response to such callers.

“I’m sorry, you have reached the wrong company. This is…, we are not affiliated with…”

If they insist that you should still help them, don’t let yourself be trapped into an endless chat, give the user a reason why you cannot help them and close the chat room.

12. How to wrap up the call Ask if you can be any further assistance. If any further action is to be taken, clarify what was agreed upon.

“John, is there anything else I can do for you? As agreed, I will post a note to our billing department regarding your payment and we will follow up with you on that by tomorrow.”

Thank the customer for calling your chat line. Invite them to chat again. End the conversation with a definite “goodbye” or any other expression which leaves no doubt that the conversation is ended.

“If any other questions arise, please feel free to contact us at any time. Thanks so much for calling. Good bye.”

13. How to wrap up the call

Who should hang up first? Preferably, let the person calling hang up first. If they forget to close the chat room right away, keep half a minute pause after your last message and then close the chat room.