As noted in a recent report by the Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM) and the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology, “businesses where employees have a positive service climate have customers who are more satisfied,” contributing toward “increased competitive financial performance for the company, often including a stronger market value.”

So when employers hire for customer service positions, they seek candidates who can demonstrate strengths in certain areas that will help make their company stand out. These include the following traits.

Patience

Great service tops fast service, without exception. Patience is important, especially when someone reaches out to you when they’re angry, dissatisfied or frustrated. It’s critical to stay calm under pressure and not let heated customers cause you to lose your cool.

Attentiveness

This is the ability to really listen, paying attention to the language customers use to describe their issues, as well as the feedback you receive from them. They may not use the right technical terms to describe a problem, so staying attentive enables you to accurately decipher what’s going on. For instance, someone struggling to explain a problem with a software dashboard may ask, “How do I work the search function, again?”

Product Knowledge

To excel at customer service, you need to know your product from A to Z, as if you used it yourself every day, and then some. This not only ensures you have options ready to help someone navigate even the most complex situations, but also helps you build an understanding of their experience so you can become a strong advocate for them.

Time Management

This strength needs to work in balance with patience. While you want to spend as much time as needed with a customer, there are limits. You need to focus on getting people what they want in an efficient manner. At some point, you may need to conclude that you simply can’t help a particular customer. If you don’t know the solution, the best support you can provide is to turn them over to someone who does. Don’t wind up wasting both your time and theirs.

Ability to Read People

More and more often, customer service interactions are conducted online or by phone, versus face to face. Regardless, it takes really knowing your customer to create a positive personal experience for them. You need to be alert for even subtle clues regarding their current mood, patience level and personality. You don’t want to misread them and wind up losing them as a result.

Closing Ability

As a customer service rep, you will often get messages that are more about curiosity regarding your company’s product than problems with it. To truly take your skills to the next level, you need to have some mastery of persuasion so you can convince interested people that your product is right for them – if that is the case.

If you’re looking for a temporary or full-time job in customer service, contact PrideStaff Fresno today. We’ll share our expertise, resources and vast network of clients, and help you find a position where your unique strengths are put to the best possible use.

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