Do you ever feel like you and your customer service rep are speaking a different language? It sounds like English, but it just doesn’t make sense, and problems aren’t being solved.
Believe me, we feel the same way.
In general, customers have two styles with which they bring a problem to our attention. The first is a monologue with what they think the problem is, what might have caused it, things they’ve already done, the breakfast they ate this morning and the last representative they spoke to a year ago who just wasn’t that friendly. By the time they’re done talking, my eyes are typically glazed over and my only question is, “okay, so exactly what is the problem?”
Take a lesson from Brad Pitt’s Rusty in Ocean’s Eleven, “Don’t use seven words when four will do.” In most cases, there’s no reason to tell your CSR that your great aunt sally had the same problem with her cell phone 2 years go and this is what they did. Instead, identify the problem in one quick sentence and take the call as it flows from there. Of course, with troubleshooting you’re probably going to have to provide more information eventually, but the issue should be introduced in as simple a statement as possible. Here are some examples: “I can’t get my phone off vibrate.” “My bill hasn’t come.” “There seems to be a mysterious charge of $79.95 on my statement from your company.”
This starting point gives you two immediate advantages. First, it allows your CSR to grasp the basics of what the problem is. Think of it this way. When you were in school was it easier to interpret the meaning of one sentence or Shakesphere’s “Hamlet”? Believe me, sometimes I thought interpreting “Hamlet” was easier.
Secondly, there is always the chance that the problem you’re having is global, or at least affecting a wide range of customers, and so your CSR already knows about it. You save yourself a lot of time by identifying the problem up front and then letting your CSR tell you what they already know. Either way, you’re saving yourself a great deal of frustration and time you might have to spend clarifying.
On the other side of the coin, you also don’t want to be too vague. I can’t tell you how many times my, “How can I help you today?” was met with, “My e-mail isn’t working.” Okay. It’s not as if e-mail is a one function program. “I keep getting an error when I try to send an e-mail” , “My buddy’s e-mails to me are being bounced” or “My spam blocker isn’t catching all those erectile dysfunction e-mails!” are all infinitely better descriptions to an e-mail problem.
Before you call, take a moment to figure out the root of your issue. State your case and let the CSR tell you what he or she needs from there.
