Is it possible to be TOO nice as a Customer Service Rep?
Can being TOO nice scare people off? A client of mine asked this question of me yesterday during a workshop and it gave everyone pause for thought.
My response….
Yes and No. I know, I sound all “lawyer-y”, but it really is true. There are a few things to consider…
Customers are SO impressed when they find someone who is genuinely nice to them, engages with them, works to solve their problem, or answer their question, that in their mind, it is nearly impossible to be TOO nice.
There are some caveats to this though…
Nice must be GENUINE – Folks can pick up insincerity in a heartbeat. If you are “saccharine” sweet, it turns people off right away. This can be in your tone of voice, the words you use, or basically seeming like a grandmother that is offering a child too many sweets and coddling.
Now on the other hand, those CSR’s that are truly wanting to help their customers, ask the right probing questions to truly understand the situation are also most likely those that will …
- Take conversational cues from their customers and use those as an opportunity to have a short conversation with them about the weather, their business, recent vacation, etc.
- They’ll use appropriate humor.
- They’ll make it a goal to have the customer smiling within 60 seconds of working with them.
- They’ll use a tone of voice that is warm, friendly, and sincere.
- They’ll typically talk to the customer as if they are a personal friend of theirs using the same tones.
- They’ll make the effort to connect on a personal level and get to know them.
So in our discussion, I suggested to my client that while it is hard to ask someone to “dial back the niceness,” it is completely appropriate to be sure that the words being used are professional.
Example… You have someone on your team who refers to everyone, even customers, as “Honey” or “Sweetie.” This would be when you would want to guide them to avoid using those words as they are crossing the professional line and many people are offended when those not in their personal circle refer to them that way. Those words are also very offensive when said to someone older than the person speaking. It comes across as condescending and flippant and you’ll lose customers.
This is one of the many reasons why I created training for basic Customer Service Skills for your customer facing folks with my “Excellent Customer Service Skills –
Start to Finish“ now being offered at a special reduced rate.
Get this training now before I decide to raise the price again and CLICK HERE.