In the last decade, there has been a proliferation of superhero movies rolling into theatres around the world, exciting fans, eager and sometimes impatiently, waiting for the next adventure. These movies are incredibly entertaining, with the hero often prevailing to save the day. For those providing customer support, many of these people want to be just like some of these superheroes, swooping into the scene to save the day too at work. Honestly, those providing support to customers are superheroes most of the time. Who doesn’t want to be a hero, saving a significant customer deal or resolving a problem or project? We all do because it feels good to win and be the hero.
Customer Support Heroes Can’t Always Win
Unfortunately, the reality is, you can’t always win. Not every customer or situation can be resolved or saved. Despite sometimes tremendous effort and the best intentions, some cases or people can’t be won over or satisfied. As disappointing as that may be, that is perfectly fine and here are some reasons why those providing customer support should not be discouraged when things don’t go right:
Not every customer is right 100% of the time
Sometimes customers get it right wrong. Some products or services are just not meant for some people. Teams providing technical support see this more often than some others too, as some customers purchase products with the intention of trying to make them do something that is near impossible, not supported, safe or reliable. Sometimes the cheapest product or service is not the right option for a customer. Some customers won’t listen, take advice, or care to respect those who provide support either.
All of that is ok, because …
The goal isn’t 100% customer satisfaction (or at least it shouldn’t be).
Setting a goal of 100% customer satisfaction is unrealistic, unattainable and bound to set up customer support teams for failure. No company is going to expect 100% employee satisfaction, so why would someone expect the same from customers? There should always be a high standard when aiming to please customers and provide support, but there needs to be an acknowledgment; sometimes stuff happens beyond someone’s control. Despite the best processes, training, tools, empathetic apologies, etc., not everything goes to plan. Goals should be aspirational, but we don’t live in a utopia.
Aiming for at least an “A” grade is preferred though with 80-90% customer satisfaction being the goal because …
There are always lessons to be learned and opportunities for continuous improvement.
As long as mistakes and service failures are not continually repeated, then making mistakes is ok. There are always lessons learned. Feedback and situations not going well should be thought of as gifts, provided there is both a culture of coaching and continuous improvement in place. Feedback from customers should be fed back into the business to help drive positive change with products and services. If organizations are not using customer feedback to make improvements, then they will get stuck in an endless loop of taking interaction after interaction, burning out their teams, while losing customers and revenue.
Provided organizations and leaders care to use customer feedback the right way, then for sure …
There are more wins than losses.
It’s not all bad. Supporting customers, trying to be the hero, you will inevitably win more than you lose trying to resolve problems or requests. If you don’t, then you might want to consider another occupation. When things go awry, we often tend to dwell on the bad and what we could have done differently, not appreciating or recognizing the little and big moments of success. Yes, providing support to customers can be challenging but guaranteed, if you are aware of your mindset, that can be half the battle.
Final Thoughts
For those fighting the good fight, trying to save the day by making customers’ lives easier providing support, thank you for all that you do. You are all superheroes. In many scenarios, you’ll win. Sometimes you might lose, but how you pick yourself up and carry on to the next challenge coming your way defines the type of hero you are.
The reality is everyone, regardless of role, supports customers too, internally and externally. As leaders, your team is your
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