When you hear the term ‘customer service’ what usually comes to mind?
Usually, someone behind a counter offering product info. Maybe a server at a restaurant or receptionist at a hotel front desk.
The term ‘customer service’ refers to the act of providing useful assistance to problems that customers face. Customer service is present in virtually all industries, across the globe.
Therefore, there is no limitation regarding roles and responsibilities of customer service staff. The industry itself has grown to being part of the consumer decision-making process, as well as providing useful feedback and customer insights to senior management.
What do customer service professionals do?
Customer service professionals undertake a variety of roles, ranging from service to advice and technical tasks. These include:
Providing product info
The modern consumer has become increasingly intelligent and aware. The rise of online shopping and social media enabled consumers to compare product prices, quality and performance. Therefore, customer service professionals are expected to provide exceptionally reliable and accurate information. Modern consumers now have the luxury of researching the integrity and accuracy of the information given to them.
Demonstrations & support
Aside from providing information, customer service professionals also perform product demonstrations, sales assistance, promotional offers and after sales support. Often, these customers rely on customer service professionals to decide what brand, design, colour or model of the product to purchase.
Specialised transactions
Bank tellers, loan officers, call centre agents, airline agents and helpdesk staff perform specialised transactions, whether it’s processing your mortgage payment, booking flights or offering technical assistance to your internet’s connectivity.
Administration
Customer service professionals handle a lot of paperwork – invoice processing, credit payments, feedback forms, legal or medical documentation and record keeping. Administration is an integral part of customer service.
Maintaining company image
Customer service staff are the first, and sometimes the only team members that customers will interface with. Therefore, the quality of their service plays an integral part in terms of how that company is perceived. Efficient and excellent service would result in satisfied customers and a favourable company reputation and vice versa.
Managing the customer experience
Modern consumers are greatly impressed and satisfied when they have a great customer service experience. Ultimately, they are looking at the level of professionalism, appearance, efficiency, personality, knowledge and empathy. Customer service staff therefore, are tasked with the responsibility of ensuring that everything goes right for the customer, from entering to leaving the company, and sometimes, even beyond.
Customer service jobs that pay well
A lot of speculation has risen about customer service as an industry facing multiple layoffs and decline due to the influence of technology and artificial intelligence. In some industries such as banking, fast food and data processing, artificial intelligence is eventually becoming a norm. However, customer service industry is not disappearing, but instead evolving.
Opportunities arise where organisations require technological competence, with a human touch. Customer service essentially compensates based on experience, skill level and industry. Some high-paying customer service jobs include:
- Account Executives
- Bilingual Customer Service Representatives
- Client Relationship Managers
- Customer Retention Specialists
- Customer Service Managers
- Medical/Healthcare support staff
- Technical Support/Service Engineers
- Personal Assistants/Secretaries
- Loan Officers
- Customer Care Supervisors/Coordinators
Skills required for customer service professionals
Across multiple industries, customer service is not only a strategy for corporate reputation management and customer satisfaction. It is the strategy by which many businesses compete. For example, in some sectors, the products are essentially the same – banks, insurance companies, retail stores & airlines. What usually becomes the tiebreaker for these companies is the level of customer service they provide. Excellent customer service differentiates them from the competitors and enables the more customer-friendly ones to build a loyal customer base.
Given how critical customer service is to businesses, there are a distinctive, collective skills that are usually required for a customer service professional to have:
- Solutions oriented -Customers are coming to you for assistance. Therefore, it is crucial you have the right knowledge, training and personality to do so.
- Communication – This involves articulating yourself professionally and listening with empathy and effectiveness to understand your irate customer’s point of view.
- Decision-making – This skill is important as you are expected to use the customer’s feedback, with your knowledge to arrive at an appropriate course of action.
- Empathy – Listen to understand your customer’s situation. Customers don’t care what you know, until they know you care.
- Service mentality – This includes enthusiasm, energy and efficiency to get your problems solved.
- Technical skills – Whether it’s CRM software, network architecture or simple database management, you should know how to leverage the technology to perform your duties.
- Resilience – As qualified as you are, you will encounter an irate customer occasionally. This skills demonstrates your ability to remain calm, patient and professional.
- Self-management – With many companies now going remote, as a customer service professional, you’re expected to be proactive accountable, time efficient and self-motivated.
Educational requirements for customer service professionals
Given the volume and scope of responsibilities customer service staff are expected to execute, there is a lot to learn, retain and apply. Literacy and computation skills are essential. Companies across the board therefore, require that applicants have a minimum of five (5) CXC subjects. Usually these companies would specify what particular subjects they’re more focused on such as Mathematics, English, Principles of Business, Information Technology or Computer Science.
Companies usually place more importance on training a candidate would have undertaken post-secondary school to prepare him or her for this role. While universities in the Caribbean would not typically offer ‘Customer Service degrees’, other disciplines offer many of the essential skills such professionals need.
Majors such as Marketing, Business Management, Communications, Hospitality & Tourism as well as Psychology offer many important skills and competencies customer service staff can capitalise on. Additionally, courses in customer service, sales, emotional intelligence, conflict resolution and stress management are also available to enhance your customer service skills and illustrate on your CV. It is also critical to note that many companies perform their own customer service training that is usually tailored to their organisation and industry. As such, lack of tertiary level qualifications may not be a deterrence, once your hiring manager determines you possess the necessary service mentality to be a customer service professional.
What should I read next?
- Read our article about Customer Service Representative Interview Questions
- Read our article about Career in Customer Service
- Read our article about Career in a Customer Service In Trinidad
