Customer service is certainly a skill that can be developed and learnt, in fact experience is likely the best means of mastering it. Those that are able to communicate effectively, have good organisational skills and have some measure of patience can usually do quite well in a customer service role. But there’s no doubting there are many different aspects to customer service, one of which is ensuring that someone is always available to deal with incoming calls. Phone answering services that specialise in helping out small businesses can be a godsend for many companies and are very cost effective.

If you do deal with many calls and possibly even complaints, it’s smart to have a good handle on how to converse with your clients. For example, there are many no-no’s when it comes to customers service, we’ve compiled a few of the things you want to avoid when talking to your customers.

Using slang

There are certain standards when it comes to formalities and language that tend to differ from industry to industry. You wouldn’t, for example, bat an eyelid if your painter spoke to you with a casual tone, using a lot of slang and speaking as if the two of you were friends. In a professional environment however, it would come across in a totally different way and may even be interpreted as rudeness and disrespect. When you’re speaking to a client, it’s customary and expected that you would avoid using this kind of language, not necessarily because they won’t understand it, but because of the way it can be perceived by customers you’re dealing with.

Mispronouncing Names or Company Names

This is a great way to make your customer feel unimportant and a big ´no-no particularly in professional industry. The worst part is that when you mispronounce a customer’s name or call them the wrong name altogether, it is going to stick out in their mind for quite some time. Remember to learn your customers´ and the names of their businesses too, it can mean avoiding a customer service hiccup and creates a much more professional image of your business.

Saying “There’s nothing we can do”

There is perhaps nothing more frustrating than hearing this, especially when you’re in need of help or you’ve received bad service. Even if you genuinely can’t help the situation any more than you already have, there are more helpful and constructive ways to communicate this to client. Make a suggestion about someone to talk to, possible solutions or at the very least explain why the situation cannot be dealt with at that particular moment.

Saying “That’s our policy”

Again, this is one of those key phrases that can make people’s blood boil and isn’t going to make you very popular with your clients. In short, it’s a bit of a cop out and shuts down further discussion in a lot of ways. Generally, if there is a policy that stands in the way of you helping a customer, it exists for a reason. Much like in the example above, you should explain the situation from your company’s perspective and offer a workaround. If you can effectively communicate your position and show that you are actively trying to offer a solution without going against company policy, this at least shows the customers that you care. Plus it will leave a much better taste in their mouth than would cutting off the conversation by saying ‘that’s our policy’.