A customer service representative acts as a liaison between the company and the customers. The office is necessitated by the fact that there are bound to be complaints, billing concerns and account questions from customers.
These concerns, if not resolved promptly and with uttermost professionalism, often taint the company’s image thus retarding its growth. In addition, matters touching on cancellation of orders, erroneous data entries, and general queries demand immediate attention from a professional (i.e. a Customer Service Representative).
Primary Responsibilities
- Promote and sell the company’s products and or services. They should also inform the customer whenever there are new products, services.
- Try as much as possible to discourage customers from cancelling previous orders and instead encourage them to make more orders.
- Always give a solution whenever a product malfunctions or when a customer is not happy with the service(s) they paid for.
- Attend to customer’s complaint(s) via mail, phone, social media or email
- Establish contact with the various customers to authenticate their account details
- Help customers with making orders, exchanges of products and getting refunds if necessary
- Provide accurate company position on certain products and services. This means providing all the relevant company information to the customer to help them make informed orders or subscriptions.
- Termination of dormant accounts or ones in violation of the company’s Terms and Conditions
- Upgrade accounts as per the customer’s instructions
- Promptly communicate the changes in company policies or account renewals terms to the customers
- Employ technology (especially the use of a computer) when handling many callers
- Collect and professionally manage the customer’s billing and contact information
- Work hand in hand with the customer service manager to guarantee efficient customer care to all
- Compile and submit (to the customer service manager) a report showing the level of customer satisfaction
Academic Requirements
- At least a high school diploma or equivalent
- Associate Degree or Bachelor degree in be required in some cases
Experience
- Past Experience as a customer service representative in a busy firm is an added advantage
Skills and Abilities
- Must have basic computer skills since the job is technology based
- Must have strong interpersonal skills to understand and manage customers’ emotions
- Be a quick thinker and able to offer solutions in the fastest way possible
- Ability to handle various people or tasks simultaneously (i.e. multitasking Skills)
- Must have some marketing skills to help promote the company’s products and services
- Should have documentation skills to facilitate the collection and entry of customer details
- Should be a proficient researcher and quick learner to ensure that workable solutions are always availed to the customers
- Should be patient, energetic, courteous, friendly and creative as most of the work is repetitive and might be stressful if not handled well
While other jobs may not necessarily need a people’s person, the customer service representative post demands it. It is, therefore, paramount that the applicant possesses patience and strong interpersonal skills to succeed in the field.
The job description details, especially the academic qualification section should be clear to ensure that those recruited have the relevant expertise. Lastly, the applicant must be made aware of whom they answer to i.e. customer service manager.
