Most Important Qualities for Good Customer Service

By a long shot, the most important quality for good customer service is "Empathy". If a customer service rep cannot put themselves in the shoes of the customer then the customer is much more likely to go "unheard" and their complaints will fall on "deaf ears". This is a major piece of the puzzle! If this is the case, any solution provided will likely be "the wrong one".

Ability to Stay Calm Under Pressure and Keep Your Composure

Many customer service reps receive the brunt of emotional abuse from disgruntled customers. Whether the fault lies with the customer or the company is neither here nor there but having the ability to "remain calm" is something that comes natural to all top customer service reps.

Ability to Remain Clear in Their Responses

Being clear and concise about an actionable solution is essential in customer service. The average attention span of any given customer is short, if the customer is disgruntled expect that to be even shorter. For this reason, it's crucial that customer service reps remain clear and impactful in their responses. Responses like: "You're right, we will take care of this for you", go a long way!

Ability to Deescalate a Conversation

It's very important to be able "calm any emotional storms" your customers may throw at you. Good customer service reps will "probe" in this scenario and get to the root cause of the customer's issues. Once you understand the root cause of the issue, you can then more easily provide an actionable plan! If they can do this, they should be able to deescalate any situation with ease.

Ability to Use Positive Language and Frame the Situation in a Positive Light

Anyone representative that can frame things in a positive light will be an all star on your customer service team.

Adaptability

Customer service issues can come at you fast. Being able to adapt and shift gears will make any representative that much more valuable to your organization. If you are quick on your toes and quick to handle customer complaints you’ll be great at any customer service position.