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Table of contents

Mastering customer service: 7 effective strategies for successful management.

A well crafted customer service management strategy is at the heart of keeping customers happy. It plays an important role in defining what your brand stands for and helps in building long-term customer relationships.

When your company delivers great customer service on a consistent basis, you’re not just meeting customer expectations but ensuring that they come back to you and do repeat business.

All of this ultimately boosts your bottom line – which is, revenue.

But, what goes into creating a fool-proof customer service management strategy? Let’s find out.

Top 5 Customer Support Systems for Your Business in 2024

Table of Contents

What is customer service management.

Customer service management is the process of planning and implementing processes and technologies that enable your team to deliver outstanding support to your customers.

It involves overseeing every aspect of the customer journey, from the moment they are introduced to your brand to making a purchase to post-sale support.

The ultimate goal of customer service management is to enhance customer satisfaction, increase loyalty and retention, and boost critical business metrics such as revenue.

What are the Benefits of Customer Service Management?

Effective customer service management has several benefits:

11 Customer Retention Strategies You Shouldn’t Overlook in 2024

How to Develop An Effective Customer Service Management Strategy?

Developing an effective customer service management strategy requires a thoughtful approach that aligns with your business goals and customer needs. Here’s a step-by-step guide for the same:

1. Build A Detailed Customer Profile

One of the most critical aspects of building an effective customer support strategy is to first understand your customer.

It starts with defining your target persona and by identifying their pain points, interests, and expectations.

For instance, do you know what your customers’ likes and dislikes are? Where do they interact with your brands the most? What is their motivation in reaching out to you?

Collecting feedback is one of the easiest and most powerful ways to understand your customer. It helps you gather actionable insights and information into who your ideal customer is. Aside from this, you can also leverage analytics to gather real-time insights into your customers’ behavior. This helps you make better business decisions – ones that work FOR the customer.

You might also like: What is Customer Happiness? 10 Practical Ways to Keep Customers Happy

2. Set Clear Objectives

The next step in building your customer service management strategy is to identify the specific goals you want to achieve.

For instance,do you want to specifically improve response times? Are you looking to hit an average customer satisfaction rating of 4/5?

Define these goals as clearly and specifically as possible.

Most importantly, ensure that your objectives are measurable and clearly aligned with your business needs.

3. Choose Your Customer Communication Channels

Once you have a clear idea on customer expectations and objectives that you want your service management strategy to meet, identify the relevant communication channels that your customers are most likely to use in your customer service management strategy.

For instance, where are your customers present? Do they prefer to interact with you via email or are they mostly present on social media platforms like Twitter, LinkedIn, or Facebook?

Having this insight will help you figure out where resources need to be channeled.

For example, if 80% of your customer base reaches out to you via email, then delivering quick, efficient email support should be your top most priority.

Also, keep in mind that you will need to set up your customer service strategy in such a way that there is seamless integration between all your relevant channels. This ensures that you are able to deliver a consistent support experience across all channels.

For instance, say a customer initiates a support interaction via live chat. But during the next interaction, the same customer switches to email. In such scenarios you need to ensure that your customers don’t have to keep repeating themselves.

A good example is how Hiver brings together email, live chat, knowledge base, and voice communication right inside Gmail. This enables your agents to  offer multichannel support without having to switch between multiple applications at a time.

4. Build A Skilled Team

Your customer service agents are at the frontline of your business, which is why it’s essential that you hire the right people for the job.

This requires a combination of strategic planning, recruitment, training, and ongoing support.

You will need to define clear roles and expectations for each team member. This includes performance expectations that encompasses response time, issue resolution targets, and customer satisfaction goals

While recruiting customer service representatives, it is important to look for these skills, qualities, and traits.

Once you find the right fit for your team, you need to develop a comprehensive onboarding program that covers aspects like company values, customer profiles, product insights, communication best practices, and more.

It is also important to give your employees regular training to keep them up to date with your customer service procedures, latest product launches, and industry trends. This is key for consistent and high-quality customer service.

You might also like: How to Build and Organize Customer Support Teams

5. Implement the Right Tech Stack

Support tools are important in enhancing the efficiency, effectiveness, and quality of your customer service management strategy. 

They help centralize customer communication, route tickets to the right agents, drive faster internal collaboration on tickets, track team performance, and ultimately – provide more efficient support.

This is precisely why investing in the right tool is one of the most important customer support strategies.

When choosing one, you need to evaluate your current customer service pain points and inefficiencies and see how implementing it can make a difference. 

For instance, your support team may be dealing with a huge volume of customer inquiries and having a hard time ensuring that all incoming queries are assigned to relevant team members.

Or maybe you need a tool to help you provide live chat support and self-service options.

By considering these factors, you can narrow down on the specific features and functionalities you want your customer support tool to have. Here’s what you should take note of when choosing a customer support tool.

You will also need to define the objectives you hope to achieve with the implementation of a customer service tool. They can include:

A tool like Hiver for instance, is super easy to set up and allows you to offer seamless support without any extensive training. You can easily assign incoming queries to support agents, use Hiver’s smart automations to take care of repetitive tasks, and track critical customer service metrics with the platform’s robust reporting and analytics feature. Simply speaking, Hiver can do everything a help desk does – right from Gmail.

You might also lie: 9 Must-Have Customer Support Tools to Integrate Into Your Tech Stack in 2024

6. Define Metrics to Track Success

Tracking metrics is a key part of data-driven decision making in your customer support strategy. It allows you to identify bottlenecks in your customer service processes. Aside from this, metrics are an important way to keep track of customer behavior, preferences, and challenges.

It can also help you with allocating resources more efficiently, setting realistic goals, and optimizing customer journeys.

In order to define meaningful metrics, you will need to first identify your critical customer service objectives like we discussed earlier. You will also need to understand what constitutes a great support experience for your customers. For instance, quick responses, accurate resolutions, personalized interactions, self-service, etc.

Based on these insights you need to identify relevant metrics that align with your goals while also helping you determine the quality of customer service.

Here are some important metrics that define the success of your customer service operations:

Regularly analyzing and interpreting these metrics helps you understand where improvements are needed and where you’re excelling, ultimately guiding your efforts to provide exceptional customer support.

You might also like: 18 Key Customer Service Metrics + How to Use Them

7. Personalize Customer Interactions

A customer service management strategy is only effective if it can strengthen the relationship you have with your customers. Personalizing interactions do just that. It allows you to build emotional connections with customers, enhance customer satisfaction, increase engagement, improves retention, and brings about a positive brand perception. All of which has a direct impact on the bottom line of your business.

Here are some ways you can deliver personalized support.

You might also like: Delivering Personalized Customer Service: 5 Tips You Should Try

Building an effective customer service management strategy elevates the customer experience, boosts brand loyalty, and drives growth.

By defining clear cut support objectives, assembling skilled teams, implementing the right tools, tracking success metrics, and personalizing customer interactions, businesses can create a service management strategy that truly sets them apart in this era of endless choices.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. What is customer service management?

Customer service management involves creating and implementing strategies that enable a team to deliver exceptional support throughout the customer journey, enhancing satisfaction, loyalty, and revenue.

2. How can customer service management benefit a business?

Effective customer service management reduces acquisition costs, improves brand perception, and increases customer lifetime value.

3. Why is personalizing customer interactions important?

Personalizing interactions builds emotional connections, enhances satisfaction, increases engagement and retention, and improves brand perception, directly impacting a business’s bottom line.

4. How does Hiver enhance customer service management?

Hiver integrates email, live chat, knowledge base, and voice communication within Gmail. This allows agents to offer multichannel support seamlessly without switching applications. This in turn improves efficiency and customer experience.

5. What are the benefits of using Hiver for customer support?

Hiver facilitates easy assignment of incoming queries, automates repetitive tasks with smart automations. The platform provides robust reporting and analytics features to track customer service metrics. These features make Hiver a comprehensive tool for streamlining customer support.

6. Can Hiver improve ticket management and response times?

Yes, Hiver is designed to improve response times through efficient query assignment and smart automations. It also enhances ticket management by providing a centralized platform for handling customer interactions, ensuring a streamlined support process.

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Customer Service Management and Measurement: Observing and Measuring Customers in New Ways

There’s no question that customer service is important for any business. Happy customers are more likely to return and recommend your company to others, while unhappy customers can damage your reputation and even lead to lost revenue. In fact, customers who rate a company’s customer service as “good” are more likely to refer them to a colleague.

That’s why it’s essential to measure the effectiveness of your customer service management and measurement efforts and observe customers in new ways to get a better understanding of their needs.

Below, we’ll discuss methods for customer service management and measurement, as well as ways to observe customers to get a better idea of what they want from your business.

Pay Attention to the Average Resolution Time

One metric you can use to measure customer service performance is the average resolution time. This is the amount of time it takes your team to resolve a customer’s issue, from the moment they contact you until the problem is completely resolved. To calculate your average resolution time, you’ll need to track how long it takes to resolve each individual case.

Customer Service Management platforms should have some kind of Service Level Management capabilities that allow your teams to monitor and track every interaction.

Internally (or with the customer), Service Level Agreements (SLA) should be considered and agreed upon by the business. Milestones within the customer journey should be mapped. These include the first touch to response; think from initial response to team assignment, or from assignment to closed, or even from closed to customer accepted. This then allows every interaction to be assessed against these milestones and the business service levels.

How did you do? If you met all your service levels but the customer is not happy, then perhaps the milestones are too long. If you missed your service levels but customers are happy, perhaps your expectations are set too high, or the requests are too complicated to be solved within that time.

Through reporting and analytics, you now have the data you need to optimize the customer journey and the customer experience.

Using a customer service management platform can help companies leverage self-help portals, giving customers the tools to resolve simple issues and speak to customer service when a manual solution isn’t possible. All the data and insights you gain can be used to lower the Average Resolution Time, making your customers satisfied and happy to continue doing business with you.

Monitor Abandonment Rates

Another metric you can use to measure customer service performance is abandonment rates. This is the percentage of customers who contact your customer service department and then hang up before their issue is resolved.

Abandonment rates can be caused by a number of factors, including long wait times, unhelpful or rude customer service representatives, and complex interactive voice response (IVR) systems. With a customer service management platform you can easily monitor abandonment rates and keep them in check. Furthermore, with the adoption of a customer facing self-service, you might be able to provide solutions to your customers whilst they wait by letting them access and search your knowledge base.

Observe Customers in Their Natural Environment

In addition to tracking metrics, it’s also helpful to observe customers in their natural environment. This means watching them as they interact with your product or service without any intervention from customer service representatives.

This can be done in a number of ways, including customer surveys, focus groups, and user testing. Observing customers can give you valuable insights into their needs and how your product or service can be improved to better meet those needs. These needs can be interpreted through abandonment and resolution rate. Generally speaking, are customers getting what they need through your customer service department?

Determine Your Customer Effort Score (CES)

Another way to measure customer service performance is to determine your customer effort score (CES). This metric measures how much effort customers must put forth to resolve their issues.

CES usually asks: “On a scale from 1 to 5, rate how easy or convenient [company] made it for you to [resolve my issue/address a task that needed to be done]. Your CES score comprises the percentage of respondents that answered with a “4 – easy” or a “5 – very easy”.

CES surveys should be sent out immediately after an interaction, like a service ticket resolution. A customer service management platform can help you deploy customer surveys to determine your CES score and make meaningful internal improvements.

Consider Employing Customer Satisfaction Surveys (CSAT)

Customer Satisfaction Surveys (CSAT) offer a versatile way to measure how your customers are satisfied with your services and products and the overall relationship they have with you.

With questions that can evolve with your customers throughout their lifecycle, CSAT makes it easy to track your customers’ feelings and address satisfaction drops at all touchpoints.

CSAT often asks the base question: “On a scale of 1 to 5, how satisfied are you with [company/touchpoint]?” Measuring your CSAT is easy; merely calculate the percentage of respondents who gave a rating of “4 – Satisfied” or “5 – Very Satisfied.”

Modifying the CSAT to target your company at large or perhaps a specific touchpoint offers you a closer look into where your operations can improve. Additionally, adjusting its timing, whether directly after a particular interaction or on an annual basis, can yield valuable information about customer sentiment or satisfaction.

A customer service management platform can help you implement and send out CSAT to help you pinpoint how your customers feel about your company and its services and products.

Conduct Sentiment Analysis

Sentiment analysis of customer feedback helps determine your customers’ overall sentiment, or attitude, towards your company.

Consider using Net Promoter Score (NPS) surveys to gain an understanding of customer sentiment, which ties into building long-term customer loyalty and retention.

NPS asks this simple question: “On a scale from 0 to 10, how likely are you to recommend [company] to a [colleague]?” The scoring methodology of NPS uses grouping to segment your respondents into three distinct categories: promoters (scores of 9 to 10), passives (scores of 7 to 8), and detractors (anyone ratings of 6 or less).

To calculate the NPS, subtract the promoters from the detractors. Your NPS can range anywhere from -100 to 100.

Once you’ve conducted sentiment analysis, you’ll be able to see how customers feel about your company as a whole, as well as specific aspects of your customer service. Sentiment analysis data can go a long way towards grading customer service representatives and making the necessary internal adjustments.

Factoring In and Preventing Customer Churn

Finally, you’ll want to factor in customer churn when measuring customer service performance. Churn, also known as attrition, is the percentage of customers who stop doing business with you over a period of time.

Customer churn can be caused by several factors, including poor customer service. Therefore, it’s essential to track your churn rate and determine if the service or support they received might have been a poor experience. Check if SLAs were met or breached. See how many tickets or requests were being logged. Of the ones logged, what were they for – bugs, downtime, missing features?

Using all of this, you can garner information about how a customer might have left from how they interacted with you. So while surveys and focus groups won’t let you measure and track your churn rate, they will help explain your churn rate.

Not all churn is terrible, but expansion is vital within your existing customer base, especially in a B2B environment. Having growth in your customer base is crucial to counteract churn. Churn can never be totally prevented, especially if you’re only losing customers who were not your ideal customers in the first place.

But focusing on your ideal customer, growing that base (new and existing customers), and turning that customer base into advocates of your product or service is critical. Otherwise, net churn will constantly erode any further business expansion you make. New business expansion needs to go hand and hand with Net Revenue retention to ensure you are growing and not fighting a losing battle with retaining your existing customers.

Where Vivantio Comes In

Measuring the effectiveness of your customer service department can ultimately be done through tangible metrics, data, and keen observation. To streamline the measuring process, look for customer service management platforms that offer a range of features and the ability to give your organization better insights into customer behavior and satisfaction.

Vivantio assembles every aspect of customer service management into one, intuitive platform, giving you the ability to revamp your internal processes gradually.

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Christine Churchill

Step-by-step guide to creating a customer service manual.

• June 27, 2022
• | Customer Service Training

Have you recently been promoted to a Customer Service Manager role? Or are you hoping to get a promotion soon? If so, you may be looking for ways to convey customer service standards and best practices to your team. However, you may be unsure how to begin documenting this. That’s where a customer service manual comes in. A manual is a must-have for anyone in a customer service management position!

What is a Customer Service Manual?

A Customer Service Manual is a visually appealing book (or e-Book)  that your employees can refer to for guidelines and resources that help them be successful at their job. It should include a comprehensive training section that addresses common customer care best practices and internal policies. It should also include how you want your employees to handle problems such as product returns, complaints, and service issues. For best results, create an interactive document that can be used for live training as well as an ongoing reference guide. 

Your manual should also outline the importance of service excellence, your organization’s history and culture, onboarding and training timeframes and expectations, customer service protocols and best practices, and guidance for “what if” situations. Let’s go over some suggested modules to help you get started. 

What to Include

Guidelines and protocols will vary from company to company depending on what sector you’re in, and the size of your company. For instance, protocols for an insurance company will differ from those in a hospitality business. Nonetheless, there are some basic standards and principles that are common across all businesses and sectors, which we’ll go over.

• The Importance of Customer Service Excellence – Your manual should begin with a definition of customer service, customer service best practices, and what it means to provide service excellence. It is important to reiterate why service excellence is so important for business success – both externally and internally. Use motivational quotes by customer service experts to inspire and motivate your staff. Here is one of our favorites: 

“You’ll never have a product or price advantage again. They can be too easily duplicated. But a strong customer service culture cannot be copied.”

  – Jerry Fritz, Motivational Speaker, and Author

• Company Mission Statement and Overview – Next, provide a section about your company’s mission statement , core values, products or services, history, and future goals. Give examples of how service excellence has helped your company grow.
• Company Structure – Use a chart or other visual to present the company hierarchy so employees are aware of how the company is structured, and what type of management it has. Clearly explain the relationship between employees, supervisors, and any other direct reports. 
• Employee Expectations – It is very important to reiterate your expectations for all employees (not only customer service employees) and why it is important for them to align with the company’s core values. Setting clear expectations , in writing, will reduce workplace ambiguity and make it easier for new hires to assimilate and align..
• Employee Onboarding and Training – Expectations are reinforced by providing a thorough orientation and training program. Your manual should include onboarding timeframes, training overview, customer service training program , completion and re-certification timeframes, deadlines, and assessment programs. 
• The Customer Journey – Every employee needs to understand the customer journey . That is, from the time a customer first starts researching your product or service until they complete a purchase and beyond. A visual such as the example of a flowchart below would be very helpful in conveying the customer experience through the various stages.

• Customer Service Protocols – Essential “do’s and dont’s” should be outlined in customer service protocols. These protocols should cover everything from basic communication with customers (eg: scripts for how to address customers, tone of voice if speaking on the phone, email etiquette, and so on) to personal presentation and grooming to more complex scenarios such as what to do when a customer gets upset, how and when to escalate an issue to a manager, finding ways to go beyond the call to delight customers, and so on. This section should also include internal customer service protocols, i.e. how to interact with and serve co-workers and managers.
• Advocating for Customers  – Every customer service employee should be given the role of an advocate for customers . Their job is to make sure customers have an outstanding experience . If they notice any flaws in service, systems, or processes that affect customers, there should be a guideline on how to share or report this. Similarly, any signs of customer frustration at any touchpoint should be brought to management’s attention. 
• Customer Fandom – If the goal is to provide service excellence, then the goal should also be to find ways to delight your customers . Studies have shown a direct correlation between customer delight and what is known as customer fandom . Why should this be included in a customer service manual? Because customers who are delighted with a business are more than happy to help promote their product or service. Think of some favorite brands such as Apple, Nike, Disney, Starbucks – or your favorite band! Use this section to invite feedback from employees on how to create fun and engaging customer marketing campaigns.

These tips should go far in helping you create an amazing customer service manual that is informative, helpful, and inspiring for your team. One thing that’s important to bear in mind: Any manual you create is not carved in stone! It needs to be a constant ‘work in progress’ that evolves with the ever-changing needs and preferences of customers . Your manual – not to mention your service strategies, policies, systems, and training programs – could be thought of as a customer journey “map” but one that follows the direction of your customers.

Additional Resources:

5 Skills Of An Excellent Customer Service Manager

The Importance Of Supplementing Employee Orientation With Customer Service Training

How To Achieve Service Excellence For Your Business – 6 Important Steps

Customer Care Begins At Home

Creating Fandom With Customer Service

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Customer Service Managers — What Do They Do?

Published: June 02, 2023

A customer service manager is responsible for overseeing the customer service operations of a company. They make sure customer delight is always a top priority.

A customer service manager's job is to empower their team to provide the best possible service. These leaders give representatives the tools and frameworks necessary to make every customer interaction a positive, productive experience.

Perhaps you're looking to hire a customer service manager for your organization, or maybe you're looking to move into the role yourself.

First, let's discuss what a customer service manager does, the skills necessary for success , and what to expect from the position.

Table of Contents

Customer Service Manager Job Description

What does a customer service manager do, customer service manager requirements and skills, customer service manager responsibilities, how to be a good customer service manager, expert tips from csms.

A customer service manager is responsible for customer satisfaction, ensuring customer needs are met. Customer service managers achieve this objective by providing a productive work environment and equipping representatives with the tools necessary to succeed.

Customer service managers are uniquely situated between the customer and the business. They understand the customer's and the business's needs, facilitating success for both parties.

Accordingly, a customer service manager is a valuable team member. Now, let's get into more detail about what customer service managers do.

The primary goal of a customer service manager is to ensure that customers receive the best service and support. This translates to happy, paying customers who grow with your company.

When it comes to delighting customers, customer service managers have many responsibilities.

Here are some examples:

• Enabling the service team to provide an excellent, customer-centric experience by holding the team accountable and removing roadblocks.
• Having a deep understanding of the company's products and services.
• Managing escalated issues.
• Monitoring the team's performance and reporting on critical metrics.
• Iterating ways to improve performance, efficiency, and efficacy based on customer feedback.
• Providing insights from customer data to marketing and sales. This information can help grow the organization and reduce churn.

Depending on who your customers are and what your company provides, the role of a customer service manager may vary.

However, regardless of industry, a customer service manager must understand customers' needs and always solve for their success.

Now that we know more about customer service managers, let's review the necessary skills and requirements for the job.

Customer service managers typically have a degree in business or marketing, a customer service background, and experience leading a team. Strong leadership skills and a proficiency in customer service technology are must-have skills for someone in this position.

Requirements

A bachelor's degree in business, marketing, or a related field.

This is usually preferred but not required. Previous experience can be more valuable than an applicable degree, depending on the role.

Experience Working in Customer Service

A customer service manager needs to understand the work her team is responsible for. There's no better way to learn that than through experience.

That being said, it's possible to move into a customer service manager role from a different management position. You'll just need a track record of leading teams to success.

Strong Leadership Skills and Experience Managing a Team

A candidate for a customer service manager role needs to demonstrate leadership skills that inspire and motivate a team.

Even if they don't have official management experience, CSM hopefuls should have experience in managing projects.

Proficiency in Computers and Customer Service Software

Customer service managers should be comfortable using CRMs and reporting tools to keep track of team performance.

Helpful Skills

• Strong problem-solving skills and the ability to make quick decisions
• A customer-centric mindset and the ability to empathize with customers
• The ability to effectively manage and motivate a team
• Excellent organizational and time management skills
• Attention to detail and the ability to multitask
• A strong work ethic and the ability to work under pressure

Additionally, a customer service manager should be knowledgeable about their industry. Candidates must understand the products or services the company offers and stay up-to-date with the latest trends in customer service.

• Maintaining Lasting Relationships with Profitable Customers
• Hiring and Training the Customer Service Team
• Setting Goals for the Team and Checking Progress
• Representing the Voice of the Customer
• Dealing with Employee Issues and Consequences
• Handling Serious, Long-Lasting Issues with Customers
• Establishing and Maintaining a Positive, Customer-Centric Team Culture

Customer Service Managers are responsible for delivering the best possible customer service experience.

They organize and motivate service reps, manage incoming case volume, and communicate customer behavioral trends to other departments.

See some common customer service manager responsibilities below.

1. Maintaining Lasting Relationships with Profitable Customers

Customer service managers strive for customer delight across the board.

However, they are particularly responsible for satisfying the company's highest-value customers. Therefore, customer service managers must identify the highest-value customers and develop strategies for satisfying and retaining them.

Strategies could include personalized service and high-touch relationship management to maximize customer lifetime value. "Half the battle of being a CSM is thinking about 'right customer, right time' to help get them and keep them on track, driving adoption in your tool," says Michael Renahan, senior manager of customer success at HubSpot.

"Plan your day with a clear focus. Know who in their lifecycle needs to hear from you now and why they need to hear from you."

2. Hiring and Training the Customer Service Team

Customer service managers need to recruit and train new team members. This includes developing job descriptions, conducting interviews, and onboarding new hires.

Customer service managers are responsible for training new hires to handle customer inquiries and provide a delightful customer experience.

Training is an ongoing process. Customer service managers must be available to guide service reps throughout their careers. A great customer service manager is a resource to their team, facilitating learning and growth.

3. Setting Goals for the Team and Checking Progress

Customer service managers must ensure representatives understand their responsibilities and meet company goals. Often, managers set individual goals for each employee, especially those at the beginning of their career.

When setting goals, managers should, of course, guarantee that they're attainable. Employees should always feel challenged, but not to the point of feeling overwhelmed.

According to Zendesk , managers should always set clear goals for customer service reps because it helps them succeed.

Customer service managers may set weekly or bi-weekly goals for their team. They also meet with reps to check their progress and ensure their workload is manageable.

4. Representing the Voice of the Customer

A company can't exist without its customers. However, many employees are disconnected from the customer and their needs.

Not the customer service manager. A customer service manager must understand the customers' needs and advocate for them within the organization.

By working so closely with customers, customer service managers get the unique opportunity to hear feedback. They can uncover problems that need to be solved, customer likes and dislikes, and feedback regarding customer engagement.

It's their responsibility to understand these customers inside and out. As a result, they help close the gap between the company and the customer. This leads to a better experience for customers in the long term.

5. Dealing with Employee Issues and Consequences

Customer service managers are responsible for their teams, which sometimes means dealing with missed expectations around performance and behavior.

If issues arise, managers must remain calm and create an action plan. It can be tough laying down the law, but that's a big part of being a manager.

If an employee has an issue, the manager will meet with them, hear their side of the story, and relay any necessary consequences. By creating a supportive work environment, the customer service manager can build a motivated team.

Employees become more adept at handling performance issues empathetically and respectfully.

6. Handling Serious, Long-Lasting Issues with Customers

Sometimes, there are customer issues that go beyond the scope of what reps can solve. In these cases, customers may get so upset that a manager must step in.

In either circumstance, a customer service manager must be equipped to handle these types of escalations.

Diffusing an angry customer can be very difficult. A customer service manager should be the company's expert in this field.

That means being empathetic, actively listening, and apologizing, even when it's unclear why a customer is so upset.

A great customer service manager can see things from the customer's perspective, even when empathizing is painful.

Companies that invest in customer happiness typically show revenue growth — and a customer service manager is vital to supporting customer happiness.

7. Establishing and Maintaining a Positive, Customer-Centric Team Culture

Culture is king, and a customer service manager is responsible for establishing and maintaining a healthy team culture that facilitates performance, happiness, productivity, and prioritizes the customer's success.

Curation of culture is a holistic process that starts with hiring, where the customer service manager makes sure to build a team of individuals who fit within the company's mission.

Maintaining healthy company culture is an everyday responsibility that involves communicating a shared mission, fostering a sense of community, and ensuring that all actions and communications are working toward the same goal.

Of course, it's easier said than done, but a great customer service manager must captain the ship and inspire their team with trust and purpose.

• Lead by example.
• Solve for the customer.
• Remove roadblocks for your team.
• Measure the things that matter.
• Turn mistakes into learning moments.
• Always consider the role service has in the organization as a whole.

1. Lead by example.

A good manager shows their team that they always have their back. By demonstrating hard work and dedication, customer service managers inspire their team to go above.

A great manager isn't afraid to roll up their sleeves and get their hands dirty. It's sometimes necessary for complex cases or an overwhelming volume of incoming customer inquiries.

2. Solve for the customer.

It's easy to get swept up in internal processes and policies. However, a great manager is flexible and always considers the customers' best interests.

If it doesn't make the experience better for the customer, then question why you're doing it at all.

"The ability to tie specific product and technical knowledge back to a customer's high-level goals is imperative," says Aaron Schneider, a Customer Success Manager at HubSpot.

"Flexing that muscle whenever possible will give you credibility with your customers, serve as examples for future CSM interviews, and help you grow as a professional."

3. Remove roadblocks for your team.

Always be in communication with your reps. Ask questions and understand what's keeping them from meeting or exceeding goals. It's the manager's job to identify and remove roadblocks so that the team is always performing at its best.

4. Measure the things that matter.

Creating measurable goals and providing critical stakeholders with data-driven insights are essential. This will give you context as you make decisions and demonstrate progress.

For example, NPS scores, number of touch points per channel, and percentage of first-call resolutions can all be great for giving necessary context.

5. Turn mistakes into learning moments.

When a team member makes a mistake, your first gut instinct may be to reprimand. However, mistakes tend to be a significant driver of learning.

A great customer service manager turns a rep's mistake into a teaching moment so they can improve.

6. Always consider the role service has in the organization as a whole.

Keeping the greater business perspective in mind will help you make informed decisions that solve for the customer and move the needle for the company.

Remember, a great experience can turn a satisfied customer into a brand advocate and promoter.

1. Ask the right questions.

Solving a challenge for the customer involves asking questions and discovering user pain points.

"Your main priority is to understand your customers, their business model, how they value success, who the decision-makers and stakeholders are, and what they care about," says Jessica Aguilar, a customer success manager at HubSpot.

"Ask the questions that are going to help you get these answers."

According to Aguilar, you need to ask customers about their roadblocks to find the best solution.

"Lean into questions like, 'When did this problem begin?' 'What steps have you taken so far to solve this problem?' 'How has it impacted your business?'" Aguilar says.

"Once you have all the details, set expectations on what you'll be doing to investigate the issue."

2. Tap fellow CSMs for guidance.

"Engage with your peers across different segments. Set up 1-on-1 coffee chats with other Customer Success Managers," suggests Laura Prange, a customer success manager at HubSpot.

"Here at HubSpot, we have a handful of CSMs who have been in their roles for 5+ years. These people have invaluable insights into how your role has grown, where to focus, and how to quickly get answers to your questions."

Once you've had helpful conversations with your peers, extend the program to your team. You can help coordinate coffee chats between customer service representatives in different departments.

3. Work closely with sales to meet organization-wide goals.

Customer service managers need to partner with members of the sales organization to meet business goals. Conversations with the sales team can help you understand your tool's use cases and spot potential roadblocks early.

"Set internal meetings with your sales counterparts to align on your shared customers. I personally have a recurring monthly meeting with the sales reps who share the most accounts with me," says HubSpot's Jessica Aguilar.

"We use that time to discuss updates from our shared customers, if they're assessing any additional products, how we can partner together so they can grow with us and see value, review their roadblocks, and also review whether we can partner to engage previously unengaged contacts," she notes.

4. Admit when you need backup.

"Be at peace with saying, 'I do not know,'” says HubSpot's Aaron Schneider.

"[Gather] those challenging customer questions and situations…for the next time you are asked. And, be transparent in your knowledge of a certain topic. CSMs are not product experts. We are generalists and strategists."

Managing the Transition

Being a customer service manager can be both challenging and rewarding. To be successful in this role, you must be a great communicator, empathetic, and have strong problem-solving skills.

Remember, in this role, your goal is to create a culture where great customer service is the norm, not the exception.

Don't forget to share this post!

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13 Customer Service Role-Play Scenarios: (+Scripts to Master)

content creator

Sydney Mansaray See full bio →

Customer service mistakes are dangerous. They can cost your company a great deal of money. 

Businesses lose $75 billion in revenue from customers who choose another brand to work with because of poor customer care, according to the Gladly Customer Expectations Report .

With great support comes a strong customer relationship. And a guaranteed way to make it great is by teaching your team about possible customer service scenarios and how to handle them.

In difficult customer service scenarios, it’s hard to come up with an immediate answer or solution. But the good news is that most of them are repetitive and fall into a finite number of categories. No matter what customer service situation you’re dealing with, role-playing is the best way to train new employees and provide continuous professional development .

In this article, we provide you with some of the most popular role-play scenarios and share our insights on how to move customer service training online with iSpring Suite .

What Are Role-Play Scenarios?

Role-play scenarios are those in which two or more people act out specific roles . 

Usually, a senior member of your company (e.g., manager, supervisor) or learning and development representative will play the role of an angry or disgruntled customer, and your employees will come up with a solution on the spot. Based on their responses, the trainer will be able to bridge knowledge gaps and/or point them in the right direction.

As a company owner or hiring manager, you can also use role-play scenarios during the onboarding process to assess how a newcomer would approach typical situations in your company.

Simply stage a scene and give them time to think about how they would react. Their response will determine whether they would be a good fit, whether they’re knowledgeable and experienced, or whether you should pass on them.

Customer service role-play scenarios can help you train employees and, therefore, improve customer service in your organization.

Benefits of Role-Plays

Many businesses use role-plays as part of their training programs . Why? Check out some of the benefits of role-plays:

• Building confidence for actual situations
• Finding the best approaches
• Fewer mistakes in real life
• Better communication skills
• Solution of customer problems

How to Use Role-Play Scenarios in Customer Service

If you’re thinking about adding role-play activities to your customer service training sessions but aren’t sure how to do this,

here are 5 steps you can follow:

Step 1: Introduce the issue

Before starting your role-play , gather participants in a classroom or your usual training space and introduce the topic. Your role-play can be about everyday situations or unusual cases, depending on the goals you set.

Provide the participants with instructions on the training process. You can also explain why you decided to address the issue, the purpose of the role-play , the desired outcome, and then let trainees discuss the issue.

Step 2: Provide details

Once you introduce the session, share the background information, more details about the issue, the scenario, and the ways to act during the role-play . Make sure to give enough details about the imaginary situation to make it feel as realistic as possible.

Step 3: Assign roles

Introduce the characters involved in the scenario and assign roles to trainees. For example, if you act out the impatient customer scenario, you will have two roles on different sides of an argument: a customer and a representative.

Ensure that the trainees understand their roles and tasks as outlined in the assignment.

Step 4: Act out a scenario

Now, have the trainees perform their roles while their peers watch. You might advise your trainees to intensify the situation gradually. For example, an impatient customer might start out calm and then get irritated and angry.

Step 5: Discuss the experience

Regardless of the role-play’s outcome, it’s crucial to discuss it with all participants. If a person fails to find the correct approach, invite trainees to analyze the reasons why, such as a lack of persuasion or communication that was too aggressive, and suggest different strategies. And if someone finds the appropriate solution for the issue, discuss what made it effective and if there could be alternative solutions.

Different perspectives can lead to truly great approaches in different customer service scenarios. Make sure to listen to all the participants in the training session. This type of training is all about collaboration and teamwork.

The 13 Most Popular Role-Play Scenarios

Here are 13 examples of role-play scenarios with typical sample responses in customer service:

• The impatient customer
• A product fails to meet expectations
• The angry customer
• The frugal customer
• Onboarding training request
• When you don’t know the answer
• The defective-product customer
• The feature-request customer
• When a customer violates your terms of service
• Addressing a billing discrepancy  
• Unclear support documents
• Excessive customer service automation
• Handling a product recall

Let’s take a closer look at each of them.

Role-Play Scenario #1: The Impatient Customer

A customer ordered a product online, and they still haven’t received it after the scheduled delivery date has passed. They are irritated and demand a refund. While the late delivery might not be your fault, and the customer’s attitude might trigger defensiveness, it’s important to apologize and let them know you’re fixing the issue. One of the potential ways to resolve the situation is to offer a discount or free shipping on their next order. 

Script s ample

Customer: I ordered a product 2 weeks ago, and it was supposed to arrive 3 days ago. What’s going on?

Representative: My sincerest apologies. Late deliveries can be a real pain. I assure you that we’re doing everything possible to resolve this issue for you. And as a gesture of appreciation for your understanding, we would be happy to give you a 10% discount on your next purchase.

Role-Play Scenario #2: A Product Fails to Meet Expectations

A customer bought a new gaming computer and claims that it doesn’t meet the characteristics specified by the manufacturer. Keep in mind that not everything is lost in this situation. Instead of simply issuing a refund, try to find out the nature of the dissatisfaction and recommend an alternative solution .

Customer: Hi there, I bought this computer 3 days ago, but it doesn’t perform as well as described on the website. I chose my platform and the games I would be playing, but the computer doesn’t come anywhere close to hitting the frame rate that the manufacturer said it would, even at the lowest graphic settings. I’d like to return it. 

Representative: Hey there! No problem. You can return it or exchange it for a different computer. Many of our customers are serious gamers, and they speak highly of this (other) model. Why don’t you demo it and let us know what you think? 

Customer: Wow! This computer’s great! I hope I won’t regret it if I decide to exchange the one I purchased . 

Role-Play Scenario #3: The Angry Customer

An angry customer is yelling over the phone about a software malfunction that is jeopardizing an important project. The customer’s emotions have gotten the best of them. Using positive language , try calming them down by apologizing and showing empathy for their situation – regardless of whether the company or customer is at fault. Then, attempt to resolve the issue.

Customer: This isn’t the first time your software has glitched out on me! I pay a lot of money to use this presentation tool, and if I don’t complete the project by tomorrow, I risk losing a major client!

Scenario 1: The issue is on the client’s side

Representative: I’m very sorry you’re experiencing this issue. That must be very frustrating. I’ve looked into your account, and the problem seems to be that you’re using a previous version of the software. I’ve sent you a link to the latest version. Please download it, try again, and let us know if you still run into any issues. We’re always here to help. 

Scenario 2: The company’s at fault

Representative: I’m very sorry you’re experiencing this issue. There is a system-wide server error, but we can assure you that the issue will be fixed very soon. Regardless, we recognize the inconvenience this is causing you. As a gesture of our appreciation for your understanding, please accept this 50% discount on your next month’s subscription fee .

Role-Play Scenario #4: The Frugal Customer

A customer is keen to purchase your product but has expressed dismay at the price. While prices are normally fixed, rather than simply dismissing the customer’s request with a “too bad, so sad” attitude, calmly justify the price by describing the product’s unique features. And if possible, find another way to ease the financial load, such as a free add-on or financing.

Customer: Hi there. I’d love to purchase this vehicle, but its price is way beyond my budget, so I’ll have to pass.

Representative: I understand that the price is steep for you, but this car is durable and fuel-efficient – it achieves up to 48 MPG on the highway. So, the price is actually reasonable. Over time, if you take into account the money you save on gas and car repairs, you’ll see that the vehicle practically pays for itself! However, what we can offer you is 0% financing over the next 5 years. Would that work for you ?

Role-Play Scenario #5: Onboarding Training Request

In this scenario, a customer seeking help with onboarding and training to make sure his team can effectively use the learning management system. They don’t know where to start and are looking for guidance. The customer service representative should provide accurate and helpful information to guide the customer toward a successful implementation of the LMS .

Customer : We recently purchased the new LMS and need assistance with onboarding and training for the team . Can you provide us with detailed information about the implementation process and training resources?

Representative: Absolutely. We understand the importance of effective onboarding and training for your team . Before we proceed, I would like to know what degree of experience your team has with eLearning platforms. 

Are there specific features or functionalities you would like to prioritize in the onboarding process? Using this information, I’ll arrange training and prepare follow-up materials tailored to your needs.

Role-Play Scenario #6: When You Don’t Know the Answer

A customer is keen on one of your top-selling products and wants to know when it will be back in stock. If you simply say “I don’t know” or “Check back later,” they might dismiss the purchase altogether. The best thing to do here is to assure them that you’ll get back to them with an answer. And before they potentially decide to go elsewhere, recommend alternative products that are in stock. 

Customer: Hello! I’m very interested in buying one of your down-feather jackets. The price is right, and it’s exactly what I’m looking for. But unfortunately, it’s out of stock. Do you know when you’ll be getting more?

Representative: Hi there. We recently ran out, and unfortunately, we’re not sure when our new shipment will come in as it depends on our supplier. However, in the meantime, here is a link to our similar brands. Please feel free to check them out. We’ll contact our supplier and let you know as soon as we get a reply. What is the best way to contact you? .

Role-Play Scenario #7: The Defective-Product Customer

A customer comes into your store complaining about a defective item that they purchased. Instead of hastily blaming the customer, empathize with them since they’re probably upset about a well-thought-out purchase that turned out to be of inferior quality. The good news is that, in these situations, they’re usually looking for an exchange rather than a refund. To seal the deal , apologize to the customer and provide them with an answer on the spot . 

Customer: Good afternoon! I recently purchased a swivel chair from your store, but every time I pivot, it makes a loud, irritating squeak. 

Representative: Wow. We’re very sorry to hear that. That must feel very uncomfortable . We don’t hear of this issue too often, so it might be due to a manufacturing defect. We’d be more than happy to send you a new one right away .

Role-Play Scenario #8: The Feature-Request Customer

A customer contacts your technical support team with ideas on how you can improve your product. Customers often provide invaluable insights that can help your company thrive and grow. Whether or not you can fulfill the request, it’s important to first thank the customer for the time they’ve taken to share it with you and explain how and when you plan to implement it, or why you won’t be able to.

Customer: Hi! I’ve been using your product for a few months now, and so far, everything is great! However, I feel that it’s lacking in branding customization options. Will you be able to add more functionality to the next update?

Scenario 1: Your company can add more functionality

Representative: Hello there! Thanks for your feature request. We welcome our customers’ suggestions on how to enhance our product. To help us prioritize our resources, please let us know what specific branding flexibilities you’re looking for. Then, I’ll share this information with our development team. 

Scenario 2: Your company can’t add more functionality

Representative: Hello there! Thanks for your feature request, but due to limited resources, we are unable to implement this functionality in the near future. That being said, many customers have made similar requests, so we’re taking it very seriously. For the moment, we’ll add it to our backlog, and you will definitely be notified when we’re ready to implement more branding options.

For the time being, our platform integrates many WordPress plug-ins that allow for more flexibility. Here’s a link to some of the most commonly used plug-ins. Please feel free to contact us if you need any help .

Role-Play Scenario #9: When a Customer Violates Your Terms of Service

A customer purchased a VPN service and has violated the terms of service by installing it on multiple devices. While it can be awkward to tell a paying customer that they’re in breach of your terms of service, there’s a way to go about it that both gets your point across and preserves their dignity. The key here involves refraining from dubious assumptions. You need to determine their needs and attempt to fulfill them. 

An email from a representative: Dear [ customer’s name] , 

We’re reaching out to you because we’ve noticed that you’ve installed our VPN software on multiple devices while registered with our single-device package. Were you planning on upgrading to one of our multi-device packages instead? Please let us know, and we’ll set you up with the right package for your needs.

Since these scenarios are typical for all customer service managers, it makes sense to automate staff training and deliver it online.

Role-Play Scenario #10: Addressing a Billing Discrepancy

After receiving the invoice for recent services, the customer notices that the total amount is higher than the initial quote provided. They are concerned about the unexpected increase in charges and call customer service seeking an immediate resolution.

Script sample

Customer : I just received my bill for the car detailing services, and it seems to be higher than what I was quoted. I need this issue resolved immediately.

Representative: I apologize for the inconvenience. Accurate billing is important to us, and we always try to provide excellent customer service . Let’s review your billing statement together to identify the specific services and costs. We’ll find a prompt solution to address any discrepancies.

Role-Play Scenario #11: Unclear Support Docs

In this scenario, a CRM administrator is experiencing issues with an email campaign targeted at retaining customers . They call customer support for help, feeling frustrated with the steps provided in the technical manuals . This scenario highlights the importance of clear instructions, effective communication, and problem-solving in technical situations.

Customer: I’m having trouble setting up the retention email campaign. I followed the instructions from the manual, but nothing works as described. Could you help me get it to work?

Representative: We understand that this can be challenging because every step matters, no matter how small. I suggest we try it together so I can understand specifically what doesn’t work. Please share your screen, and we’ll go through it step by step. Then, we’ll investigate further and get back to you with a detailed response .

Role-Play Scenario #12: Excessive Customer Service Automation

The customer is irritated by excessive customer service automation. They finally get a customer care representative on the line and want to know which options to choose in order to avoid these unnecessary automated responses next time. The role-plays will focus on effectively communicating with the customer, addressing their concerns, and providing guidance on alternative support options.

Customer : Finally! A human on the line! I’m tired of dealing with automated responses every time I need help, and I didn’t expect such a poor experience with your company. Can you provide me with alternative support options? I need to speak to a real person and get my issues sorted out quickly.

Representative: I understand your frustration. We usually receive common questions from customers, which our automated responses can easily answer. However, if you’re sure your question is atypical and requires immediate human contact, please press “9” after the first automated question. This will transfer your call directly to a customer care representative.

Role-Play Scenario #13: Handling a Product Recall

The situation isn’t something to be dealt with on a daily basis, but when it happens, your team should be prepared to offer excellent service . 

The customer asks about a product recall for a smartphone they purchased six months ago. They received an email about the recall and are concerned about product safety. This role-play focuses on addressing customer concerns and providing guidance on the recall process.

Customer :   I purchased a smartphone six months ago and just received an email about a product recall. Can you provide me with more information and guidance on what to do?

Representative: Sure, I can help you with that. Our top priority is your safety. That’s why we have to discontinue and recall this model, as we’ve received reports of overheating batteries and fires. 

Let’s start by reviewing the specific details of the recall, and then I’ll guide you through the steps to return the product and address any concerns you may have

How to Move Customer Service Training Online

You can convert customer service scenarios into dialogue simulations by using a course authoring tool such as iSpring Suite . Dialogue simulations are exercises that imitate real customer interactions with a person and help people master communication skills with no risk of damaging the relationship with a client.

The first step in building role-play scenarios is visualizing them as a flowchart. For example, you can create a mind map online by using coggle .

As illustrated in the mind map above, each type of scenario branches into multiple options. For example, if a customer is having an issue with a product, the first step toward resolving it is determining who is responsible.

As shown above, if the issue originates from the company’s side, it requires different responses compared to when it stems from the client’s end.

However, how do you express all these different options in a way that allows your employees to navigate this naturally in a virtual environment?

Well, with iSpring Suite , you can build a dialog tree, a well-organized structure that you can manipulate with a single mouse click .

To make the conversation even more complex and realistic, you can add locations and characters. You can upload your own images or use the built-in collection. Content Library , which comes with an iSpring Suite Max subscription , offers a wide range of characters from various ages, ethnicities, and professions, along with an extensive selection of backgrounds appropriate for business, manufacturing, education, medical, and travel settings.

Check out this iSpring demo to get a better idea of what these powerful scenarios look like .

While these dialogue simulations might look technologically sophisticated, they are quite easy to navigate with the right software and guidance.

Read our article on how to improve your employees’ communication and negotiation skills using dialogue simulations .

The best part of online customer service scenarios is that your employees can dive deep into a simulation while selecting responses that naturally align with how they would act in real life. Based on their responses and your predesigned branched scenarios, they’ll be able to experience the productive and counterproductive consequences of actions and responses chosen in a risk-free environment and receive positive feedback on their progress .

Customer service is core to the success of any thriving business. You should never underestimate the power of a happy customer, negative press, or word of mouth.

The way your employees interact with customers can make or break your business reputation. That’s why you should never take employee training for customer service lightly. 

As people learn best through experience, creating a virtual environment that’s immersive, engaging, and risk-free is the best approach.

If you’d like to create customer service scenarios, interview questions and answers, or simulate situations surrounding software troubleshooting, sales techniques, and more, then you can get started today by downloading a free trial of iSpring Suite !

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iSpring Suite

Create online courses and assessments in record time.

Content creator

Sydney Mansaray

Sydney is an Instructional Designer with over 8 years of experience developing online courses and training programs for companies and educational institutions. Her focus is designing engaging learning experiences that marry storytelling with technology.

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How to assess customer service representatives

To assess customer service representatives, exercises that test troubleshooting, decision-making, communication, and comprehension skills are used during interviews. These exercises include hypothetical scenarios, essay questions, and verbal and written tasks.

Rohma was a Content Marketing Manager at Workable. She planned, managed and edited Workable’s editorial content.

The following exercises will help you assess customer service or customer support representatives in your interviews. Modify them to meet your specific needs.

What do customer service or support representatives do?

Customer service or support representatives are usually the first point of contact for customers. They answer questions, diagnose problems and provide solutions to customer issues. This position’s duties vary greatly depending on the industry, but there are some skills all successful customer service or support representatives should share:

• Troubleshooting: Curiosity and drive to get to the root of a problem.
• Decision-making : Confidence to make sound judgments.
• Communication : The ability to effectively communicate abstract topics.
• Comprehension : The ability to interpret customer intentions, despite what they are asking/saying.

Potential to learn fast and grow into other roles often make good entry-level customer service/support representatives excellent long-term team members. The best customer service/ support representatives serve as consultants to customers. They work to help customers resolve issues as quickly as possible.

Ways to assess customer service/support skills in interviews

Use a combination of interview questions that include hypothetical scenarios to test customer service/support representative skills and multiple-choice and essay questions to test candidates on products unique to your company.

Here are some interview exercises for customer service/support representatives to help you assess their skills, including what to look out for. You can use these skills assessments during first, second or final-round interviews. Keep in mind that there are no right or wrong answers. In customer support, it’s the process of arriving to a solution that matters the most.

1. Troubleshooting skills assessment

Exercise: I’m seeking technical help. I turn to you and say, “My cell phone is broken. How do I fix it?” How would you go about troubleshooting the problem?

What to look for: Most people have used cell phones, so this exercise is a simple and relatable way to test candidates’ abilities to ask questions and diagnose problems. Here are some responses to look for:

• What’s the exact issue you’re having with your cell phone?
• When did this issue start?
• What is the model of the phone?

Red flags: Watch out for hesitance or for jumping to conclusions too quickly. Candidates who don’t address the problem, seem nervous or aren’t curious about the issue may not have the troubleshooting skills required for a customer support role.

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2. Decision-making skills assessment

Essay answer : Our company offers a one-month free trial of [XYZ] product. A customer is on the last day of their trial, and they are requesting another free one-month trial of the product before committing to a purchase. Do you reject the request or grant the customer an extension?

Explain your answer in less than 100 words: _____________________________________.

What to look for: It’s up to you to decide if there’s a right or wrong answer here. In general though, any position could be correct as long as the candidate defends it with logical criteria and delivers their reasoning with tact. Look for signs that candidates carefully considered the issue. Here are some criteria they might list as reasons for their decisions:

• Granting the request to maintain a positive company brand reputation.
• Rejecting the request based on asking whether there’s a company policy that prohibits trial extensions.
• Granting the request with the hope that the customer will purchase the product.

You may have relevant articles on your customer support blog that already cover this issue. If that’s the case, bonus points go to candidates who’ve researched your company thoroughly enough to cite your blog and provide your official answer.

3. Communication skills assessment

1. Verbal exercise: You are a customer service/support representative employed at a computer store. An irate customer approaches your desk, demanding to know why the laptop they just purchased is running so slow. How do you respond?

2. Written exercise: Describe in fewer than 75 words a hobby or topic you’re deeply interested in. Explain it to me as if I know nothing about it.

What to look for:

• Verbal exercise: Candidates who are immediately attentive and show empathy for the customer’s frustrations will stand out. “I’m sorry you’re experiencing this issue. Can I take a look at your computer if you have it with you?” is an appropriate response in person.
• Written exercise: Some businesses handle all customer support queries via email or help desk software. Look for candidates who can succinctly describe in writing something they know very well, like a hobby or a field of study.

Red flags: Candidates who visibly shut down during the verbal exercise may have difficulty handling customer support queries. For the written assignment, candidates who use jargon, exceed the 75-word limit or struggle with writing clearly may end up confusing customers.

4. Comprehension skills assessment

Exercise: Start by providing a brochure of your company product’s features. Here’s an example using Workable’s features. The brochure could look something like this:

Workable features: -Posts to 15+ job boards. -Offers a sourcing tool called People Search. -Can create a branded careers page.

Ask your candidates to study these features and then poll them with a sample customer query:

A potential customer asks you if your product integrates with HR software that powers careers pages . It does not. How do you respond?

What to look for: This question will reveal your candidates’ abilities to understand your product and your customer’s needs. Look for responses like, “We don’t integrate with X but our product offers branded careers pages. Here’s a support link to what they look like.”

Red flags: The main red flag is responding with “No, it does not integrate.” A flat-no response indicates that candidates did not accurately comprehend the customer’s problem or your product’s features and are not trying to help customers achieve the goal that their question reveals.

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• The Essentials of Customer Support

The Best Three Customer Ticket Assignment Strategies

This lesson will be perfect for those who feel they’re losing control when handling tickets. Losing control means that tickets are hung up in the ticketing system. When you get down to the last one, 10 more show up. It’s easy to be frustrated because, after all, you can’t take care of them all at once even though you wish you could.

Many factors come into play when deciding in which order you should handle customer service tickets. You can focus on the topic, customer type, request difficulty level, SLA details, and more. The first step is the hardest. Let’s see how to reduce the number of customer tickets and assign them fairly and in line with an agent’s skills.

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What is a customer service ticket?

Before you get into ticket assignment strategies, let’s agree on a common definition of a customer service ticket that I’ll use many times in this article.

A support ticket is a term used to describe the interaction between a customer and a customer service representative. The support ticket is created in the ticketing software when a customer has an issue and asks the company for help. Every word the customer includes in the message is turned into a virtual query so that the support team can read and respond to it. When an agent solves the ticket, they can close it and call it a success.

Tickets can come from various communication channels starting with live chat, social media, email, and a forum, and ending with a  contact form  or the customer support portal you have on your company’s website. A new ticket in your system is the beginning of a conversation with your customer. Every conversation gets its own unique ticket number. The ticket number makes it easier to manage information, track the customer’s history, and search for cases in your database.

The customer service ticket  and  ticket number  are the most commonly used phrases between customer service reps. These are technical phrases that apply to almost any customer service technology or tool. If you give the customer conversation a ticket number, you turn real people’s problems into online and evidence-based requests. So, you number customers and their questions, not to offend or dehumanize them, but to serve them properly.

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How do you handle support tickets?

The customer service ticket is an essential element of any customer service job. You can use it to create, update, and, hopefully, solve your customers’ questions or concerns. At this point, you need to make sure that all of the tickets always land in one place, preferably in  ticketing software  that allows you to:

Keep the conversation going. Ticketing software enables conversations between people looking for solutions and people who can help them.

Manage the work of your customer service team and split responsibilities between the  first and second support lines .

Automate your repetitive tasks and save time on more complex customer cases. Ticketing software can be a huge timer saver.

Keep customer information organized and up to date.

Give the best customer experience. With ticketing software, you always respond on time and your messages look beautiful and personal.

You already know from this brief description that you need ticket management software to manage your tickets. There’s no doubt about it. So, let’s get to the actual handling of support tickets, and let me explain the whole process in a nutshell. Here’s an eight-step roadmap to properly handle customer cases.

1. Get details on the case

Carefully read the content of the message the customer wrote to you. See what wording they used to describe the problem or ask a question. Is it neutral or perhaps negative? Once you know this, it’ll be easier to move on to your action plan’s next steps.

Also, if you serve the B2B market, see if the recipient’s email address can give you detailed information about the company and industry. This will make it easier for you to understand the problem. You can also focus on which communication channel the ticket came from and decide which channel is worth supporting first based on its popularity.

2. Set status

Setting the correct ticket status is critical. If you set an improper status, it’ll have a negative impact on the customer experience. If you don’t set any status, it can result in an inefficient ticket handling process. The ticket can go unanswered, or agents can duplicate their efforts. There’s nothing worse than wasting valuable time. Keep your tickets up to date and visible to the customer service team to ensure your tickets move along in the queue. There are six main statuses that you can use during your process of solving customers’ tickets:

When a new ticket is created in the ticketing system, it gets an “Open” status. Tickets with an “Open” status should be answered as soon as possible. This status means that no agent has yet addressed the customer’s case, and they’re still waiting for your response. Respond to the customer to let them know that you’re on your way to take care of their case.

When you respond to an open ticket, its status will automatically change to “Pending.” Tickets get a “Pending” status whenever you’re waiting for a response from a customer or additional input or information so that you can proceed. If the customer responds, the ticket will go back to “Open” status.

A ticket with an “On hold” status is a case that cannot be completed right away. This means that the customer service agent needs to consult with someone on the team or another department about the issue. Select the “On hold” status to ensure you get back to the customer when you have the answer and the best solution.

Mark a ticket as “Solved” when you’re 100% sure that you’ve provided the customer with the necessary answers and left them satisfied with the outcome of the conversation. After that, move on because many other cases need to end up with this status in your ticketing software.

There can be times when someone sends you a collaboration proposal or a message with information that isn’t a question or challenge for your team. You can briefly reply to such requests, and then mark them as “Closed.” This way, the issue has been resolved, and you won’t send an  automated feedback request  again.

The “Spam” status is reserved for malicious or other unnecessary messages you don’t need to deal with.

3. Set the priority

Ticket priority levels are terms used by the support team to determine how quickly an agent should handle a customer service ticket. Priority levels drive the urgency for customer service teams, and they’re tied to the next steps in escalating the case.

There are four levels of priority in ticketing software:

You need to define the priority level so that your team knows what priority to give to a ticket by just looking at the content of the message, the type of customer asking the question, or any other attribute. Also, by prioritizing tickets, you can decide on the response and resolution time for a particular ticket.

4. Tag the case

Tags are simple words that customer support teams use to add more context to a customer case. Support teams use tags to label similar tickets with keywords, categorize them, and group them. You can create different tags for quick customer support, such as:

Product request

Tags are also an excellent basis for  filtering tickets  and implementing automated workflows to speed things up.

5. Add the responsible team

You know that the best strategy is to create a  tiered customer service structure  that establishes first and second customer service lines in your company. This way, you have first-line agents on your team who “pick up” tickets and then escalate them to the appropriate support hero or department. This person should know the responsibilities of each team as well as their strengths and weaknesses.

For example, a first-line agent can scan a ticket and then assign it to a department that deals with the warehouse and specializes in handling shipping and return policies. This agent can also assign a ticket to a team of technical experts to resolve any issues related to your ecommerce or the website.

Use tags to define ticket categories and segment your support queue. If you assign a ticket to the right team, it can be solved quickly because it gets into the right hands from the start. Be sure to review the  customer service workflow chart  to do it right.

6. Choose the right agent

Once the ticket goes to the team, the next thing you need to do is determine the responsibility for the request. Assign the ticket to an agent from the team you selected earlier to solve the customer case successfully.

If the customer case is sensitive, you can check which agent has the best ratings on the ticket  satisfaction report . Assign the request to that particular agent to ensure that a highly rated agent serves a challenging customer.

7. Add other people involved in the case

If the customer case is complex and requires other agents’ attention, you can mention them in the message and add them as  ticket followers . They’ll be notified when something happens in the ticket and will be aware of any changes. Teamwork can solve any case.

You can also add another recipient to the message by adding  people to the loop . They’ll be included in the message chain, and they can see all the information you’ve shared.

8. Respond to the ticket

First, learn the most important things about  how to write a customer service email . This will help you avoid unfortunate  email mistakes . Then, respond to the customer ticket and include all the necessary answers, tips, and  email attachments .

What’s more, if you find the same tickets and the same issues popping up again and again, don’t repeat yourself. Next time, save your message as a  canned response , and use it to respond to every similar message. You’ll be able to save time and energy for more complex customer cases.

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Strategies to assign tickets to agents

Finally, you’re here! Now, let’s jump into the ticket assignment strategies. Assigning tickets to teams and agents is key to the entire ticketing process.  It’s all about the right person in the right place at the right time . There are three top-recommended assignment strategies that you can implement to make your ticket handling process tip-top.

Manual assignment

This is the simplest and most widely known strategy for assigning tickets to agents. It’s based on evaluating the ticket list case by case and then assigning each request to an agent. You can also consider the agent’s skill set when doing so.

Pros of manual assignment

Great for low ticket volume. You only have a few tickets to browse through, and it takes a few minutes.

It’s simple to assign tickets as you move down the list. A “pick ticket and choose agent” approach.

In some business cases, agent assignments can be random and don’t require much attention.

Cons of manual assignment

Impossible with a high volume of tickets. The manual process, even with the  bulk action feature , is resource intensive. Also, there can be mistakes caused by the human element or overlooking a ticket on the list.

The ticket can be assigned to the wrong agent. This can happen due to a lack of knowledge about the agent’s abilities or poorly identifying the ticket’s topic.

Letting agents choose which customer tickets to work on can result in cherry-picking the easiest ones.

Supervisor assignment

Another strategy for assigning tickets is to have them set by a supervisor or an admin. Tickets can be assigned by the most experienced support expert who knows the customer service team well and can allocate work and tasks fairly.

Pros of supervisor assisted assignment

Meeting stringent SLAs. The supervisor knows customer categories and, based on that, can dictate how tickets should be handled in the queue.

A visible leader on the team. The supervisor keeps their finger on the pulse of the team and is personally responsible for the  customer support workflow . There’s no chaos surrounding the information or the diffusion of responsibility.

Total team mobilization and the solid performance of duties. Agents trust the supervisor’s decisions and believe in their growth plan. The morale of support agents is high because they know they have the right skills to meet challenges.

Cons of supervisor assisted assignment

The supervisor spends time assigning tickets instead of on the management of the customer service team.

The customer service team is dependent on the supervisor, and agents can’t decide for themselves how to get down to business. They’re always looking for their leader’s move.

The ticket response time increases if agents wait for instructions from a supervisor.

Automated assignment

As a customer support agent, you can admit that there are parts of your job that are tedious and boring. However, there’s a solution that allows you to automate the routine parts of your support work. Use automated workflows to boost your productivity and respond swiftly to every customer message while still preserving the human touch.

Automated workflows are simple, and now I’m going to convince you of that. All you need to do to start automating ticket assignments is set up some “if this, then that” rules in your ticketing system, and then you’re done.

Pros of automated assignment

Elimination of the tedious and repetitive parts of a customer service agent’s job.

Achieving superhuman speed and efficiency in customer service. Automation ensures that tickets can be assigned and answered in seconds.

Minimizing the occurrence of human mistakes and giving precision to every action.

Cons of automated assignment

Things happen behind your back, and you can’t fully control them. You can experience a fear of missing out on something.

Advanced and multi-stage automation can sometimes be misconfigured.

Customers can realize that they’re being served automatically and stop trusting the brand. This can happen through inadequate personalization and low quality messaging.

Bring these three ticket assignment strategies to your business. Sign up to HelpDesk for a free 14-day trial to assign tickets in a way that fits your needs.

Now you know three strategies for assigning tickets to agents to improve ticket management in your business. Let’s recap everything you learned in this lesson:

Always have a plan for serving your customer. There’s no room for being spontaneous. Use our eight-step action plan to handle support tickets.

Keep things organized during customer service because it’s easy to get lost. It’s best to have one source of truth and one point of communication with a customer in the form of a ticketing system. You’ll see the difference right away when you go from a shared email inbox as a team to simple ticketing software that’s packed with features.

There are three main strategies for assigning customer service tickets: manual, with supervisor assistance, and automated. I can’t say that one tops the others. It’s always a good idea to use a combination of them to get the best results.

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Assignment methods in unified routing

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The feature availability information is as follows.

Use assignment methods to determine how to assign work items. You can use the out-of-the-box assignment methods or build custom assignment rules by configuring the prioritization rules and assignment rulesets.

How auto assignment works

The auto-assignment process in unified routing matches incoming work items with the best-suited agents based on the configured assignment rules. This continuous process consists of multiple assignment cycles and a default block size of work items.

Each cycle picks up the top unassigned work items in the applicable default block size and attempts to match each work item with an appropriate agent. Work items that aren't assigned to agents because of unavailability of agents or right skill match wasn't found are routed back to the queue.

The next assignment cycle picks up the next block of the top-priority items that includes new work items.

When eligible agents aren't found for the work items, the assignment cycle keeps retrying to assign the top number of default sized block items as applicable for the channel.

For digital messaging and voice, the default block size is 100 work items of top priority.

For the records channel,

• The number of work items prioritized per queue are 10,000
• The number of work items processed for assignment are 2,000 by default

Cross-queue prioritization isn't available in unified routing.

For more information, see best practices to manage queues .

Types of assignment methods

The following assignment methods are available out of the box:

Highest capacity : Assigns a work item to an agent with the highest available capacity. This agent has the skills that are identified during the classification stage and presence that matches one of the allowed presences in the workstream. The work items are prioritized in the first-in, first-out manner—that is, the work item that was created first is assigned first. If more than one agent is available with the same capacity, the work item is assigned based on the round-robin order of the agents whose highest capacity is the same.

If you want to use skill-based routing and,

Set Default skill matching algorithm in the workstream as Exact Match , then the system filters agents using exact skill match, workstream’s presence, and capacity requirements, and orders the filtered agents by available capacity.

Set Default skill matching algorithm in the workstream as Closest Match , then the system filters agents based on the workstream's presence and capacity requirements and orders the filtered agents by closest match and not available capacity. More information: Closest match

If you need to distribute work fairly among agents, then you should consider switching to a round robin assignment strategy.

When you modify a rating model, the ongoing conversations or open work items that have skills with the rating model continue to have the existing rating. Sometimes, this might result in no agents who match the assignment criteria.

Advanced round robin : Assigns a work item to the agent who matches the criteria for skills, presence, and capacity. The initial order is based on when a user is added to the queue. Then, the order is updated based on assignments. Similar to how work items are assigned in the highest capacity method, in round robin assignment, the work items are prioritized in the first-in, first-out manner—that is, the work item that was created first is assigned first.

The ordering for round robin assignment is maintained queue wise. Some agents can be a part of multiple queues. Therefore, depending on the agent's last assignment timestamp in a queue, the agents might be assigned back-to-back or concurrent work items but from different queues.

In scenarios when multiple agents match the work item requirement, and there's a tie in the "order by", like, multiple matched agents with the same available capacity, the system resolves the assignment using round robin based on the earliest time of the last assignment.

For example, three agents, Lesa, Alicia, and Alan, are available with the coffee refund skill and can handle up to three chats at a time. Their last assignment time stamps are 10:30 AM, 10:35 AM, and 10:37 AM, respectively. A work item about a coffee refund arrives in the queue at 10:40 AM. With the order by set to "profile-based available capacity", all the agents at 10:40 AM have the same available capacity of 2 each. To break the tie between the agents, the system uses round robin. Therefore, the incoming chat is assigned to Lesa because her last assignment was the earliest at 10:30 AM. Later at 10:45 AM, if another coffee refund work item comes in, the system assigns it to Alicia. This is also based on the round robin order of assignment between Alicia and Alan because their available capacities are 2 each and Alicia had an earlier assignment than Alan at 10:35 AM.

Least active : Assigns a work item to the agent who has been least active among all the agents who match the required skills, presence, and capacity.

The assignment method uses "the time since last capacity is released for a voice call" and the wrap-up settings configured in the workstream to determine the least-active agent and route the next incoming call to them. For example, consider two agents in a queue. The first agent completes a call five minutes ago while the second agent has just completed their call. When a new call comes in, the system assigns it to the first agent who has finished their activity first.

Routing to the least-active agent assignment strategy helps in a balanced distribution of work items across agents, and results in higher agent efficiency and improved customer satisfaction.

You can also build a custom report to track an agent's "last capacity release time" and understand the assignment distribution across agents.

The least-active assignment method is available for the voice channel only and is the default selection when you create a voice queue.

This feature is intended to help customer service managers or supervisors enhance their team’s performance and improve customer satisfaction. This feature is not intended for use in making—and should not be used to make—decisions that affect the employment of an employee or group of employees, including compensation, rewards, seniority, or other rights or entitlements. Customers are solely responsible for using Dynamics 365, this feature, and any associated feature or service in compliance with all applicable laws, including laws relating to accessing individual employee analytics and monitoring, recording, and storing communications with end users. This also includes adequately notifying end users that their communications with agents may be monitored, recorded, or stored and, as required by applicable laws, obtaining consent from end users before using the feature with them. Customers are also encouraged to have a mechanism in place to inform their agents that their communications with end users may be monitored, recorded, or stored.

You can also create a custom assignment method to suit your business needs.

Create new : Lets you create and use your own rulesets and rules to configure priority, severity, and capacity for choosing the queues to which work items need to be routed. You can create the following rulesets:

• Prioritization rulesets : Lets you define the order in which the work items are assigned to agents when they're available to take more work.
• Assignment rulesets : Represent a set of conditions that are used to select agents and use an order by option to sort the matching agents.
• You must configure presence, capacity, and skill-matching rules in the custom assignment method because the default settings defined for the workstream won't be used in custom assignment method.
• The out-of-the-box assignment strategies don't consider the agent operating hours. You must write a custom assignment method by using the "is_working" operator in the rule definition.

Assignment cycle

Assignment cycle is the prioritization of work items, their selection, and their assignment to the best-suited agent based on the assignment rules. Unified routing optimizes the assignment cycles across the multiple queues in the organization for best performance.

The assignment cycle starts with one of the following triggers:

• Arrival of a new work item in the queue.
• Change to agent presence.
• Updates to agent capacity: If capacity is updated at runtime then change in capacity triggers assignment. If capacity is updated manually, the change doesn't trigger assignment.
• Addition of an agent to the queue.
• Periodic trigger every five minutes for record type of work item.

How prioritization rulesets work

A prioritization ruleset is an ordered list of prioritization rules. Every prioritization rule represents a priority bucket in the queue. In a prioritization rule, you can specify a set of conditions and order by attributes. During evaluation, the prioritization rules are run in the order they're listed. For the first prioritization rule, the work items in the queue that match its conditions are put in the same priority bucket. In the priority bucket, the items are further sorted by the order specified in the prioritization rule. The second rule runs on the rest of the items in the queue, to identify the next priority bucket, and sorts the bucket by the Order by attribute until all rules are evaluated.

You can create one prioritization ruleset only per queue.

As an example, consider the prioritization ruleset as seen in the following screenshot with four rules.

During any assignment cycle, this prioritization ruleset runs, and the rules within the ruleset run in the order they're listed.

The first rule, "High priority and premium," finds all work items in the queue where the associated case priority is "High" and the case category is "Premium". The system creates the top priority bucket with those work items and sorts them in the "First in and first out" manner as specified in the Order by attribute. The first work item to be assigned from the queue is the oldest item in this bucket.

The next priority bucket is the work items where case category is "Premium". The work items with "Premium" case category and "High" priority have already been put in top bucket as per the preceding rule, so this rule only considers other work items with "Premium" case priority. The Order by attribute in this case also is "First in and first out".

The next priority bucket consists of work items where case priority is high and they haven't been bucketed already. Here the work items are ordered by their "First Response By" field in the ascending order—that is, the work items that require the first response at the earliest are prioritized first.

Some important points about prioritization rules are as follows:

• You can create only one prioritization ruleset per queue.
• Prioritization rules are run during every assignment cycle. If you change any attributes of the work item, such as the priority of the case, that change is considered during the next assignment cycle.
• By default, the queue is sorted on a "first in and first out" manner. If you don't create a prioritization rule, then the oldest work item is assigned first.
• In normal scenarios, when a sufficient number of agents are available to take up the work items, the processing period is a couple of seconds only. The agents are assigned work items in the priority order. However, if work items pile up because of fewer eligible agents, and then an agent becomes available during the processing period, the agent is offered the next work item according to the priority order. This strategy might create a perception that the highest priority item wasn't assigned; especially after some top-priority items are attempted for assignment and yet remain in the queue.
• The work items that don't match the criteria of any of the prioritization rulesets are kept in the last priority bucket, and are ordered by "first in first out".
• Prioritization rules are skipped for affinity work items and such work items is assigned before other work items in the queue. For information about affinity, go to Agent affinity .

How assignment rulesets work

The assignment ruleset is an ordered list of assignment rules. Each assignment rule represents a set of conditions that is used to determine the agents to select and an order-by field to sort the matching agents. At runtime, the assignment rule with the top order is evaluated first. The agents are matched as per the conditions specified in the rule. If more than one matching agent exists, they're sorted by the order by field, and the top agent is assigned the work. If no agents are matched, then the next assignment rule in the ruleset is evaluated. This method can be thought of as a gradual relaxation of constraints in the assignment, such that first, the strictest criteria are applied, and then the conditions are reduced so that the best agent is found. If no matching agents are found, then the work item remains in the queue.

In the assignment rule, the system user attributes are matched with the requirement of the work item. When you select static match, the condition is formed on the System User entity attribute and static values. When you select dynamic match, the conditions on the left are based on the system user root entity and the conditions on the right are based on the conversation root entity. You can drill down to two levels on the conversation root entity to form the rule conditions. An assignment rule with the dynamic match and static match is as follows.

Components of an assignment rule

The assignment rules are composed of the following items:

Order : Specifies the order in which the assignment rule is evaluated in a ruleset. The lower-order rules are run first. If any rule results in matching a user, then the next set of rules isn't evaluated.

Name : The unique rule name.

Condition : The expressions that are evaluated to match the users with the attributes of incoming work. The conditions have three parts:

User attribute : Properties of the users that can be used for comparing the user with the incoming work. The user attributes can be one of the following:

• Select attributes on the System User table.
• Presence Status : Maintained by the unified routing service based on user workloads and manual selection.
• Capacity : Maintained by the unified routing service based on user workloads and manual selection.
• User skills : Represents the skills associated with the user that can be used for doing skill-based assignment.
• Calendar Schedule : Schedule of the user as represented in the user service scheduling calendars.
• Bot attributes : Can be used only when you have configured bots as users and want to do some comparisons on them.

Operators : Define the comparison relationship between the User attribute and incoming work item attributes.

Unified routing filters the attribute-specific operators for you to choose from. Some special operators that are available for the attribute types are as follows.

Value : The user attributes are compared against this value to find the right agent. The value can be static, such as Address 1: County equals "USA". The value can also be dynamic, so that you can compare the user attribute dynamically with the values on the work item. In dynamic values, you can select any attribute on the work item or related records. For example, the following condition finds users whose country is the same as that of the customer associated with the case.

For some operators, values aren't required. They can be conditions, such as "Contains data," "Does not contain data," and "Calendar schedule: is working."

For user skills, the values are predefined for the operators. More information: Set up skill-based routing

Order by : If multiple agents match the conditions in a rule, you can use the "Order by" clause to find the best-suited one. You can specify the following order by clauses:

Ordering Attributes :

• Least active : Is available for voice queues only. The work item is routed to the agent who is least active among all the agents who match skills, presence, and capacity. For more information, see the Types of assignment methods section.
• Round robin
• Unit-based available capacity
• Profile-based available capacity
• Proficiency
• Skill count

User Attributes : These attributes are defined on the system user entity.

A sample assignment rule is explained in the following scenario with a screenshot.

The first condition specifies the "user skills" on which the operator is an exact match. Then the user attributes are evaluated. The different user attributes are specified with operators, and values for each attribute, such as the Presence status attribute, should be equal to "Available" or "Busy". On the right of the operator, you can specify the value that you want the attribute to be matched against. The values can be "static," such as "presence status equals Available or Busy". If you specify "dynamic," the condition is matched at runtime based on the expression you specify. For example, if you specify "Preferred Customer Type Equals Conversation.Contact.Membership Level," the "preferred customer type" of every agent is matched against the dynamically calculated membership level of the customer associated with the chat.

Dynamic match reduces the effort of having to write and maintain multiple static rules for each permutation and combination of the possible value.

Limits on offering a work item repeatedly to an agent

When agents are offered a work item through automatic assignment, they typically can accept or decline. Both rejection and time out of the notification is considered as a decline. An agent who declines the same work item thrice won't be considered for further auto assignment for the specific work item. The system tries to offer the declined work item to other agents in the queue if they're eligible.

For example, agent Serena Davis rejects a chat from customer Ana Bowman twice and the assignment notification times out in the third attempt. The system considers it as three declines and auto assignment won't offer the same chat to Serena Davis again. But the system offers the chat from Ana Bowman to other eligible agents. Also, Serena Davis is considered for other incoming conversations except the declined chat from Ana Bowman.

If all matching agents decline the work item because agent availability is low or the work requires a very specific skill and proficiency, the work remains in the queue. Similarly, if 100 agents decline a particular work item, auto assignment won't consider the work item in further assignment cycles. It can be manually assigned by supervisors or can be picked up by agents including those who rejected it.

You can update the default limit of three declines to a value between one and five based on your org requirement. The limit is applicable to all channels in the org.

You can make an OData call as follows to check the limit for your organization.

<org-url>/api/data/v9.0/msdyn_omnichannelconfigurations?$select=msdyn_number_of_declines_allowed

If this OData call returns the null value, it means that the decline limit is set to a default value of 3.

You can update the OData call as follows to modify the limit.

var data = { "msdyn_number_of_declines_allowed": 3 } // update the record Xrm.WebApi.updateRecord("msdyn_omnichannelconfiguration", "d4d91600-6f21-467b-81fe-6757a2791fa1", data).then( function success(result) { console.log("Omnichannel Configuration updated"); // perform operations on record update }, function (error) { console.log(error.message); // handle error conditions } );

Related information

Configure assignment methods and rules FAQ about unified routing in Customer Service, Omnichannel for Customer Service Diagnostics for unified routing Create workstreams Create queues Set up unified routing for records Set up skill-based routing for unified routing

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12 Essential Customer Service Skills In 2024

Updated: May 3, 2024, 11:15am

Table of Contents

What are customer service skills, why good customer service is important, 12 essential customer service skills, how to nurture customer service skills, bottom line, frequently asked questions (faqs).

When it comes to choosing where to spend your money, it is the little things that count. A friendly smile, empathetic listening or someone remembering your name can have a big impact on brand loyalty. On the flip side, one negative experience can send you to a competitor quickly. That’s the power of good customer service and illustrates the importance of having excellent customer service skills. Keep reading to learn about what these skills are and the top ones to start implementing immediately.

Customer service skills are made up of the knowledge, tactics, expertise and understanding that are needed to make customers as satisfied as possible. These skills are developed through several different avenues, including training, support and experience. There are generally two different types of these skills: hard and soft.

Both types of skills are equally important and top customer service professionals are able to strike a good balance of hard and soft skills to provide the best experience possible. Coaching your customer service team to understand and use both sets of skills can make a huge difference in your overall customer service strategy.

Hard Skills

Hard skills are technical skills, ones that can generally be taught and measured. Knowledge and proficiency of hard skills are usually built through education and training and typically focus on the specific tasks that are needed to complete a job. Examples of hard skills in customer service may include note taking, data entry, research or gathering information.

Soft Skills

Soft skills are more difficult to quantify since they tend to be personal attributes. Soft skills are aspects that are developed in someone’s personality so while there can be some training to teach them, these skills are largely learned by an individual over time. Soft skills in customer service include active listening, empathy, conflict resolution and problem solving.

Customer service isn’t limited to a one-time interaction at the point of a sale, but rather is an ongoing process that touches on every part of the buyer’s journey. It includes numerous activities that occur before, during and after a purchase and, ultimately, means serving your customers to the best of your ability.

Good customer service is arguably the most important part of building and maintaining positive, long-term relationships with customers. With so many choices today, dissatisfied buyers won’t hesitate to take their dollars elsewhere, but satisfied customers will remain loyal to the brands that treat them well.

Investing in the planning, training and implementation of a high-quality customer service strategy is one of the most important expenditures a business can make. Demonstrating that you truly care about your customers is a powerful tool that can lead to increased sales, improved brand image and expanded growth.

Customer service is a broad term and what it looks like for your business may be different from others. But no matter what the industry is, good customer service generally needs to include the three C’s: Communication, consistency and caring. All of these must work together to establish trust and build loyalty, which leads to growth. These three components are the backbone to every customer service skill and should be relied upon repeatedly.

These are the 12 most essential customer service skills that businesses should implement.

1. Active Listening

First, customers want to be heard, especially when they aren’t happy or have a complaint. Active listening may be the most important customer service skill that businesses can adopt. Listening sounds like a simple thing to do, but active listening requires a great deal of focus and concentration. When engaging in active listening, customer service team members need to be attentive, patient and nonjudgmental for customers to feel that their issues are truly being heard.

Empathy pairs with active listening because it means the customer service agent is hearing what the customer is saying without any preconceived notions or judgments. It focuses on recognizing, managing and responding to the emotions of customers as well as keeping your own emotions in check. Being able to put yourself in someone else’s shoes and empathize with how they are feeling is a crucial part of providing excellent customer service.

3. Problem Solving

When customers reach out with an issue, their expectation is usually that the customer service team will help them solve the problem. It’s crucial that businesses have efficient problem-solving systems in place to help customers as quickly and effectively as possible. While, sometimes, there will be one clear resolution, such as a product refund, in other situations problem solving may look more like offering different options and helping the customer decide what will work best.

4. Conflict Resolution

Conflicts are stressful and stress can lead to short tempers, irrational actions and difficulty thinking clearly. You don’t want your customers to feel stressed, so managing and resolving conflicts as soon as possible is a critical part of good customer service. This is where empathy and active listening come into play since fully understanding what the issue is helps customer service agents figure out how to best resolve the situation before it escalates.

5. Organization

Post-its filled with scribbled notes that others need to interpret is not how effective customer service works. Organization is key and every component needs to be as coordinated as possible. While everyday details like files and personal workspaces are important, it should also include bigger-picture organization, such as team structure and available resources. Being able to access both information and support quickly ensures that customer service agents will be able to assist customers confidently.

6. Good Memory

An already-annoyed customer who contacts customer service with an issue is guaranteed to get angrier and angrier the more they are asked to repeat themselves. Having a good memory is a customer service skill that will inevitably lead to a smoother dialogue, resulting in customers who feel less stressed and more taken care of. Small details, such as names, products and dates, are often important facts for customer service agents to remember.

7. Adaptability

Another important customer service skill is the ability to adapt and think on your feet. Circumstances can change quickly, depending on the nature of the issue and customer service agents must be able to pivot without hesitation. Adaptability in customer service means approaching a situation without expectations and knowing when it is time to switch directions to offer the most effective help.

8. Time Management

Customers want to receive prompt responses, and the only way for that to happen is when customer service teams are cognizant of their time management. Particularly in a call center setting where agents receive many calls daily, managing time will lead to shorter waits and less lag in replying. The best way to develop time management skills is to look at all current assignments and tasks and then prioritize them accordingly.

9. Knowledge

The quality of your customer service will rely heavily on team members’ knowledge about products and services. They need to know enough to answer questions, troubleshoot technical challenges and offer suggestions. It’s also important that representatives know when a customer’s issue has moved past their scope of knowledge and needs to be moved up to the next person in the customer service chain of command.

10. Communication

Whether in person, over the phone or electronically, communication is the cornerstone of customer service. Communicating effectively means taking the time to not only talk but also to listen. Customer service teams need to receive ongoing training that helps them learn how to communicate in many different situations as well as better understand what customers are truly seeking.

11. Transparency

Customers want their issues resolved, but they are also often interested in knowing how or why a problem may have occurred in the first place. Transparency in customer service doesn’t mean sharing all the trade secrets. Rather, it’s about being upfront and honest when helping to solve problems. Honesty goes a long way in building and maintaining positive customer relationships, even when it means admitting mistakes.

Unhappy customers are not funny and should never be treated like a joke. But when used correctly in certain situations, humor can be a powerful skill to help lighten the mood and diffuse tension. After figuring out what a customer is seeking and why they are frustrated, a well-timed funny comment is often exactly what is needed to help put the customer at ease and adjust their attitude.

Since most customer service skills are soft skills, making them more challenging to teach, you’ll need to make a concentrated effort to help nurture these skills in team members. Some ways to do this include:

• Offer continuing education through workshops and webinars
• Connect new employees with experienced mentors
• Provide both initial and ongoing training about products and services
• Support employees interested in taking additional courses or earning certifications
• Create a comprehensive onboarding program
• Ensure employees have constant access to a help center and frequently asked questions (FAQs)

Creating a customer service experience that will leave your customers feeling heard and cared for is one of the strategies needed to establish a long-term relationship with buyers. Whether their issue is large or small, customers need to feel like someone is invested in listening to them and helping find solutions. Investing the time and energy in training your team in excellent customer service strategies will benefit your business by building loyalty, establishing a reputation of helpfulness and, ultimately, promoting growth.

What are the qualities of good customer service?

The qualities of good customer service consist of the knowledge, tactics, expertise and understanding that are needed to make customers as satisfied as possible. These include active listening, empathy, problem solving, communication, conflict resolution, organization, memory, time management, adaptability, knowledge, transparency and humor.

What is the difference between hard and soft customer service skills?

Hard customer service skills are technical skills, ones that can generally be taught and measured. Knowledge and proficiency of hard skills are usually built through education and training. Soft customer service skills tend to be personal attributes, which people develop over time and cannot necessarily be taught.

What are the three C’s of customer service?

The three C’s of customer service are communication, consistency and caring. Working together, these components form the base for the entire customer service structure to help build brand awareness, establish customer loyalty and promote growth.

What are some common ways that customer service can occur?

Customer service can take place through a number of channels: in person, phone, email, live chat, text and social media.

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Laura is a freelance writer specializing in small business, ecommerce and lifestyle content. As a small business owner, she is passionate about supporting other entrepreneurs and sharing information that will help them thrive. Her work has been featured on Angi, Scary Mommy and Cubby.

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