Customer service is the backbone of the long-term client-service provider relationship. Even today, businesses mistakenly believe that their work is mostly done when they sell a product or service to their clients. However, poor customer service handling can derail this much-important relationship. In such cases, certain mistakes can be identified as customer service slipups, and in many instances, these are primarily made at customer service call centers. So, here are some mistakes to avoid:

Not understanding who the customer is
Knowing the target customer forms the crux of the service industry. Brands tend to find success elusive when they do not understand who their potential clients are in the first place. Customer identification, from traditional touchpoints like demographics and other factors such as user behavior, purchase history, and social media activity, among others, is necessary to provide the best service to clients.
Understanding customers begins with addressing the one question all successful product manufacturers or service providers must ask themselves: What are users’ pain points and wants that a given product or service will resolve or satiate? Brands can use techniques such as creating an in-depth customer persona profile to identify their customers with greater accuracy.

Lacking consistent communication
Customer service call centers are still among the most used touchpoints between service providers and clients. Clear and consistent communication forms the basis for keeping these touchpoints active and effective for customers. Today, connectivity is not as problematic as it is intended for businesses. Customers know that the digital age has made communication faster and more seamless. Therefore, they expect instant answers to their grievous social media posts, emails, phone calls, and other communication avenues.
The widespread use of social media reviews has made it effortless for customers to affect a business’s reputation with a single tweet, reel, or other social media post. Therefore, even when customer service representatives cannot offer a sustainable resolution to a customer’s issue, they should strive to communicate honestly and consistently with the customers to maintain a healthy client-service provider relationship.

Inadequate training
Customer service representatives take hundreds of calls, emails, or other forms of customer communication daily. These representatives cannot do their jobs to the fullest of their abilities if they are not trained and groomed adequately. Customer service training involves educating recruits about the various services and products and the terms and conditions of a given organization. This is theoretical knowledge that employees will take a while to fully understand. Tests and game-like evaluations will help them remember these details until they become second nature.
However, the training does not end simply with imparting theoretical knowledge alone. The to-be customer service representatives must understand how customer service call centers work and how they will perform their jobs with minimal time consumption but maximal customer satisfaction. For this, they will have to be brought into programs that work like On-Floor-Training (OFT, or the process of representatives taking real-world calls and being monitored and coached by Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) on the fly while they do so).
Companies that cut corners and try to save money on training customer service representatives may not face immediate consequences, but the quality of their customer service will never rise above mediocrity.

Not offering proactive support
In the current era of consumerism, businesses must take a proactive approach if they wish to secure a significant market share. Unfortunately, some companies overlook the importance of vocalizing their shortcomings and only respond to customer complaints when prompted. This approach can often result in a sense of alienation among customers, leading to negative feedback and impacting the company’s reputation. Therefore, businesses must keep their customers informed and maintain transparency to build a loyal customer base.
Ideally, customer service representatives must contact their clients periodically to learn about any possible grievances they may have. Showing this proactiveness towards customer service makes clients appreciate businesses and return to them for future needs.

Making it difficult to reach customer service
At some point in their lives, everyone may have suffered the interminable tedium of an IVR maze. People with little patience may get easily frustrated when they repeatedly have to “press 2 for this” or “press 5 for that,” only to have their call disconnected midway and have to start the process again. Businesses must make it as easy as possible for customers to reach their customer service team.
When customers are aggrieved, they tend to lack patience. Enabling them to reach their customer service representative as early as possible to resolve their grievances within the quickest possible time not only reduces their anger but also gives businesses a positive reputation to uphold in the market.

Not providing customer self-service options
Self-service has become an essential component of modern customer service strategies. It enables businesses to create mobile apps or website buttons that allow customers to access solutions to their questions and issues without contacting a customer service call center. By offering self-service options, businesses can save their customers valuable time and allow them to address their concerns promptly without having to navigate through an IVR system. Therefore, businesses must incorporate self-service options into their customer service strategies to enhance customer satisfaction and improve operational efficiency.