Prefer to listen
Sometimes customer service staff are the bearer of bad news, but would you rather know the truth than a possible future outcome that is unrealistic?
Customers don’t always like the answer, outcome or solution that has been offered up, which can make telling the truth to customers a little confronting at times.
A friend last week shared her experience of visiting a bank to complete a very simple process which involved a form. At every step of the way, over a 45 minute period, the staff member kept giving my friend bad news, exasperating what she expected to be a straightforward process. But, after the fact, she explained that she felt trust with this employee because she could see that they were telling the truth and not offering empty promises or little fibs to make her happy.
Truth tellers in customer service settings usually do three things:
- They use language that describes reality rather than masking reality
- They empathise with you by showing that they understand the frustration and inconvenience of the situation
- They explain / present the facts with directness and kindness
For many businesses the current landscape has required a reset of expectations around wait times, service levels and product availability. Employees are more often communicating information that is not popular in a customer service setting. In service you are under scrutiny. Honouring your promises (no matter how small) can earn you an enviable reputation for being reliable and trustworthy.
If you are in business and want to maintain advocacy and trust with your customers, you have to be confident in your ability to reset expectations and, where necessary, deliver bad news. Investing in equipping your staff to be truth tellers will protect your brand and improve your customer loyalty.
Question
Who are great truth tellers in your business? How do customers react to their truth telling?
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