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CartNo one has all the answers, but sometimes it can feel like you’re expected to know the answer to every question a customer or coworker asks. This critical customer service skill is not, however, about your ability to answer every question. It’s about your ability to handle every question gracefully and ultimately to provide a complete and accurate answer.
Here are two real-world examples of what I’m talking about.
Honesty is One of the Key Customer Service Skills
Example #1: Janet my wife, and I were shopping for a new car and we went for a test drive. The salesperson appeared to be new in his job and was not able to answer most of our questions about the car. Instead of admitting that he was new and offering to take notes about our questions and get answers when we got back to the dealership, he made up answers. His answers were flat out wrong and we felt disrespected that he thought he could get away with such behavior. We actually liked the car, but as soon as we got back to the dealership we left without giving him our contact information and went to a different dealership to buy a car. It would have been fine if he would have admitted being new and not knowing all the answers. It was not fine that he was dishonest with us. Honesty is one of the key customer service skills.
Example #2: I went to an office supply store to purchase a new printer. After bad experiences with other printers, I was interested in an extended warranty on the printer I was considering. I asked a sales clerk about the terms of the extended warranty and she started speculating about the terms of the warranty. It was obvious that she didn’t have a clue about how the warranty worked. She was wasting my time (and hers, too) by blathering on without knowing what she was talking about. It would have been really simple for her to say something like, “You know, I’m not sure of the exact terms of the warranty. Let me get a manager who can answer your question for you.” Getting the correct answer is another one of the key customer service skills.
It’s Okay if You Don’t Know the Answer
It’s perfectly okay to not know an answer to a customer’s or coworker’s question. It’s never okay to be dishonest or mislead them. People have gotten really good at detecting dishonesty and have no tolerance for it. Even if you mean well by trying to guess at an answer, you’re always better off offering to look up an answer or find someone who knows the answer.
At Walt Disney theme parks, all employees are considered cast members, and customers are considered guests. When a guest asks a cast member a question, even if that cast member is the person sweeping the sidewalks, they will either provide an accurate and complete answer on the spot or find the answer. I was delighted to learn that Disney even expects that of their contractors as well as their cast members, even IT contractors who might just be walking through a park.
It’s simple. As usual, put yourself in your customer’s position. You certainly don’t want anyone to mislead you and neither do they. They just want a complete and accurate answer and they’d much rather wait for it than waste their time listening to speculation or dishonest answers. Your ability to do that is one of the critical customer service skills.
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