Dealing with a constant stream of inquiries, whether they are positive or negative, is never an easy task. Being a customer service representative means being everything the customer expects, needs, and deserves – that’s a lot of pressure! However, there are things you as the employer can do for your customer service employees to make their job a little easier.
Although you may be worried about a lack of control, it may be time to ease up on the reigns. The overall success of your business depends on a well-oiled employee machine, so it is crucial to give your team a certain amount of control. You can do this by allowing customer service representatives to control their own ticket actions.
There are several benefits to giving your customer service reps free reign when it comes to ticket actions:
1. You will build trust and confidence within your customer support team.
No employee likes to me micro-managed; by allowing your service team to be in control of their tickets, you are sending them the message that you trust them to do their job well and to represent the company in the best possible light, without the need for constant supervision. This action will not only show your employees that you trust them, but it will also work to build trust between you and them. In addition, it will also give them the confidence in themselves to meet their full potential. You hired them for a reason!
Of course, this may be something that is a gradual change. As their employer, you have to determine which employees are ready to assign themselves their own tickets. An experienced customer service representative may do great on their own while others with less experience or those who are new hires might need a little more supervision at first. There is no need to give up complete management duties; if you want to see how an employee will perform on their own with tickets, let them start responding to them and review them at the end of the day (giving them notes afterward).
2. You will have more time for other things.
By delegating the responsibility of opening or closing tickets to your customer service team, you are freeing up quite a large amount of time for yourself. What will you do with the extra time? As an employer, there is always a long to-do list that never seems to get any shorter – now is your chance! Utilize the employees you have to be in control of ticket actions, and put other management duties at the top of your priorities.
3. Customer service and issue resolution will be faster.
Without the need for employees to double-check with you, to wait for instructions, or to open and close tickets, your customer service response time will improve drastically. There will be less waiting on the customer’s part (and nothing is more annoying than being put on hold when you are trying to get an issue resolved or a simple question answered). Your customer service reps will be able to open their own tickets, resolve the issue, and move on to the next seamlessly and without the constant need for outside action. Even if this saves only a few seconds per ticket, those seconds add up. Customer satisfaction will skyrocket, and your team will be a powerhouse of outstanding customer service.
This does not mean that you won’t need to step in from time to time. Customer service representatives will always encounter something they may not know how to, or have the authority to, handle; that’s where you come in. However, when they have the ability to handle their own tickets, they will save so much time that would have otherwise been unnecessarily wasted.
4. Your support team will be more efficient as a unit.
Not only will your employees be more efficient when it comes to speed, they will become a stronger, more efficient team as a whole.
If customer service representatives have the ability to assign themselves to in-progress tickets (tickets that are already open and active under another employee), inquiries will be resolved in a way that makes more sense. Say one rep has an open ticket that needs to be redirected to another rep, or a representative doesn’t know the answer to a question but a superior is occupied. Another representative can enter the ticket right away and the issue is solved! No need for extra waiting time, interruptions, or frustrated customers
With a solution like HappyFox and these four tips, watch how your customer support goes from dismal to amazing in a snap! Schedule your one-on-one live demo today and see how HappyFox can push your customer support to the next level.
Have you noticed any benefits of allowing customer service reps the ability to assign themselves tickets? Share your thoughts with us!
