The 3rd Rule of Customer Service: Over-Communicate for Success

The Golden Rules of Customer Service

• 💡 The "customer is always right" is a well-known rule, but it's not the only one.
• 🤝 A second crucial rule is to "be nice", even when faced with difficult customers.
• 🗣️ The third, and focus of this cast, is to "overcommunicate".

Why Over-Communication is Key

• 📉 Uncertainty leads to dissatisfaction; proactive communication dispels this uncertainty.
• 📦 Companies like Amazon exemplify this by sending emails at every step of the order process, from confirmation to shipping.
• ⏳ While it may seem like more work initially, over-communication saves time in the long run by preventing issues with unhappy or uncertain customers.
• 📞 In one case, a customer service representative cut customer calls in half by proactively communicating, transforming an overwhelming workload into a manageable one.

Defining Your Customers

• 👥 Everyone can be considered a customer, not just those who pay for a service.
• 🏢 Internal colleagues who rely on your work or information are also customers, and over-communicating with them increases certainty and decreases future difficulties.
• 🎯 Even if you don't interact directly with external customers, your internal customers serve them, making your role vital to the overall value chain.
• 🤝 When interacting with internal colleagues, adopt a customer service mentality, remembering that they are your customers and that this mindset ultimately serves the external customer who pays everyone's salaries.

Communicating Effectively

• 🔁 The core recommendation is to communicate twice as often as you think you need to.
• 📧 Communication can take various forms, including email, voicemail, or instant messaging, depending on the context.
• ⏳ Providing updates on progress, even when there's nothing new to report, helps manage expectations and reassures customers.
• 📊 Knowing your customer's status in a queue or the expected timeline for a task significantly improves their perception of service.

What to Communicate

• 📍 Every communication should include the current situation, next steps, and potential issues with their associated solutions.
• ⚠️ Proactively addressing potential problems, even before they occur, demonstrates preparedness and builds trust.
• ✅ By putting the customer's needs first and communicating honestly, you foster respect and professionalism, even when admitting to delays or issues.
• 📈 Increasing communication frequency can reduce the vehemence of complaints during service shortfalls and is a significant competitive advantage.
• ❓ If you're unsure about communication frequency, err on the side of communicating too much rather than too little, as customers generally appreciate being kept informed.