In a recent blog, I mentioned that I had encountered a live chat representative who totally missed the reason I contacted them. In doing so, the operator cost their firm my business. What I realized was that the operator was working from a script and I wasn’t as assertive as I could have been.
Regardless, this interaction brought home the need for improved support and training of live chat operators, or at least a closer examination of the content of their scripts. The one line that could have been included in the script of the operator I encountered would be “Do you have any other questions I can help you with?”
Simple, yes; common; again in most of my live chat interactions this question is included. One suggestion though, don’t put this in as a simple drop line, mean it. Many of the live chat interactions I have had include the above line as a part of the closing tag. It goes something like this: “Thank you for contacting Brand X, do you have any other questions I can help you with?” The natural human response is that the call is over; any further questions are an inconvenience.
When using live chat to interact with me, a customer, the placement of content is as important as the content. Imagine if a live chat contact began with “Thank you for contacting Brand X, do you have any other questions I can help you with?” rather than “thank you for calling, how may I help you?”
Most level one operators are closely monitored to be sure they are delivering service quickly and efficiently. An added evaluation area might be to focus a bit on content. How easily is the scripted message understood, are there any areas for improvement? This is especially true when the customer is an older adult. There are times when they shouldn’t be rushed, where the choice of words is important, and where a perception of being misunderstood becomes personal.
And while I’m on a roll let me add another small pet peeve. One of the quickest ways to lose my attention is by the use of bad grammar. Especially when someone asks me, “Can I help you” rather than “May I help you?” Of course you CAN help me, if you choose to, MAY I help you is so much more inviting. Any way, the whole point of all this is to point out the importance of good communications when using live chat communications is an art and as any good artist pay attention to the details.
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