Customer Service Has Changed
How has customer experience changed over this pandemic? With customers experiencing
lockdown and employees flitting from furlough to working from home, things are now looking
very different. Being removed from direct human contact and seeing the boundaries of the
workplace shift has undoubtedly changed the narrative of customer service, and highlighted
different ways of working for the road ahead. Let’s see what’s happened to the customer
experience journey, and who has found ways to navigate this year’s changes with success.
Keeping Customer Service Flexible Is Key
The work/life boundary has become a little more difficult to manage as customer representatives
work from home, logging on via the kitchen table. However, the changes of 2022 have also
created an opportunity to make customer service more flexible and responsive than before.
As customers join support video chats to see representatives in their own living rooms, the
customer experience is getting more personal. We’re all on different time scales now - juggling
work requirements around home life has meant the 9 to 5 has become too rigid, and more and
more teams are allowing flexible working. Trusting customer service employees to manage their
time accordingly has allowed people to find new focus and autonomy in their work. We see that
customer experience has improved as people feel more connected to an individual instead of an
automated helpline.
Going The Extra Mile
An increased personal connection and allowing employees the space to determine how they
navigate the support they provide has led to some inspiring stories of individuals going above
and beyond in the name of the customer experience. A Virtuoso travel agent took the time to
rescue a family stuck abroad following lockdown restrictions, doing the extra leg work to find a
private jet company to allow them to travel home while also crediting the family for their next trip.
Navigating the customer experience through the lens of the pandemic has reminded individuals
of the power of the personal touch. Going further than usual to help those in need won’t hurt the
customer loyalty metrics, either. It can take some adapting to feel fully prepared in delivering
effective customer service remotely, but we have a range of training courses built specifically for
teams keen to strengthen this skill.
Consistent Remote Support
While some of the one-off stories are incredible, the consistency of increased customer service
support from some UK banks throughout the pandemic has been equally important in the new
narrative. Natwest has introduced various support tools to help those in isolation manage their
finances digitally, including online video chats with their banking staff from home. Recognising
the new flexibility needed in customer service and the value of keeping the personal touch in the
customer experience has put the bank centre stage as an excellent customer service provider of
2021.
The Power of The Personal Touch
When customers are looking for support, nothing is going to beat a face to face conversation to
help resolve an issue. Whilst the pandemic has certainly presented some difficulties in how we
connect with one another in business, it has also had its positives. It highlights quite how
important personal contact is in delivering excellent customer service and, in turn, developing a
strong reputation for an unbeatable customer experience. Although many are now able to return
to businesses in person, we hope that companies opt to keep enhanced online and video
support in their toolkit. If you’re looking for ways to nurture your customer service experience
with remote working, give our courses a peek for some top class training.