7 Customer Support Challenges Business Face

7 Customer Support Challenges Business Face

Customers change, and so do their needs. A business that has a lackluster support department is bound to struggle, especially when you consider the fact that customer support already has to deal with a fair few challenges.

Addressing these challenges or preparing to deal with them in advance is a sound strategy. At the end of the day, businesses aim to improve customer experience.

One negative interaction with customer support can be enough to undermine all the good experiences the consumer had with the brand.

Let’s take a look at customer support challenges and solutions businesses can implement to address them.

Challenge 1: Angry Customers

A customer might be angry about something completely unrelated to the business. They are simply using it as a means to vent their frustration. Regardless of the circumstances, anger is one of those states that are difficult to deal with, even for those with experience.

Solution:

The solution varies. Customer support reps should hear and listen to what the complaints are and start by apologizing.

Showing empathy is also worth a shout. Frustrated customers are more likely to respond to someone who tries to be relatable.

After diffusing the situation, a rep needs to work on resolving the issue by asking questions and guiding the customer through steps until the problem is eliminated.

Challenge 2: Multiple Customers Simultaneously

Sometimes, the workload becomes too much, or one customer has a significant problem that requires a lot of time to solve.

In these cases, the number of support tickets or customers who reach out directly can overwhelm the support department.

Solution:

The solution to support overload is pretty straightforward. You need to hire more people so that the business can address everyone in a timely fashion.

If the workload increases during peak holiday seasons, there is no need to hire extra support full-time. Businesses may go for part-timers that would cover specific time slots.

Another worthwhile consideration is to work on improving self-service options. Developing a knowledge base on the website and redirecting customers to explanation articles or videos would take a load off of the customer support reps.

Challenge 3: Lack of Necessary Tools

Some customer support representatives might be missing the necessary tools to carry out their tasks.

Running into tech issues is also a pain point. As an agent, you need to be online, so seeing errors such as DNS server not responding Mac or your Wi-Fi bar being down to zero, are some examples of situations you want to avoid.

Solution:

Whoever is in charge of supervising the customer support department needs to make sure that everyone working there has access to the necessary tools.

Tutorials for using software and other tools should be prepared as well because some people need more help learning.

Some agents might come with requests to get a new computer or a better internet connection. Such demands can be unreasonable from an employer’s point of view due to how much they cost.

If the company can provide it, then all the power to them. However, if such a thing is possible, the customer support rep will have to find a solution themselves.

Challenge 4: Unreasonable Customer Requests

There are times when a customer reaches out to a support department and requests something unreasonable.

For example, they might ask for an exclusive discount because the price is too high for them. Or, they are not too familiar with the product or service and ask how to use a feature that is not there.

Such requests can leave support agents confused, but they cannot laugh off unreasonable questions like they do not matter.

Solution:

There is no be-all and end-all solution to abnormal requests. It is up to the agent to find a workaround and deal with one.

Sometimes, simply explaining that such a request is not feasible is enough, but a customer might be in the mood to argue because they believe that they are right.

Agents need to keep a cool head and handle the situation just like they would with angry customers.

Challenge 5: Slow Response Time

Long waiting times and multiple exchanges with support agents are frustrating for customers who want to solve their problems as soon as possible.

Solution:

Slow response time could be the result of multiple factors, such as:

• There are too many tickets/inquiries for available agents to handle

• Malfunctioning in the support system

• A new issue that has not been registered yet and requires time to research

As frustrating as it is, slow response time is easier to handle when support agents are upfront with customers about how long it will take to fix the issue.

It is imperative to be transparent and realistic about the time frame because lying about it will only make things worse. Sending regular updates so that customers do not feel like they are being ignored is another crucial element.

Finally, It also helps if a business relies on a real-time solution. Phone support, live chat, or callbacks leave the customers satisfied and increase retention.

Implementing a real-time solution tool is not difficult. In addition to providing reliable solutions to pressing customer needs, businesses can benefit by collecting valuable insights.

Conversation history lets one prepare for future customer problems and provide them with the right solutions even faster the next time somebody reaches out.

Challenge 6: No Solutions to the Problem

Customers who get in touch with support expect to receive help from the agents and get to the bottom of the problem to solve it.

Unfortunately, there are times when agents cannot come up with a solution. Customers do not know this, which might make them think that they are not important if it takes too long to respond.

Solution:

Being at a loss can lead to panic, particularly for less experienced agents. Do not fret, and use the knowledge base you have.

If finding a solution is not possible on your own, talk to other departments that can help you. Also, do not abandon the customer. Let them know right away that you are working on solving the problem and that it will take longer to investigate the cause.

Challenge 7: Onboarding New Support Reps

Onboarding someone with no prior customer support experience is a daunting task. However, it is part of the process. Fresh blood replaces agents who leave or become part of a growing team to take care of the workload.

Solution:

To minimize onboarding problems, start with thoroughly researching the candidates and picking those who are suitable for the position.

Next, have a training program in place. Create it with the help of current agents who can share their experiences.

Getting a new recruit familiar with their position takes a while, and they are bound to make some mistakes. Therefore, there should be someone who supervises new agents and helps them.

Conclusion

To sum it all up, the customer support department might seem like a pretty straightforward organ of a business, but the reality is quite different.

Just like other departments, it faces challenges and has to overcome them to ensure a positive customer experience.

Businesses depend on their agents to be the cornerstone of guiding the customers to the stage where consumers can complete the transactions or solve post-purchase problems, for the most part.

Finally, customer support representatives need to collect feedback from the customers and other sources while working. The purpose of doing this is to get a better understanding of why these issues are happening and how to address or eliminate them in the future.