Finding ways to help manage customer service situations to a successful and positive outcome, as well as providing support to service professionals to help, builds resilience in them and leads to better outcomes for all. As we know, sometimes the questions, complaints, feedback or challenges given to our service team members can be unexpected, complex or very demanding. If these situations cause high levels of stress or concern in those who are in daily contact with customers, it can cause a lack of confidence or overwhelm because they are unsure of the best way forward.

Time to reflect and recalibrate 
 

A key skill that we find makes a difference to service situations and is sometimes missing in customer service teams is a structured and acceptable way for our team members to take a Time Out with a customer to allow for reflection, investigation or just to enable a situation to become calmer so that a better outcome can be achieved.

A simple formula

There is a formula for taking a Time Out in a very professional way and when our team members feel confident that this is an acceptable and, in many cases, very appropriate strategy and are equipped to take this Time Out with confidence and composure, the overall outcome is more positive.  

The steps to taking a Time Out are easy to follow. Firstly, it is important for the service giver to be careful not to raise false hope or put inappropriate doubt into the mind of the customer or other person. So, they need to choose their words carefully. In these situations, the service team member may be unsure of the next steps, what the options are, their level of authority and in fact whether the organisation is willing or able to help the customer in the way they are asking for help.

Phrases such as “I would like to take a time out to check what the best next steps would be,” or “I would like to take some time to find out some more information before coming back to you with options” are useful examples. Here, the service giver clearly states that some time would be helpful to find the best options. They are not raising false hope or creating doubt and show that they are willing to help.

Providing confidence to defuse and reset

In circumstances where a customer has perhaps become distressed or angry, the Time Out strategy is very important too. In your organisation, do you feel your team are confident that once they have used their expertise to move situations forward and they feel they are either nearing the end of their level of authority, are in danger of becoming distressed, or the customer is unable to discuss the situation appropriately with them, that it is acceptable for them to politely and firmly pause the conversation? Having given the customer options to continue a call politely and collaboratively which have not been accepted, to then be assertive and clear that they need to pause the conversation or disconnect the call will buy both the customer and the service giver some time to reflect and reconsider options. How our team members take this Time Out is important. It needs to be done in a calm and professional way which could be stating that their goal is to help the customer, stating a next step such as they or a colleague will call back (at a specific time) to continue the conversation.

For example, “Mr Patterson, I definitely want to find a way forward for you. What I am going to do is take a time out so that we can continue the conversation in an appropriate way later. I will call you back at 3pm today to see how we can make some progress together.”

Essential back-up and getting the timing right

An important aspect of a Time Out strategy is to have the back-up for your team members to hand over the situation to an appropriate colleague or manager and to enable them to be confident that it is OK to ask for help. 

When to press this pause button is also important. In our experience, it is a fine balance. Equipping people with the ability to handle confidently whatever comes their way at work, along with the appropriate empowerment and technical capability, avoids unnecessary escalations. A Time Out as a stated and trained part of your service ethos also helps in managing the sometimes very high demands placed on our service professionals and provides the best outcome or solution for the customer.  

In summary there are four steps in the Time Out formula.  

• State that a Time Out is needed, ensuring the customer is aware of a next step 
• Think through the options and solutions for a customer asking for help if needed 
• Hand over to a colleague or manager if that going to provide a better solution 
• Ensure the customer is called back and there is good follow up to an appropriate solution 

Get in touch here to find out how MGI’s unique Mindset, Language & Actions Toolkit can equip your customer service teams with the confidence and capability to excel in handling whatever comes their way. 

Our Resources

Discover our free downloadable tools, checklists, guides and eBooks, designed to help you and your people thrive at work.

Eight essentials to improve customer satisfaction

At the heart of driving high levels of customer satisfaction, we’ve identified eight factors that serve as the foundations of a customer-focused culture. Concentrating diligently on these will provide you with a road map for determining the customer centricity of your organisation and whether the foundations for excellent customer satisfaction are in place. Check out […]

Discover

 Six Steps to Confident Conversations for Managers and Teams 

Being confident and positive in conversations with colleagues, customers, suppliers and stakeholders will help to manage any situation that arises in a constructive, appreciative and empathetic way. The ability to manage any workplace conversation efficiently and appropriately will ensure a more enjoyable and productive working life, allowing everyone to thrive and achieve their goals and […]

Discover

Four important productivity characteristics of Customer Service teams

There are many ways to enhance productivity at work. At the heart of every organisation, whether for profit or not, productivity is of course critical to ensure goals are achieved in the most effective way. From our work with clients all around the world we have identified four important characteristics found in highly productive Customer […]

Discover

Guide to assess your listening skills

If you pause to reflect for a moment, consider how well do you truly listen? When we assess listening skills on our programmes, senior executives to the frontline participants tell us they realise they could do better. They become aware that they could substantially enhance and build on their listening skills so that we have […]

Discover

Checklist and guide: Phrases to listen out for and eliminate from customer service responses

Our simple Checklist and guide will help you to determine whether your teams need more help in understanding how to respond positively, constructively or empathetically.

Discover

Information Guide: How to ensure long-lasting impact from training

We know that strategic, all-encompassing embedding support is essential for achieving long-term behavioural change and success from any significant training investment. Use our information guide to ensure you are considering all aspects of the training experience to gain maximum benefit from your investment in training, whether it be a focus on your culture, a transformational […]

Discover

Assessment tool: Do your people have an Optimal Mindset?

Use our checklist assessment tool to find out whether your teams are displaying a positive, motivated and optimal mindset in their day to day activities and whether they are equipped to deliver great service, collaborate with others in the team and contribute to excellent outcomes every time. This will help you to gain invaluable insight […]

Discover

Checklist: Do your people demonstrate Ownership & Responsibility?

Use our Assessment tool to find out whether your team members clearly demonstrate ownership and responsibility in their interactions with customers and colleagues. Is this consistently demonstrated? Do they need a reminder?  Or is it something that needs to be developed? Having a clear understanding will allow you to gain invaluable insight and plan to […]

Discover

Assessment Guide: Management Training Needs

Do your managers have what it takes to be exceptional leaders who influence and inspire? Use our Management Training Assessment Guide to gauge your managers’ self-awareness, self-management and communication skills; their proficiency in advanced listening and questioning techniques; and their overall potential to be exceptional leaders who value diversity within their teams and can flex […]

Discover

Assessment tool: 12 Questions to ask your customer service team

How are your team thinking about your customers? Use our 12-question assessment tool to keep your finger on the pulse of what your people are thinking and feeling about their interactions with customers and whether they truly feel equipped to give great service. Build this assessment into your team meetings, or 121’s and gain important […]

Discover

eBook – How to Excel at Customer Complaints

How are your customer service teams handling the feedback and complaints that come their way at work? Do they welcome them as opportunities to showcase their skills as confident and capable customer service advisors, always happy to rise to challenges with a positive and solution-focused mindset, determined to do their best every time? Or is […]

Discover

Connect with us

Ready to discover what we can do for you?

Get in touch