Tip 3: Help Them Help You

When you think about what actually happens during a customer service inquiry, you start to realize that essentially it all boils down to one party that needs something from the other. I’ve found over the years that one of my biggest mistakes has been taking the position that the customer service operation is there to serve me, the customer…even though this assumption is essentially true in theory. But, I think you’ll find that it rarely seems to play out in practice. This is because when you’re making a customer service call, you’re asking another human being to put your interests first and do something for you. And a lot of times it's something they have been trained not to do, despite the fact that happy customers are more likely to return. So a better way to deal with customer service representatives is to think of it as a negotiation…what is the best way that I can get this person to do something that I want or need? I find the best way to do this is often to offer a solution. It also helps to say things to convince the representative that the two of you are on the same team.  

For instance, if I get to a point in a call where I think that my request is beyond the typical policy of the business I’m dealing with, I will start to quickly think of ways that helping me can be beneficial to the customer service rep. For a better explanation of what I mean, see the classic “Help Me, Help You” clip below from my old buddy Jerry Maguire:

Think of yourself as Jerry in this scene…you are not just fighting for your own interests, but you’re actually trying to help the rep deal with this issue. You are empathizing with his desire to get this issue off his plate…if he’s a supervisor or manager who has had this issue escalated to him, your willingness to help him get it resolved in the fastest and easiest way possible will be even more appreciated. Even if it’s not entirely true (let’s face it, we don’t exactly have the strongest empathy for certain businesses or their customer service reps), you have to appreciate that the voice on the other end of the line is just like you…he wants to scratch something off of his list, and you’re trying to help him with that.

One way you can achieve this is by saying something like, “I know you’ve got a lot of other, much more pressing issues to deal with, so I’m sure getting this small problem resolved would save us both a lot of time and hassle.” If he’s a supervisor or higher, he’ll appreciate that you value his time. You can also say, “I understand that you’re a business, and you have certain rules; but right now, the rules are actually hurting your business. If you help me out with this issue, you’ll end up with a much happier, more loyal customer who will be sure to recommend you to his friends and family.” How successful is a line like this? Probably about 50/50. It’s all about sensing the tone; is this a very business-oriented individual who is thinking about his company’s long-term success? Or is this a bottom-line focused manager who doesn’t want to rock the boat and risk getting in trouble for letting you go outside the company’s typical policies? If it’s the latter, you need a different approach which will be covered in later posts. But if it’s the former, you can appeal to the supervisor’s sense of customer relationship-building: “You know, I’ve spent a lot of money with your company [even if you haven’t…he probably won’t check], and I definitely want to keep doing business with you in the future. But without this issue being fixed, I don’t really think I can do that.”

Illustrate for the rep that by not fixing your issue, he or she is actually costing his company money. Let’s say you’re asking for a refund for something that typically wouldn’t be refunded (i.e. shipping costs for something you decided not to keep). If I were having this issue, the conversation would go something like this:

Me: I know you guys typically don’t refund the shipping costs for Item X. But I’ve done a lot of business with your company and I’d really appreciate it if you could do me the courtesy of refunding me for this one charge. [“courtesy” is the key word, because supervisors are often empowered to refund certain charges as a “courtesy” adjustment for customers]
Rep: I’d really like to help you, sir, but our policy doesn’t really allow us to refund the shipping cost.
Me: I totally understand that; but I think if you were kind enough to do that for me, I would definitely be buying something else from your store with the money, so you’d actually end up making money in the long run. In fact, maybe I could get the shipping refunded as a store credit, since I’m planning to buy from you again.

If you’re saying this to a Level 1 rep (who you probably shouldn’t be spending too much time with, as you may have learned from Tip 1), you may have some luck by suggesting the credit option…after all, you’re showing him that you really do want to buy something else from his company. If you’re saying this to a supervisor, you’ll have an even better chance, since he’s much more likely to appreciate that this will actually affect his company’s long-term relationship with you as a customer…and thus, you’re helping him help you.