Everyone in the modern world knows how to chat online. Still not everyone can work as a customer service chat operator. Professional communication differs from any personal chat. Here are some rules that will help you sound professional when chatting with clients.
1. Learn how to type
Slow typing with two fingers is unacceptable for customer service. Customers do not like waiting forever while you are struggling to find a symbol. Improve your typing skills and speed to succeed in your customer service job.
2. Mind your grammar
Nothing makes your writing less professional than grammar mistakes and mistypes. Though browsers are able to auto-detect mistakes, they are not 100% accurate. Always read what you write before you send it.
3. Start with capital letters
We are used to ignore capital letters and punctuation in personal communication. Some Virtual agents still tend to ignore them at work to type faster. If you type slowly, go to point one “Learn how to type”, but do not sacrifice grammar to typing speed.
4. Say “No” to acronyms and short-hand forms
“Btw r u able to check it 4 me?” It can be OK, if a client writes this way. We all know the rule that you need to talk customer’s language. But the rule refers to the words they use, not the way they spell them. Customer service chat operators are supposed to use full forms in a conversation with any customer.
5. Provide full answers
Short “Yes” or “No” answers sound a bit rude. Polite operators write “Yes, it is”, “No, that’s not exactly how it works”, “Yes, I will help you with it”. You don’t use “yep” and “nope” words at work, do you?
6. Do not abuse canned messages
Pre-written replies are definitely helpful. They allow you to save time for a reply and provide correct information. There are two things that you should consider before you send a pre-written reply. First of all, make sure that the message answers customer’s question. It often happens that a reply contains more information than needed. When you don’t bother to remove the extra information, you show the customer that you are too lazy to care. The second thing is sounding like a robot. When customers contact live support, they expect to talk to a live person, not a robot. Mindless using of canned messages makes you sound like a robot in seconds.
7. Address customers by name
People love hearing their name. The rule works for both offline and online communication. Pre-chat fields allow virtual agents know the visitor’s name as soon as a chat session starts. To get on the right side of your customers, address them by name.
