You think it’s bad when a disgruntled customer is yelling at you through the phone, complaining about this and that, and all you are thinking in your head is: “wow, this guy is wasting his and my time … why can’t he just leave me alone?!”

Well yes, that is bad. When you put yourself in the customer’s shoes, it is just as bad, if not worse. After all, they were the ones that bought your product with certain expectations that were advertised, but they were not delivered. As the support team for your company, it is your job to make sure every customer is satisfied and happy. Yes, you are responsible for your customers’ happiness whether you like it or not…at least when it comes to being on the support team.

One wrong move, or an outburst of emotional frustration can ruin the relationship and will lose you a customer forever. Super Office blog has gather some of the most outlandish customer service stories that from readers that will make you want to go down your entire customer contact list and give them each a hug

1. A customer who purchased a printer was having trouble connecting the printer with her Mac, even though the company promised that connecting it to a Mac would not be a problem. After calling through to customer service and being put on hold for hours, the customer service rep responded with “Yeah, really not my problem lady”. The customer went to the nearest Apple store and connected the printer within minutes.
2. A customer was on the lookout for a children’s book for her grandchild. She approached the customer service desk and asked where she could find the book. The clerk pointed in the direction of the children’s book section and responded with “It’s over there”, and then as the customer walked away, the clerk turned to her co-worker, in an aggravated tone “She didn’t even TRY to find it on her own”. The customer left the store and purchased the book at another bookshop.
3. A customer went into a computer repair store and mid-way through being assisted, the clerk received a phone call, which he answered. Being polite and waiting, but with no sign of the call coming to an end the customer asked the clerk why she had to wait when she was there in person. The clerk’s response was that customers who call in get priority of over customers in store. The customer then went home and called the store from her cellphone.

Each of these scenarios had a sad ending –the customers leave and go somewhere else. Do you really want that to happen to your business? So even if each and every one of your reps was polite as can be, they also need to be quick and always on their toes. A question that is answered in speedy time will always make the situation more pleasant.

So even if your customers like to bombard you with questions from email, Facebook, Twitter, (insert social media name here), you can still efficiently answer each one thanks to Zendesk, an online software that pulls support questions from each source and into one window so that you can easily call or chat to assist them, without having to have a million tabs opened.

Another way to show them you care is by sending them emails made just for them; welcome emails for newbies, a thank you and special discount for long time customers, etc.

Use the Zendesk-Benchmark plugin to engage with your contacts and send them emails reassuring them that you are always here to help!