This is how you provide excellent customer support

As a support consultant, I help customers every day by answering their questions and solving their problems. From the moment the customer submits an issue until after resolving the issue, there are a few things I pay attention to, to offer the best possible support.

I make sure I completely understand the question or the problem

When a customer asks a question or reports a problem, I want to completely understand him or her. That goes beyond listening carefully to his/her story or reading the issue thoroughly. In many cases it is important to ask questions in return, find out the true nature of the problem or to understand the reason why the customer asks the question. It is also important to have complete information. You need to know where and when the problem occurs, what the consequences are and what the customer’s expected outcome of the system or process is.

I come up with the right plan to help the customer

Understanding the customer is step 1, taking the right action is step 2. Can I answer the question myself? Or do I need a colleague? Do we have to change the customer’s process or the functionality in the software? Are we going to develop customizations? Provide training? In short, what is the action plan for helping the customer as well as possible? In our industry, we often deal with complex issues, where business processes, technology and people all play a role in. Only with the right specialists in technology and processes, who can also transfer their knowledge in the right way, we are able to offer top quality support.

I pay attention to how I present the answer or the solution

You got the answer or have found a solution. But how do you communicate this to the customer? This is where it often goes wrong with support. My responsibility as a support consultant goes beyond simply sharing the answer with the customer. My intention is to explain it to the customer in such a way that he or she fully understands it. Sending a complex answer by e-mail or implementing a customization in the software without providing explanation or training can cause confusion, misunderstanding or misinterpretation. That is why I pay attention to how I present the answer or the solution.

I check whether the customer is satisfied with the support

The issue has been resolved and can be closed. But how did the customer experience the support? This check is often being skipped. Is he or she satisfied with the speed of support? Does the answer or solution fully meet his/her expectations? Did your customer experience the communication with you and your colleagues as pleasant? Regularly evaluating how the customer experiences your support, increases the quality of your support and contributes to building and maintaining a good customer relationship.

Wilbert Schreurs is Support Consultant at Dysel and helps customers with successfully using Dysel’s software solutions.