How can you coach customer support staff to ask better questions?

Coaching my customer support staff to ask better questions is an art that goes beyond scripts. It's about fostering curiosity and empathy. I encourage them to dig deeper by understanding the customer's perspective and needs. I teach them the power of open-ended questions that uncover underlying issues. I emphasize active listening to grasp nuances. I remind them that better questions lead to better solutions. Ultimately, it's about making every interaction a meaningful exchange, not just a transaction. This strategy helps me give senior management the answers they need, which makes our jobs easier and more productive.

The main goal of a conversation with a customer is to find out the root of their problem. Sometimes customers don't know how to express themselves on more technical matters, and asking the right question isn't so simple as to read it from somewhere. Simply converse with the customer about the issue for a bit, make sure you get enough angle on what's happening. Usually the correct question comes to you during that process, based on each customer's needs. Just become familiar with those needs and focus on that.

In my experience if you want to provide a best customer service then there are couple of things every organisation should focus on to train their customer support. Firstly they should let them know the vision and values of the company. Additionally, every support staff should have a good knowledge of the product. Because if they don’t know the product very well it doesn’t matter whatever you are saying they wouldn’t be satisfied. Furthermore, staff should know how to emphathise the customer legitly.

Make sure that the customer support team understand that, the reason for asking the question is to determine the issue the customer is facing, its not about showing their technical capabilities, or repeat the same things like a "parrot would" juts for the sake of asking questions. The questions they should ask in each situation might always be varied so teach them to be as dynamic as possible when asking questions.

In my experience, I would be able to support in a much more efficient manner when I am well versed with the product and also the services that the company provides. Being equipped with attentive listening skills in understanding issues, combined with a thorough investigative approach to problem solving, I would be able to make the customers develop the trust to work together, resulting in happy customers who respond positively to the solutions provided, which ultimately leads to favourable outcomes.

Take a step back, show your curiosity, and focus on the desired solution. In my experience, most CS reps are afraid to ask the difficult questions but typically learn that once you've shown genuine interest in finding a solution for the customer (however difficult it may be), the customer tends to open up and happily provide information. That said, while we want to focus on the solution, we don't want to jump ahead without truly understanding the issue at hand. This is the hardest thing to do when the solution seems obvious. So, again, take a step back, ask why this issue is a priority and what impact it carries. Then move towards a solution.

To coach a customer support staff member to ask better questions, you first need to define the goal. What is the purpose of the conversation? Are you trying to troubleshoot a problem, provide information, or upsell a product? Defining the goal will help you and the staff member know which questions to ask. Once the goal is defined, you can help the staff member craft specific questions that are relevant to the situation.

The main goal of questions that CS agents address their clients should be to get one step closer to understanding client's concern. For instance, if a customer asks about the KYC status of his account, it'd make sense for the agent to ask for user's Account ID number in first place - to locate this account and see its status. When a user has a crypto deposit not arrived, the agent on chat benefits from asking user for the blockchain network and the deposit's TXID - to find this transaction and consult further. To ask the straight-to-the-point questions, agents need to know the company offerings and its operating procedures really well. The more knowledge they have, the more often they're able to ask right questions at an intuitive level.

I've found that the best approach for coaching customer support staff to ask better questions is to give them 3 core things to focus on when diagnosing an issue. 1. What happened prior to the problem? Was there an event that precipitated the incident? Case-in-point, you'd be surprised how many customers will let you troubleshoot a device that won't power on without mentioning their entire store has no power. 2. Get a thorough description of the problem and how it occurred. You've asked enough questions when you can hang up the phone and recreate the situation. 3. Find out what they have already tried, even if they don't want to go over it again. Sometimes customers miss a step in seemingly simple processes.

Empower customer support/service to solve problems on their own. empower them with the authority and flexibility to find creative or alternative solutions to issues when they arises.

As a frontline to the company, the support team must be precise in defining the customer's feelings. It must reflect in our day-to-day activities such as understanding a prioritization or critical subjects. That's the importance of asking the right (and sometimes obvious) questions, such as "how does this incident impact your process" or "How long have you been experiencing this situation"

Enhanced Understanding: Open-ended questions delve deeper into customer perspectives, offering valuable insights into their experiences, emotions, and needs. Engagement: By asking open-ended questions, support staff demonstrate genuine interest and attentiveness, fostering a positive customer-agent relationship. Tailored Solutions: The information gathered from open-ended questions allows support teams to provide personalized solutions, addressing specific concerns and ensuring a more satisfactory customer experience.

Ask open ended questions to know the exact issue in detail. Once the issue is clear, closed ended questions can be used to narrow down to the root cause

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Teach them to: - Use open-ended questions. These questions can't be answered with a simple yes or no & encourage the customer to share more details and information. Eg; instead of asking "Is the device working?", ask "What happens when you try to use the device?". - Use probing questions. These questions follow up on the customer's response and dig deeper into the problem. Which then helps the customer support staff to explore, clarify and verify information. Eg; after asking "What happens when you try to use the device?", ask "what error message do you see?"

- Use of positive and respectful language. The way a question is phrased impacts how a customer feels and Responds. Be empathetic and proffessional. Eg;instead of saying "You need to restart your device", say "Could you please try restarting your device?".

Encourage your downlines to listen to the needs of the customers. And from that, they can easily ask questions or probe to the clients’ concerns. Teach them also to break communication barriers so customers and the employee will be comfortable with each other and good customer service is properly delivered.

In addition to remaining open-ended, incorporating clarifying questions will or most often will result in a desired outcome or a positive resolution to any technical, account, program or informative situation. By asking clarifying questions and avoiding “yes or no” only answers, it allows the agent to create a tailored approach to the client they’re assisting. Even in a heightened scenario, it can prove to be beneficial in most cases, just by the user feeling heard for whatever dissatisfaction that’s plagued their day. In certain situations, the desired outcome for the user may not be possible due to company policies, however with the right technique a compromise can be found just based on the questions and tone of the call.

Open-ended questions are definitely the key, but it can feel a bit nebulous to prompt the team to "just ask open-ended questions!" Instead, I've found that encouraging the team to use a jujitsu technique and leverage the conversational momentum forward. Most agents approach the customer exchange with a "customer wants this, but I need this first" perspective. This halts the momentum and creates friction. Instead, as Jujitsu is famous for, maintain the momentum by agreeing with the customer and asking a follow-up question. "Ah, I see. That's an odd one. How long has this been happening?" Or perhaps something like, "Hmmm, yes, thank you for those details. That makes sense. Have you tried any troubleshooting so far?"

Train your team to channel their inner curious kid, let them ditch the yes/no playbook. Asking stuff like "What's your biggest headache with this glitch?" gets real talk flowing and shows we're all ears.

When dealing with complex situations, we must be precise in understanding the context of the incident and, most importantly, the problem itself. This is where objective and closed-ended questions come into play. Questions like, 'Does it happen with just this user?' 'When did the problem start?' and 'Show me the screen where the incident happened' serve as the golden tools of the support team. They must be constantly polished and perfected to achieve better results in KPIs.

Open-ended questions are questions that can't be answered with a simple "yes" or "no". They encourage the customer to share more detailed information and give the staff member a better understanding of the situation. For example, instead of asking "Did you have a good experience?", you could ask "What was your favorite part of your experience?"

Closed-ended questions are incredibly necessary but should be supported by open-ended questions. For example, you might lead with an open-ended question about "what errors they noticed the last time this occurred," which prompts a story from the customer. Once the story is in place, you can then use closed-ended questions to confirm or better understand vague or missing information. If the customer seems unsure, it's often helpful to revert to an open-ended question again and then repeating the closed-ended loop.

Coach your team to mix it up: closed questions for clarity, open ones to dig deep. It’s like being a detective, knowing when to narrow down and when to expand the search. Keep it conversational, like chatting with an old friend.

Probing questions are a type of open-ended question that encourages the customer to provide even more detail. These questions can start with "why", "how", or "what else". For example, "What else did you like about your experience?" or "How did the product meet your needs?" Probing questions are a great way to get a more in-depth understanding of the customer's experience.

Probing questions is used best to get a better understanding on what's being explained by the customer. It ensures we can best support and help the customer with a clear understanding. Tip: Proper coaching and feedback can help the team show up for their customers.

Deeper Insights: Probing questions uncover hidden issues, allowing support staff to gain a thorough understanding of the customer's situation and needs. Empathy and Engagement: By asking probing questions, support teams show empathy and a genuine desire to help, fostering a stronger connection with the customer. Tailored Solutions: The information obtained through probing questions enables support staff to provide targeted solutions that address underlying concerns and ensure a more satisfactory resolution.

Perguntas de sondagem são essenciais para um atendimento personalizado e para garantir maior satisfação de expectativas do cliente. Esse tipo de pergunta permite ir além do óbvio e da solução genérica, o que é mais atraente para o cliente. Também potencializa a nossa capacidade de entregar exclusividade e qualidade na solução. "Probing questions are essential for personalized service and to ensure greater satisfaction of customer expectations. This type of question allows you to go beyond the obvious and the generic solution, which is more attractive to the customer. It also enhances our ability to deliver exclusivity and quality in the solution."

Always keep it simple; customers may not have the same technical knowledge as you do. Therefore, it's important to communicate in a straightforward and simple manner.

Probing questions are a form of open-ended questions where the goal isn't to gather information YOU need but rather to UNDERSTAND what the customer's expectations might be. In many cases, open-ended questions produce the same results as probing-questions—but not all customers (or issues) are as transparent as the reset. Some favorites: "If you had a magic wand, how would you like this to work?" "Your words mean more than mine will for our engineers. I'd love to hear in your words how this feature/issue impacts your goals. Does it create more work?"

Get your team to play detective — it's all about asking the "whys" and "hows" to really get the full story. It shows we care and gets to the heart of what customers need.

Clarification: Reflective questions confirm the support staff's understanding of the customer's statements, reducing misunderstandings and ensuring a clear and accurate grasp of the issue. Active Listening: They demonstrate active listening and empathy, reassuring the customer that their concerns are being heard and valued. Enhanced Communication: Reflective questions facilitate open and effective communication, allowing the customer to provide additional context or corrections if necessary, ultimately leading to more successful problem resolution.

Reflective questions are helpful but are often mandated by senior leadership without training. Instead of aligning with the customer (the intended goal), reflective questions create friction and demonstrate robotic insincerity. If I've just said I'm frustrated, I don't need to hear that sentiment repeated back to me—yet so many support professionals do this as a "best practice." A humble inquiry is far more powerful than a traditional reflective question. Humble inquiry confirms without repetition. "Thanks for sharing that; that sounds like a rough day. I'm here to help. Let's get this turned around, OK?" I don't need the customer to repeat themselves. I just need to show that I understand their situation and commit to help.

Coach your team to mirror the customer's words back at them. It's like holding up a mirror to their issue—shows you're tuned in and gets them nodding along.

The subtle nuances in our interactions can shape an entire customer experience, often without them even realizing it. Using negative phrasing can quickly turn the atmosphere, especially if the customer starts off on a positive note. Focusing too much on the downside might lead them to reconsider aspects they hadn’t previously perceived as issues. At Apple, I really valued an approach of always assuming "positive intent". It wasn't just beneficial for our customers, but it also fostered a constructive and supportive environment for our team. When faced with challenges, adopting an attitude of "What can we learn from this situation?" can go a long way.

One point worth being done before using all the things described above is to honestly ask yourself if you clearly understand what exactly you have been asked by the customer. There were plenty of times of misunderstandings started growing from the very beginning, due to the simple fact that the original question was interpreted without an honest understanding of things. A lot of engineers answered things they knew, while my question was about different. Just remember, that sometimes it's OK to spend some time in order to thoroughly investigate the question and ask your mentor/wiki/google/whatever. And once you get the understanding it would be easier to choose the strategy and approach for resolving the question.

You have to first understand their position. Many a times, we conclude that only the customer needs to be understood, that should never be the case as customer care representatives are human too!

Better questions are the result of better listening. So active listening is step zero, and then yes - go ahead with all the steps mentioned here, it will work. Because if you're not present in the moment, and you aren't actively listening - even the best tips for asking questions won't work. The main things I like to emphasize in my active listening training are: - set the intention (ask yourself: what kind of attitude and vibe do I want to bring into this conversation?) - check in with your energy (am I relaxed, nervous, in a rush? Energy is contagious. Make sure you are as calm as possible. That will help you to listen better.) When you set the base (aka yourself) right, better questions come easily :)

Get to know your client's business and how they use product features. This deep insight lets you understand customer issues and concerns better, helping you ask the right questions and deliver more effective solutions and a superior customer experience!

Emphasize the importance of active listening, as this will enable them to ask follow-up questions that demonstrate a genuine interest in the customer's concerns and ultimately lead to better problem-solving and a more positive customer experience.

The support sector is crucial in a company's success, by being the first line prioritizing clients' needs through precise understanding of incidents and well-crafted questions. Our role extends beyond issue resolution, focusing on client satisfaction in ou top priorities and building long lasting relationships.

Simplifying the information helps others to understand easier and overtake faster your service. If you cannot explain it to a 6yo you haven't understand it by yourself - Albert Einstein

I always found that putting myself in the customer's shoes is the best way to know what questions to ask. I would always ask myself what kind of outcome would I want if it was me in that situation. So whatever the situation the customer would be in, I would have the approach I would like as a customer. I would always tell my team to remember that they are also a customer outside of work, so treat the customer the way you want to be treated.