If you’re anything like me, you may have a hard time asking for help. This has always been a problem of mine. I like to think I’m a pretty independent person. I try to figure things out and do the work myself.
Well, not for everything. Things I absolutely know I can’t do – fix a car, lift objects over 50 pounds – I do ask for help on. But the general stuff, I like to take care of on my own.
Part of it is the simple, possibly egotistic idea that I can get it done better and faster than other people. It kind of goes back to that impatient thing I mentioned I have.
The other reason is if it’s a simple problem, I really don’t want to have to ask and look like an idiot because I don’t know the answer. That doesn’t happen very often, but I do have an aversion to looking stupid in the eyes of people who I want to think of me as intelligent.
So of course I understand if you feel the same. But I’m here to tell you that we’re both being silly if we think those things. In customer service, it’s absolutely vital to ask for help if you don’t know what to do. Because if you don’t, how in the heck are you supposed to help the customer?
Back in my days as a manager at Coke, I saw this happen time and time again. A customer would call in, the associate would help them to a certain extent, and then they’d get to a point where they didn’t know the next step, or the answer to the next question. What followed shortly after that was usually a reply of “I don’t know”.
Admitting “I don’t know” is actually not a bad thing in customer service. There’s better ways of saying it sometimes, but it’s okay to tell the customer you don’t know something.
Unfortunately what typically followed that phrase was, “I can’t help you”. If there is any more cringe-worthy phrase I’ve heard in my life, it’s that one. This is false. I don’t care who you are, or what you know or don’t know. You are lying if you tell a customer you can’t help them. You can ALWAYS help a customer. It’s just knowing how to do it.
If you don’t know the answer to a question or what the next step should be, don’t feel stupid. Don’t feel like you’ve failed. And don’t hide behind a cover because you don’t want the customer to know. Or even if you don’t care if the customer knows you don’t know, you shouldn’t stop there.
The simple answer to this problem is to ASK. If you don’t know what to do, simply find the person who does and ASK THEM. It can be a manager, a colleague, or a resource you have in another department. Someone will always know the answer you are seeking and will tell you what needs to be done.
And don’t just leave the customer hanging either. Customers appreciate honesty. Yes, they may expect and want you to know everything so they don’t have to wait on you. But they also want you to be upfront with them.
If you tell them you don’t know the answer, but you will do what you can to find out, that’s all they want and can ask for. If you make no attempt to help them at all, it only devalues your service to them and you’ll lose their trust.
In the world of customer service, this is the one place I’m always willing to admit my faults, my mistakes, and my lack of knowledge when it’s there. Because I know I can still fix whatever the problem is. After all, we’re only human, and I know for a fact (and many people will tell me) I’m not perfect. So does the customer. And it’s actually okay. I promise.
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