The customer service skills that matter


When most business publications talk about excellent customer service skills, things like “being a people person” tend to take the spotlight.

1. Patience

If you don’t see this near the top of a customer service skills list, you should stop reading.

Not only is patience important to customers, who often reach out to support when they are confused and frustrated, but it’s also important to the business at large


2. Attentiveness

The ability to really listen to customers is so crucial for providing great service for a number of reasons.

Not only is it important to pay attention to individual customer experience (watching the language/terms that they use to describe their problems), but it’s also important to be mindful and attentive to the feedback that you receive at large.

3. Clear communication skills

Make sure you’re getting to the problem at hand quickly; customers don’t need your life story or to hear about how your day is going.

4. Knowledge of the Product

The best forward-facing employees in your company will work on having a deep knowledge of how your product works. Without knowing your product from front to back, you won’t know how to help customers when they run into problems.

5. Ability to use positive language

Sounds like fluffy nonsense, but customer service involves having the ability to make minor changes in your conversational patterns. This can truly go a long way in creating happy customers.