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10 Customer Service Skills for Success in Any Job
10 Customer Service Skills for Success in Any Job
Written by Coursera • Updated on Feb 28, 2023
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Boost your business by mastering the most effective customer service skills.
[featured image] Two women sit chatting and laughing at work, hunched over computers.
When you walk into a cosmetics store and the salesperson asks if you need any help, that is customer service. When you call your credit card company to dispute a charge and speak with a representative, that’s customer service, too.
Customer service plays an important role in attracting and retaining customers. Businesses can leverage good customer service to boost sales. Empathy, good communication, and problem-solving are core skills in providing excellent customer service.
In this article, you’ll learn what customer service is, why it is important, and the top 10 customer service skills for a thriving business.
What is customer service?
Customer service is the practice of supporting customers before, during, and after their purchase. Someone providing customer service helps the customer navigate how to use the product or service and troubleshoot any errors or defects that may arise. When a business is hospitable and puts customers first, the response is positive. According to Zendesk, 61 percent of customers would switch to a competitor after just one bad customer service experience [1].
Today, businesses also need to meet customers where they are shopping. E-commerce sales in the US for 2022 were estimated to be $1,747 billion, an increase of 10.9 percent from 2021 [2]. That means customer service should consider how to meet online customers at every touchpoint, in addition to in-person or phone interactions, to foster a holistic customer experience.
Whether you are a restaurant owner or waiter, a technology start-up founder or UX designer, delivering good customer service requires a human-centric approach. Though it can vary by industry, here are some common examples of good customer service attributes: