Importance to set a response time

Working in customer service response time can be challenging for just about anyone. This occupation requires focus and quick-thinking skills, all while maintaining a cool head. If you work in customer service, you may have noticed many customers call or email in complaining about long response times. This can be especially common for small businesses with limited staffing.

These complaints should not be ignored, as they can damage your business’s reputation over time. However, addressing these complaints in a satisfactory manner can be tricky in itself. Customer service representatives should follow these tips when explaining long response times to customers.

• High Demand

The demand for your business’s products and services may fluctuate throughout the year. This is a natural occurrence that can result in a high number of customer complaints in a very short amount of time. If your business does not have extra customer service representatives on-hand, it can create delays in response times. However, you should avoid mentioning staffing shortages to your customers.
Instead you should point out that your business’s products or services are incredibly popular at this time of the year and that all representatives are currently focused on providing customers with the best quality service possible.

• Solutions for Specialized Problems

Customer service response delays also occur when a customer sends in a unique complaint that requires assistance from various departments. 

For example, a customer could ask a particular question about a raw material your business uses in its products. Offering this customer a satisfactory response will require customer service representatives to contact the business’s manufacturing or raw material procurement department. This can add delays which result in longer than average response times.

When explaining this situation to customers, you can explain that their query was forwarded to multiple departments for the purpose of providing them with an accurate response. This approach helps the customer feel valued and should leave them with a positive impression of your business.

• Worker Safety

Businesses may also suffer from long customer service response times when they prioritize worker safety. Worker safety is of vital importance in any business. Your staff are the lifeblood of your organization and keeping them safe will keep your business stable and running efficiently.
You can cite worker safety as a reason for long customer service response times. This explanation is well-suited for businesses where staff need to perform potentially dangerous tasks for customers such as checking electrical lines or sewage.
As you can see, there are plenty of ways to explain long customer service response times. Every business should try and reduce these times as much as possible, but the above explanations should keep customers satisfied in the event that you are already running at your maximum capacity.