In a per­fect world, cus­tomers would always be delighted with our prod­ucts and ser­vices. In a slightly less-perfect world, front­line rep­re­sen­ta­tives would be able to han­dle any prob­lem to a customer's full satisfaction. Ours is a slightly less-perfect world than that. In the real world, we know that some issues will need to be esca­lated to higher tiers of man­age­ment in the course of sup­port­ing our cus­tomers. Keep­ing the esca­la­tion rate low helps boost cus­tomer con­fi­dence in our prod­ucts, ser­vice, and com­pany, and sup­ports over­all cus­tomer satisfaction.

1. Reduce
Escalation Rate
I
a perfect world, customers would always be delighted with
n Sometimes customers will request
our products and services. In a slightly less-perfect world, front- an issue to be escalated despite the
line representatives would be able to handle any problem to a rep’s best efforts to control the call
customer’s full satisfaction. and resolve the issue. When this
happens, reps should not:
Ours is a slightly less-perfect world than that. In the real world, we
know that some issues will need to be escalated to higher tiers of  the customer, “The super-
Tell
management in the course of supporting our customers. Keeping visor is just going to tell you the
the escalation rate low helps boost customer confidence in our same thing I did.” This does
products, service, and company, and supports overall customer nothing to remedy the situation
satisfaction. and will only further infuriate
the customer.
Whether an escalation is requested by a customer or initiated by a Argue with the customer. Get

representative, the reasons for the escalation are often that: the supervisor involved as
The customer realizes that the representative does not have the
 quickly and politely as possible.
authority or knowledge required to resolve the problem.
 he customer has become angry, and speaking to someone of
T Representatives should:
higher authority will be a prerequisite to calming this customer Brief the supervisor on the

down. situation before the supervisor
takes over the call.
In either case, the best way to deal with escalations is to try to
prevent them from happening in the first place. The best preventive Debrief with the supervisor

steps include: once the call is over, discussing
how this or similar issues might
Making sure that all representatives have adequate technical
 be prevented in the future.
training and customer handling skills. Monitor the performance
of representatives through the use of your contact center’s
monitoring technology by listening to live calls. Coach and
provide additional training as needed.
Teaching team members how to project confidence when deal-
 For more information contact:
ing with customers. Speaking with confidence includes using an Impact Learning Systems International
up-beat tone of voice and choosing positive, service-oriented % 800.545.9003
words that demonstrate competency and self-assurance. The % 805.781.3283
more confident a representative sounds in his/herag abilities, the info@impactlearning.com
less likely a customer will be to request escalation to a supervisor. www.impactlearning.com
Illustrating the difference between confidence and arrogance,

making sure all representatives know how and where to draw
the line between these two very different ways of coming across
to a customer.