Online Customer Service With a Smile :D

An interesting trend for the world of Customer Service throughout the past year is the increasing number of Online Customer Support agents using Smileys in their replies. Is this good or is this bad?  So far, the facts point to good! =)

Here is an article previously posted about this very topic which sparked my interest: http://community.uservoice.com/blog/emoticons-customer-service-data/?utm_campaign=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_source=octnews2012

The use of the emoticon helps put the customer support reps at a more human level.  It allows customers to see that a customer service rep is empathizing with the situation, and not just going through the prescribed motions.

Often, we hear or see people complain that customer service is obsolete, and in its place exists a bunch of robotic kids who don’t care at all.  That is just not true.  Online Customer Support is a tough area.  Customer representatives are the first to deal with confusion, or frustration, or flat-out anger from a (passionate) audience.

With the slightest change in grammar, punctuation, or the simple addition of an emoticon, a rep can change a drab response into an engaging response:

“I am so sorry to hear about this issue, I will definitely make sure you are taken care of right away.”

“I am so sorry to hear about this issue, I will definitely make sure you are taken care of right away!”

“I am so sorry to hear about this issue! I will definitely make sure you are taken care of right away!” 

Can you feel the difference?  Each example says the exact same thing, and yet, by adding an exclamation point provides a sense of urgency or promptness to the reply. In the third option, the sentence was separated with two exclamation points, both adding sense of shock AND urgency.

Now let’s look at the same sentence with an exclamation point AND emote:

“I am so sorry to hear about this issue! I will definitely make sure you are taken care of right away. :)”

You may begin to notice that this little object, this tiny digital being, is making the person writing the response seem a little more, dare I say, personable? Changing a CSR hired rep into a human representative, allowing the humanistic angle for “support.”

Amazing what a little personal change might do to a sentence! And maybe the customer’s reaction, too.  ^_^ 🙂 =) 8) 😉 :] =] 😀 XD

Savannah Lewis
Project Manager