Willa At Home
Skills for Customer Service Representatives
Updated: Aug 21, 2021

Today, I am presenting you with skills and tools that we all need as customer service representatives.
We need them especially now since more individuals are working from home.
Customer service is both a type of job and a set of job skills. As a job, customer service professionals are responsible for addressing customer needs and ensuring they have a good experience.
As a skill set, customer service entails several qualities like active listening, empathy, problem-solving and communication.
Customer service skills are the set of behaviors you rely on when interacting with a customer.
They can also be useful when following up after an initial conversation.
For example, if you work as a virtual assistant for a technology company, you may need to help customers troubleshoot problems with their devices.
To accomplish this, you will likely use several different skills like:
Communication. Communication should consist of representatives being responsive in a timely manner. You will need to communicate with customers in a clear, easy-to-understand way to solve their problem or inquiries.
Empathy: Your interactions may begin with someone who is frustrated or unhappy. It is important that you understand and identify with the feelings of others and communicate accordingly.
Patience: Clients and customers might ask several questions, be unhappy or ask you to repeat instructions several times. Patience is important to keep the conversation on track, remain personable and provide a positive experience.
Technical knowledge: To effectively solve problems, you will likely need to know a bit of technical or industry knowledge to help them resolve the issue at hand.
Customer service is used in many jobs at every level.
To succeed in a customer service role, you’ll need a variety of communication skills and personal attributes such as:
Active listening;
How to handle Conflict resolution;
Having Empathy;
Nonverbal communication (such as, body language and eye contact);
Negotiation skills;
Organizational skills;
and Professionalism.
Depending on the position you choose, you may also need additional industry-specific knowledge and training.
Practicing your soft skills can help you find positions and transfer across industries.
Soft skills are any skill or quality that can be classified as a personality trait or habit.
There are many soft skills that you could list on your resume or cover letter. Some of the most sought-after soft skills include:
Effective communication skills;
Teamwork;
Dependability;
Adaptability;
Conflict resolution;
Flexibility;
Leadership;
Problem-solving;
Research;
Creativity;
Work ethic;
and Integrity.
Customer service skills are traits and practices that equip you to address customer needs and foster a positive experience.
In general, customer service skills rely heavily on problem-solving and communication.
Customer service is often considered a “soft skill,” including traits like active listening and reading both verbal and nonverbal cues.
While traditionally you might think of customer care as a service from a business to a consumer, it is also applicable within a business.
For example, you may be in a role that provides services to other, internal teams.
In this case, you would want to ensure that you understood and were able to meet their needs. I hope that this information will help job seekers with a better understanding of the customer service industry and the type of candidates companies are looking to hire.