You can receive great customer service

If you make purchases or subscribe to monthly recurring services, odds are customer service has become part of the fabric of your everyday life. While you want the products and services you purchase to work, things don’t always go as expected, and you’ll need to call a company’s customer service department for help. Many companies are working to find new ways to help you make that experience better.

“We’re listening more than ever before, and our customers tell us that communication is the key to a great customer experience,” said Tina Waters, senior vice president of National Customer Service Operations for Comcast, the country’s leading provider of entertainment, information and communication products and services. “We’re also taking more steps to give our employees the training and tools they need to manage every aspect of the customer interaction on the first call. One example of this is new software on our call center representative’s desktops that lets them perform a remote ‘health check’ and often fix services without having to schedule a visit to the customer’s home.”

As businesses are focusing on ways to make it easier for customers to interact with them — from offering 24/7 support and self-service options like online bill payment — there are some things consumers can do to help make sure they have the best experience possible whenever they contact any company, for any reason.

Be prepared. Regardless of who or why you’re calling, being prepared before you pick up the phone is an important first step. Write down your account information and a list of the questions or topics you want to discuss before calling. In order to protect your privacy, you may be asked to verify your account or other information to identify yourself. Having this information easily accessible will help the rep on the other end of the phone quickly find the correct account and verify that you are an authorized account holder. In addition, having a list of questions will help you avoid having to call back because you forgot to ask about something.

Consider other ways to contact a company and timing before placing a call. More and more companies offer different ways to reach them for different services, such as cable providers that also offer Internet or phone services. This could range from traditional phone support to sending an e-mail directly to the head of customer service. In addition to around-the-clock customer service support, many companies offer a variety of ways to contact them when and how it’s most convenient for you. You might be able to get the answer you need by chatting online with a customer service rep or by e-mailing your question. Posting on company-hosted help forums is a way for consumers to share ideas and offer suggestions based on their experiences.

If you prefer to speak with a representative by phone, Monday mornings and early evenings when most people are coming home from work tend to be some of the busier times, so if your issue doesn’t require immediate assistance, you may want to consider other options, like online chat, or calling at another time.

Provide descriptive details of the problem you’re experiencing. For example, if you’re having trouble logging into a service, it’s more helpful to tell the rep what the message that appears on the screen says rather than simply saying, “I can’t log in.” This can help the customer service representative more quickly identify the source of the problem, and most importantly, provide you with the best and fastest way to resolve it.

Remember the Golden Rule. While the customer service employee is a representative of the company you’re calling, chances are he or she is not the cause of the situation that’s led to your call. Good customer service reps genuinely want to help you. While they understand you may be frustrated — or even angry about — an issue, they also appreciate when a customer is able to separate the person from the problem. By being patient and working with a customer service rep, you’ll encourage him or her to become your advocate in finding a solution for your problem.

Be resourceful. Once you’ve resolved a problem with help from a customer service representative, there are two questions you may want to ask: “Could I have fixed this myself?” and “How can I keep this problem from happening again?” This proactive approach can potentially save you time and spare you frustration down the road.