When a customer service representative is empowered, great things can happen. But first, they need to be given the proper tools and resources.

A customer recently ordered a small table from an online retailer and, as he put it together, he realized that it was missing a part. He called customer service and initially, the representative thought he was missing a small bag with nuts and bolts. When the customer told her that he had all of those items, but it was another small piece of the table that was missing, she was able to pull up on her computer screen the schematics of the table to determine which part the customer needed. 

The business understood that customers would be calling in with issues and gave the customer service representatives the ability to look at, not only the order numbers and items purchased, but also the schematic of the furniture in case a customer was missing a part or had a part damaged in transit.

This is being proactive. Understanding what a customer may have an issue with and providing employees with the tools to help them.

This particular customer service rep was able to send the customer the missing part without the customer having to return the entire piece of furniture. It saved the business money, time and effort. And it also saved the customer money, time and effort. Win – win.