Customer Service Fundamentals & Communication Flashcards

A customer explains a billing issue at length. Which response best demonstrates active listening?

Answer: "So you were charged twice for the March invoice, and you'd like the duplicate refunded — is that right?"

Paraphrasing the key facts and confirming them shows the representative heard and understood the customer.

What is the primary difference between empathy and sympathy in customer service?

Answer: Empathy is understanding the customer's feelings from their perspective; sympathy is feeling pity for them

Empathy involves understanding and acknowledging the customer's perspective, while sympathy is feeling sorry for someone from the outside.

Which type of question is MOST useful when you need a customer to describe a problem in their own words?

Answer: Open-ended question

Open-ended questions invite detailed responses and help uncover the full scope of an issue.

A representative needs to confirm a customer's account number before proceeding. Which question type is most appropriate?

Answer: Closed-ended question

Closed-ended questions efficiently obtain specific facts or confirmations.

Which is considered a barrier to effective listening?

Answer: Planning your response while the customer is still speaking

Formulating a reply while the customer talks divides attention and causes key details to be missed.

Research on face-to-face communication suggests that tone of voice and body language together convey what share of the emotional meaning of a message?

Answer: The majority — over 90%

Mehrabian's findings on emotional messages attribute about 38% to tone and 55% to body language, leaving only 7% to words.

A customer says, "Fine, whatever," in a flat tone after you propose a solution. What is the best next step?

Answer: Check in: "It sounds like this may not fully solve things for you — what would work better?"

Mismatched verbal and vocal cues signal dissatisfaction, so the representative should probe rather than assume agreement.