The cloud environment has always been tricky for customers to navigate. Deciding which service provider is right for your business can be a daunting task. It is much more simple to understand whether or not a provider is reputable if you know what criteria to look for. Nowadays, high quality customer support, alongside security, is what separates the top-tier cloud VoIP providers from the rest. As such, here are some key principles of customer support which you should look for when searching for a cloud VoIP provider:
Transparency:
This ensures the highest degree of trust between customer and provider and is arguably the most important out of all the key principles of customer service. This entails that the provider be entirely open about their business practices and operations. In suggesting configurations, upscaling or downscaling, maintenance, or additional services, it is necessary the provider fully conveys their intentions to the customer. Communication is the corner-stone of good customer relations. A provider who acts in the interest of their customers and refrains from offering unnecessary services is ideal. Internalizing transparency so that it is an operational quality is essential for not only any cloud VoIP provider, but also any business.Competency:
Some providers choose to cut costs in their support department. This leads to inexperienced technicians attempting to resolve problems which they are underqualified for. On the contrary, a provider who specializes in support builds a customer support team with an appropriate number of technicians, all with substantial experience, who are ready to answer questions in their respective field. How well these technicians are able to respond to your inquiries is indicative of how advanced their previous training or experience has been. In many cases a multi-tiered customer support system is effective in directing inquiries to technicians, with ranging levels of expertise, according to the inquiries’ level of complexity. It is necessary to choose a provider who directs adequate resources towards building a competent customer support team, who have the capacity to answer the questions you present them. Of course, this can be bolstered if that team is willing to work with you beyond your inquiries in order to better your business operations.Accessibility:
Providers often offer unique ways to contact their support team. Leaving phone messages via an interactive voice response (IVR) system, chat messaging, conversations over the phone or VoIP, a modular system using a portal online, and even email, are all common ways providers let you communicate with the customer support team. The more seamless the process of connecting with a cloud VoIP technician, the higher their degree of accessibility. It is unacceptable for a customer support team to be inaccessible.Timeliness:
Queues and wait times can be a deal breaker for choosing a specific cloud VoIP provider. Whether or not their support team is phenomenal, if they cannot easily be accessed, because their average response time to an inquiry is absurdly delayed, then that provider should not be a contender. When choosing a cloud VoIP provider you want to be certain you are a priority, and, as such, if they are not replying in a timely fashion, this is likely not the case.Consistency:
Every time you reach out to customer support, you want to know what to expect. A customer support team that is unpredictable is undesirable. You want to be certain that each time you work with customer support they tackle your problem in a quick, competent, and professional manner.Friendliness:
It is essential a support team operates in a way which conveys they are pleased to be working with their customers. Being kind, empathetic, understanding, and patient, are all values which are necessary for a friendly support team. If these characteristics are not displayed during customer interactions, then it can create an unprofessional environment. Even if the support team is top-tier, if they cannot communicate with their customers in a friendly manner then it deteriorates their reputation.
