Customer service. Scenario 2 of 6. Honesty with customers

You do not know the answer

You are answering calls for a broadband company. A customer asks whether his new router will work with the alarm system in his house. You have no idea. Nothing in your notes covers it.

There are six calls waiting.

What is the best call?

Say, "Yes, it should be fine," so you can move on to the next call.

Not the best call

If you are wrong, his alarm stops working and he was told it would be fine. A confident guess is worse than no answer, because he will act on it. The queue is not a reason to guess.

Say, "I don't know. You'd have to ask the alarm company."

Could be better

It is honest, and the alarm company may indeed know. But it leaves him to start again somewhere else. Check first whether someone on your side knows, so that he only has to ask once.

Say, "I don't want to guess on that. Let me check with our technical team." Then find out, or arrange a call back with a time.

Good call

Customers trust "let me find out" far more than a vague yes. Giving a time for the call back, and keeping to it, is what makes this a good answer and not just a delay.

Put him on hold and search the internet until you find something.

Could be better

You are trying to get him a real answer, which is right. But he is waiting with no idea how long, and a forum post is not reliable. Tell him you are checking, and use a source your company trusts.

The principle

Never guess for a customer. "I don't know, but I will find out by this time" is a strong answer, as long as you then do it.