Customer service audit checklist

Businesses can quickly find out if they need to make changes by reviewing the quality of their customer service.

Why is it important to review the quality of customer service?

Businesses can learn from their mistakes. By reviewing the quality of customer service, they can see where they need to implement changes and fix issues accordingly.

How to review the quality of customer service?

The easiest way is to ask customers – survey them on their experiences and encourage them to provide feedback.

Monitor both complaints and compliments, as well as customer service metrics. Some factors that you should consider when reviewing the quality of customer service include:

• speed of service
• accuracy of service
• staff professionalism

Which tools to use for reviewing the quality of customer service?

• follow-up messages
• customer satisfaction surveys
• customer service records and complaints
• comparisons to competitors’ performance
• mystery shopping programs

Running a business requires setting goals that you want to achieve. When conducting an audit, one of the main points is to compare your current quality to your targets.

Why is it important to compare your customer service quality with previously established goals?

By analyzing this data, companies can better understand their performance and gain a perspective.

How to compare your customer service quality with previously established goals?

A good starting point is looking at the goals of other businesses in the same industry and customer service benchmarks. For the analysis to run smoothly, set goals that are tangible and measurable so that you can determine their success. Track daily, weekly, and monthly progress to get a complete overview of your team’s performance.

Which tools to use for comparing customer service quality with previously established goals?

• Asana to track the progress of goals
• Trello to manage and monitor goals
• Google Sheets to create charts and graphs comparing progress
• Tableau to visually represent data related to customer service quality comparisons​

A gap in the business is a place or area that is currently not being served. It’s your chance to grow.

Why is it important to identify gaps?

Identifying gaps allows you to focus on areas that need the most attention. This, in turn, will help you improve customer satisfaction and increase profits.

How to identify gaps for improvement?

Create a plan for measuring your business’s progress. Measure market penetration, earnings, or/and new customer statistics.

Find out where things are now and where they will be in the future. Determine the differences between these states.

Which tools to use for identifying gaps?

• internal surveys
• previous customer service audits

According to previously established goals, this step includes setting up strategies, goals, and determining what has to be done to achieve them.

Why is it important to find ways to improve?

It helps save time and money so supervisors and agents can concentrate solely on their tasks. As a result, your team will know exactly what to work on.

How to find ways to improve customer service?

Start by setting goals for what you want to improve. This can be related to customer satisfaction, employee satisfaction, or revenue growth.

After setting goals, create a plan on how to implement them. Confirm that the plan is achievable and measurable.

Remember that nothing happens overnight. It will likely take time and effort to improve your customer service, but by defining ways to do so you are taking the first step towards achieving it.

Which tools to use for finding ways to improve customer service?

• matrices (e.g. Eisenhower Box)
• LiveAgent customer service reports
• action plans
• team charters

A customer service audit isn’t complete without data. To understand the current state of your business, you must compile relevant information.

Why is it important to gather all of the required data?

Data gathering is essential for understanding the state of your customer service and making improvements. The right data will help you identify problem areas, track progress, and make the right future decisions.

How to gather the required data?

Analyzing data provided by help desk software is the fastest way to do this. In just a few minutes, you can generate a detailed report and see data crucial to improving your service.

LiveAgent offers 11 reporting features, such as:

• analytics overview to see usage statistics, performance reports, and customer satisfaction ratings
• agents’ performance reports
• agent, department, time, and channel reports

They are just a few examples of what LiveAgent can do for you. Give it a test drive and see how it enhances customer success in your business.

Which tools to use for gathering all of the required data?

• data dashboards
• logs and recordings
• detailed reports from LiveAgent

Check if your business provides the same service across all channels. This includes phone, email, social media, WhatsApp, live chat, etc. Each channel should have a team of dedicated customer service representatives who are trained to handle clients’ issues and concerns.

Why is it important to check omnichannel activities?

It ensures that a consistent level of experience is provided and clients get the help they need, regardless of the channel they are using.

How to check omnichannel activities?

Identify which channels you use for communication with customers. Look at how well these channels are working and which are worth improving. This includes looking at response times, customer satisfaction rates, and the types of complaints that are made.

Tip: To improve your ability to manage inquiries from all channels and have them all under one roof, consider LiveAgent’s omnichannel inbox.

Which tools to use for checking omnichannel activities?

• surveys and feedback forms
• chatbot analytics
• LiveAgent’s universal inbox

Your employees are the backbone of your customer service. They are on the front line and have first-hand experience of dealing with customers. Find out what they think.

Why is it important to obtain feedback from customer service representatives?

Listening to employees is essential if you want to improve customer service. They can provide valuable insights.

How to obtain feedback from customer service representatives?

Get the opinions of customer service agents on the following:

• management’s behavior
• how challenging the job is
• work/life balance
• problem areas they would like to improve
• relationships with coworkers
• customers’ needs and expectations
• ways to improve the company

Which tools to use for obtaining feedback from customer service representatives?

• employee feedback tool, e.g. Spidergap
• employee engagement app, e.g. Connecteam
• surveys, e.g. SurveyMonkey
• one-on-one interviews
• focus groups

Customers’ opinions are central to business operations and strategy. Every company needs customer feedback to understand how its brand is perceived and interacted with.

Why is it important to ask customers for feedback?

By understanding what customers like and don’t like, businesses can make changes that will improve the customer experience.

How to ask customers for feedback?

Ask questions with specific goals in mind. Determine which method will work best for your business, then begin.

Building relationships with customers is essential if they are to feel compelled to leave feedback. Address customers by their first names and ask open-ended questions. Consider offering discounts for customers who provide their opinions.

Which tool to use for asking customers for feedback?

• pop-up surveys
• forums and discussion boards
• polls on social media
• follow-up emails and messages

When customers are not content, they often contact the customer service department. By listening to/reading and analyzing these complaints, you can pinpoint problem areas.

Why is it important to conduct an audit of recorded complaints?

Listening to complaints allows businesses to identify their root causes. By understanding what is causing customers to complain, businesses can take steps to fix the issues at hand.

How to conduct an audit of recorded complaints?

Use quality call center software that includes call recording features, such as LiveAgent. Then, review a selection of complaints for analysis.

Look for patterns in the types of complaints being made. Maybe there is a particular issue that keeps popping up? Investigate what is causing customers to contact customer service and try to resolve those issues.

Which tool to use for conducting an audit of recorded complaints?

• call recordings
• messages and comment history
• social media listening tools, e.g. Mediatoolkit

Offering customer service in different languages can be a major advantage for businesses.

Why is it important to provide language variations?

It allows you to communicate with more leads and increases the chances of retaining them as customers.

How to provide language variations?

Customer service representatives are often able to speak multiple languages and could route calls according to their language skills. However, this is a costly option, so businesses usually only translate their website and marketing materials into other languages instead.

Which tool to use for providing language variations?

• translation software, e.g. Google Translate

Customer service onboarding is the process by which new employees are introduced to your company, its policies, and procedures.

Why is it important to establish an onboarding process?

One of the most important aspects of providing good customer service is ensuring that your new employees are properly introduced to your company. With the right onboarding, they will be able to hit the ground running and provide the best possible customer service from day one.

How to establish an onboarding process?

Talk to new employees about their experiences. Ask them how well they became familiar with the company’s procedures and if they felt prepared to provide quality customer service. You can also review training manuals, test new employees on their product knowledge, and observe their interactions with customers.

Which tools to use for establishing an onboarding process?

• proper training manuals
• onboarding procedures
• test and quizzes

Customer service agents must have the necessary qualifications to provide quality service. This includes having the right skills, knowledge, and experience.

Why is it important to check customer service agents’ qualifications?

With the right range of skills, your agents will be able to provide the best possible customer service. They will know how to deal with different types of customers, handle complaints effectively, and resolve problems quickly.

How to check the qualifications of your customer service agents?

Of course, you can review agents’ resumes to get a sense of their skills. But you can do more than that – check them out in practice.

Ask them to complete skill tests, give them quizzes on company policies and procedures, and have them participate in role-playing exercises. Then you can determine if they are qualified to provide your customers with the best support experience.

Which tools to use for checking qualifications?

• skill tests
• interviews

All of your customer service agents should know what they are expected to do and how they can help clients.

Why is it important for agents to know their responsibilities?

If your customer service agents don’t know their responsibilities, they may not be able to help customers. This can result in disappointed customers and a poor reputation for your business, as well as unhappy agents who may not be meeting their full potential.

How to make agents aware of their responsibilities?

Check whether all customer service agents are familiar with their job descriptions. This should include a list of their responsibilities. You can also provide them with manuals, guidelines, and other resources to help them with their work.

Communicate clearly and concisely as well as provide regular feedback so your agents will always be aware of their current duties.

Tip: LiveAgent’s internal tickets and notes can come in handy here. Use them as reminders, for task creation, or for making notes for your coworkers. This way, everyone will know what needs to be done.

Which tools to use for making agents aware of their responsibilities?

• task management platform, e.g. Asana, Basecamp
• communication platform, e.g. Slack
• guidelines and lists
• notes and internal tickets

Checking your customer service standards in terms of support and communication helps you determine if your team is up to the task.

Why is it important to verify CS standards?

If your customer service doesn’t meet certain standards, it will harm your business. You may lose customers, damage your reputation, and harm your team’s morale.

How to verify CS standards?

Review your policies and procedures for customer service standards using our checklist. This way, you’ll be able to see what you need to do to provide consistent service to your customers.

Tip: here is a checklist of customer service standards provided by LiveAgent.

Which tools to use for verifying CS standards?

• LiveAgent’s CS standards checklist

It is challenging to deal with difficult clients, so all your customer service representatives must be trained in how to do so.

Why is it important to train your customer service representatives?

If your employees are not properly trained, they may not be able to assist customers. When a complaint is mishandled, it can lead to negative word-of-mouth advertising and even lost clients.

How to train your customer service representatives?

Have a training program that covers all of the different aspects of customer interactions. This will ensure that your customer service representatives can handle any situation that arises.

Update training regularly and cover new topics.

Which tools to use for training customer service representatives?

• online training courses
• videos
• tutorials
• workshops
• printed materials

To ensure a smooth and seamless 24/7 customer support service, check it regularly.

Why is it important to check up on your 24/7 customer service?

If your customer support isn’t functioning properly, you may lose customers. Your reputation and bottom line can suffer as a result.

How to check how well your 24/7 customer service works?

Test the service by calling or emailing at different times of the day and night. See how long it takes for someone to answer your call or respond to your email.

Look at logs to see how many chats were handled and what was their response time. Be sure to check that you have a chatbot available out of business hours.

Which tools to use for checking how well your 24/7 customer service works?

• customer support logs
• call center reports
• chatbot reports

Another important aspect to check is how well calls are transferred. Does every call reach the appropriate agent?

Why is it important to transfer calls effectively?

If calls are not transferred properly, customers may get frustrated and give up on trying to contact your business.

How to transfer calls effectively?

Utilize features such as automatic call distribution and intelligent call routing. These impact the way your customer service handles calls, help reduce waiting times and provide a better customer experience.

Which tools to use for transferring calls effectively?

• automatic call distribution software
• intelligent call routing software
• call center software

Evaluation is the key to success, so make sure you do this regularly. After all, you need to know if the changes you make are working.

Why is it important to evaluate the results after any changes?

To determine whether the changes you’ve made are effective or if some further corrective actions are needed.

How to evaluate the results after any changes?

Look at quantitative data – average resolution time, the number of complaints received, or other statistics that can help you measure the effectiveness of your changes.

Look at qualitative data – customer feedback, survey responses, or other information that can help you understand how people are perceiving these changes.

Analyze business metrics – profit, costs, and other measures that indicate how successful your changes have been from a business perspective.

All of these methods can give you valuable insights into whether or not the changes are having the desired effect.

Which tools to use for evaluating the results after any changes?

• Excel or Google Sheets for calculations
• surveys
• customer feedback
• customer service reports in LiveAgent

Analyzing the performance of your competitors’ customer service can give you a good idea of where you stand.

Why is it important to monitor competitors’ services?

By understanding how your competitors are performing, you can stay ahead of the game. This knowledge can help you win new customers and enhance customer loyalty.

How to monitor competitors’ service performance?

Look at their websites – provides an overall understanding of how they are performing.

Look at social media – can give you more detail, such as what types of complaints they are receiving and how they are responding to them.

Sign up for their customer service – this will give you a first-hand look at how they treat their customers.

Which tools to use for monitoring competitors’ performance?

• social media listening tools like Mediatoolkit
• forums and review websites, e.g. G2
• contact them directly

Customer service KPIs, such as customer satisfaction or first contact resolution rate, are good metrics to measure how well your team is performing.

Why is it important to monitor customer service KPIs?

Customer service is often the first point of contact between a company and its clients. It can be the make-or-break factor in whether or not a customer does business with you.

How to monitor customer service KPIs?

Come up with a list of KPIs that you want to track. This will vary depending on your business goals, but some common ones are customer satisfaction rate, first contact resolution rate, and average handle time. You can find more in the “customer service KPI examples” below.

Once you have your list of KPIs, find the right tools to track them. There are many different options available, from simple surveys to more sophisticated software that can track customer interactions in real-time and provide ready-made reports.

Put into place a process for regularly monitoring your KPIs. This could be something as simple as setting up regular reports and reviewing them with your team.

Which tools to use for monitoring customer service KPIs?

• LiveAgent reports and analytics
• Google Sheets and Excel
• customer service KPIs template

Customers hate waiting, so it’s important to do everything you can to minimize the amount of time they have to wait for assistance.

Why is it important to minimize wait times?

People are more likely to do business with companies that offer fast and efficient customer service. A study by HubSpot found that nearly 60% of customers feel that long wait times are the most frustrating parts of a service experience.

How to minimize wait times?

• train and equip your employees to handle customer inquiries
• use a ticketing system for queuing customers and advanced automation features such as ACD or IVR
• stay up to date on current trends in customer service and adopt best practices

Which tools to use for minimizing wait times?

• LiveAgent customer service software
• LiveAgent universal inbox
• automation

Customer service should be a team effort, and everyone in the company should be aware of how well (or how poorly) it is performing.

Why is it important to share reports?

By sharing results with the entire team and the rest of the company, everyone will be on the same page and working towards the same goal.

How to share reports?

To share reports, you can:

• send them out via email
• share them during company meetings
• make hard copies and distribute them to employees

Which tools to use for sharing reports?

• Google Drive
• Microsoft SharePoint
• Dropbox