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6 Best eCommerce Customer Service Examples with Tips
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Done right, customer service can become one of the most brand-differentiating advantages that contribute to high retention rates and make your customers true ambassadors. Conversely, if a consumer has a negative experience with your business, almost 90% of them will go to a competitor.
Today, though, it takes much more than just answering consumer questions promptly and courteously. To meet rising customer expectations, you must go above and beyond and, most importantly, be proactive. And that is the core of the most well-known ecommerce stores.
As we offer our clients professional customer service outsourcing service, we deal with those growing challenges on a daily basis. And have collected some special knowledge to impart to you.
This article includes actual ecommerce customer service cases that are well-known for providing outstanding service, together with a set of doable strategies that any company can use to differentiate itself. Whatever the size of your e-commerce customer service staff, we have tried to include useful advice for every company after each ecommerce customer experience analysis.
So let us get right into the examples without much ado.
Zappos: 365-day returns and 10-hour customer call
No worries, we wouldn’t recommend you implement a 365-day return policy or talk with customers for 10 hours. But there is something every e-commerce business can learn from Zappos.
Known for its legendary customer service, Zappos offers a 365-day return policy and two-way free shipping. Beyond that, Zappos also added a Whole Foods market drop-off, addressing three customer pains — the need to print labels, look for a shipping box, and pack everything.
The numbers speak for themselves—the customer retention rate exceeds 75%.
The most exciting aspect, however, is that customer service representatives never attempt to exceed a call number KPI. Surprisingly, they do not have one. Zappos does not prioritize high call volumes or quick resolution. Nonetheless, each agent is expected to devote at least 80% of their time to customer-facing interactions, even if it is only one call. Consider this: the company's longest recorded call between a customer and an agent lasted more than 10 hours. Ultimately, the customer purchased a pair of UGG shoes.
Whether this equates to 100 calls per day or just one, it makes no difference: Zappos values the time it takes to make each customer happy.
Actionable tips every ecommerce customer service can use
- Prioritize customer satisfaction over call volumes and resolution times. Even if a call takes hours, give your customer service agents time to resolve issues.
- Never hurry to finish conversations. This shows customer satisfaction is a priority. We all need someone to talk to sometimes.
- Train customer service agents to provide personalized support without KPI pressure. Meaningful interactions and customer loyalty can result.
- Make returns easy for customers. Trust and reduced purchase anxiety can boost customer loyalty and retention.
Nordstrom: Personal fashion stylists and no-questions-asked return policy
With a stellar reputation for a return policy that asks no questions, Nordstrom offers outstanding customer service. The About Us page's statement of their values, "Fashion changes. Shopping changes. Our commitment to happy customers doesn't" is spot on.
Their Get Style Help program and personal stylists, who offer individualized service both in-store and online, help to explain their high customer satisfaction. Furthermore, their navigation is easy to use anytime clients need assistance. Customers can choose from the most popular requests, open a chat fast, or instantly click to speak with a support agent.
Actionable tips every ecommerce customer service can use
1. Simplify your return process by offering a no-questions-asked return policy. Ensure customers can easily access return instructions.
2. For your "About Us" page, create a succinct and compelling values statement that highlights your dedication to client happiness. To show your commitment, tell your staff and customers these principles on a regular basis.
3. Offer tailored guidance and suggestions online and in-store. Use of virtual consultation tools is not necessary. To improve the experience, you might always start with something easy, like customized emails.
4. Make sure your website is user-friendly. Clear organization of FAQs will make it easy for users to locate any issue. To keep simplicity and effectiveness, apply intuitive design concepts and conduct frequent usability testing.
Chewy: Empathy-driven customer care and flowers for grieving customers
Chewy is known for its highly personalized customer service, with a support team dedicated to resolving issues promptly and with empathy, creating a loyal customer base. They craft customized messages that demonstrate the brand's dedication and go beyond “I’m so sorry” to hear that.
However, the company has a unique empathic touch—they send flowers from customer agents to bereaved pet parents, understanding the pain that comes with such a loss.
Also, they send handwritten holiday cards, which is a nice touch to demonstrate that every customer is valuable.
Actionable tips every ecommerce customer service can use
- For birthdays and holidays, handwrite individualized cards for every one of your customers (of course, that is a joke. Not every company can support the time and commitment it takes).
- Incorporate empathy into your customer service interactions. Train your customer service team to genuinely listen to and understand customer issues, responding with compassion and customized solution.
- On important occasions, think about sending your clients customized messages, with special offers. Personalized emails or digital cards for holidays and birthdays can make customers feel important and valued, even if handwritten cards for every customer might not be feasible.
- Institute a caring culture. Promote a customer-focused corporate culture. Motivate your employees to consider how to personalize their contacts and to seek chances to improve the lives of their clients.
Flatspot: Refunds before customers even ask
4.9 rating on Trustpilot (with 7,462 reviews!) attests to the legendary customer service of this lesser-known UK brand. One recurring theme in the majority of customer comments, no matter what, is the proactive attitude to refunds.
This review perfectly illustrates such an attitude:
Customer service agents make customers feel important by coming right away to apologize and correct any smallest errors with an order. Moreover, Flatspot promises a "no questions asked" refund, the same as other services covered.
Actionable tips every ecommerce customer service can use
- Regularly monitor orders for potential issues and address them immediately. Consider implementing a proactive refund policy where refunds are processed even before customers request them.
- Train your customer service agents to prioritize customer satisfaction. Give them the authority to offer apologies and corrections promptly for any errors, no matter how small.
- Adopt a no-questions-asked refund policy. Ensure customers can easily request a refund without having to provide explanations. Clearly communicate this policy on your website and in customer interactions.
- Keep a close eye on reviews on platforms like Trustpilot. Respond promptly to both positive and negative feedback to show that you value customer opinions and are committed to continuous improvement.
Warby Parker: Home try-on program and happy customer agents first
With their Home Try-On program, Warby Parker stands out by letting customers choose five frames to try on at home for free before making a purchase. A smooth and enjoyable buying experience is guaranteed by this, together with excellent phone, email, and social media support. To help choose the best frames to try on at home, they also created interactive home try-on tests. We can see how customer service, artificial intelligence, and flexibility are combined in a very potent way.
Warby Parker also promotes a policy that puts employees first because it knows that contented staff members provide excellent customer service. The company makes an investment in bringing in intelligent, amiable employees and gives them decision-making authority. Offerings include management seminars, books, clubs, speaker events, and twice-yearly 360-degree reviews. To give you a few instances of employee-first culture:
- A copy of Jack Kerouac's "Dharma Bums" is part of the unusual welcome package that new hires get to connect them to the company's history.
- Founders and other top executives play a major role in onboarding new hires and stressing their value.
- With desk balloons, Warby Parker commemorates staff anniversaries and personal achievements like weddings and new babies.
Actionable tips every ecommerce customer service can use
- If a home try-on program is impossible due to limited resources, there are many other ways to let customers try your products before buying. Sephora lets customers virtually try makeup with augmented reality. Offering detailed product videos and user-generated content like customer reviews and photos can help potential buyers visualize the product before buying. All of these steps reduce purchase anxiety and boost customer satisfaction.
- Customer satisfaction begins with happy workers. Make company-wide communication frequent and transparent. Keep employees informed and connected with multiple formats. Celebrate employees' personal and professional achievements. There are many ways to say, "We care about every employee." We also prioritize employees, which leads to 93% employee retention at EverHelp, high ROI, and satisfied customers.
Lego: Super personalized tone of voice and a missing piece stolen by Lord Vader
Apart from multichannel support, the company offers outstanding chances for consumer self-service. Everyone can quickly find answers to the most often asked questions in their comprehensive and user-friendly FAQs section.
And lastly, here’s something magical.
Most of you are aware of the story of the father and son who purchased a LEGO Star Wars set. Two-thirds of the way through, a missing bag of pieces stopped that large father-son project. And it was also hard to find, so the dad couldn't exchange it at the store.
The customer service agent at LEGO generously offered to replace the missing minifigure with a better one after receiving an email from a seven-year-old who had misplaced a piece in his just-bought set. That offer did, however, contain something noteworthy. It was the storytelling used for the reply:
The company ends up winning a lot of PR from this story, which originally appeared in the online edition of Inc. Magazine.
Actionable tips every ecommerce customer service can use
- Develop a personalized tone of voice. Train customer service agents to use a friendly, personalized tone when interacting with customers. Encourage them to incorporate storytelling and humor where appropriate to make the interaction memorable.
- Enhance self-service options. Create a comprehensive, user-friendly FAQ section on your website. Regularly update it based on common customer queries and feedback to ensure it remains relevant and helpful.
- Allow customer service agents the flexibility to offer creative solutions to customer problems. Encourage them to provide exceptional experiences that go beyond standard responses.
- Provide training for customer service agents focused on emotional intelligence. Teach them to recognize and respond to customer emotions effectively, ensuring every interaction is positive and supportive.
So, which customer service best practices do all these lovemark examples share?
Every one of them is providing something beyond what clients would normally expect. These companies have perfected the art of outstanding customer service, whether it be through a no-questions-asked refund, individualized interactions, or touching tales that make a bad situation better.
If you want to improve your customer service to these standards but lack the means or know-how, think about working with EverHelp, a premier customer service outsourcing company.
Delivering exceptional, customized customer experiences is EverHelp specialty; we make sure your clients feel appreciated and helped throughout every contact. Sign up for a call with Everhelp to discuss your unique business challenges and allow our customer service outsourcing service to assist you in transforming your average customer service into something truly remarkable, encouraging satisfaction and loyalty that creates lifelong advocates.
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