Four Foundations of Effective Catalog Customer Service

3. Send the right verbal and nonverbal messages to customers. How does a call center staffer's voice tone affect the way the conversation with a customer unfolds? The nonverbal messages they send to your customers are far more important than policies, procedures and rules.

4. Maintain poise under fire. One good method is to use empathy, which is different, of course, from sympathy. Empathy means the rep acknowledges or feels the other person's stress, frustration or difficulty. Expressing empathy allows your reps to build rapport with customers.