1. Let Your Customers Know That You’re Always There for Them.
Have you ever tried writing a support ticket while playing Game? I’ve been playing various games for a long time, even before starting my career in the gaming industry, so I have encountered countless types of inquiries. And I checked back every now and then to see if they got back to me. I trusted the agent would answer to “my problem”.
A customer agent’s job entails more than simply writing and sending a response to an inquiry. You need to communicate so that the user who created the inquiry trusts the agent. This way, the customer will more easily accept the agent’s answer. While meeting face to face with people can increase trust through facial expressions, tone of voice, and gestures, most Game-related inquiries and responses are conducted through text.
That’s why when I send a response to a query now, I always start with “We’ve carefully read your OOO query” and end with “If you have any other questions, please don’t hesitate to contact our Help Center”. This way I can let the customer know that we’ve taken a close look, and that even if our response resolves the current issue, I’ll still be available to respond if new issues arise.
Being a strong advocate for your customers is important. You may not always be able to provide a positive response, the solution the customer wants, or even an answer, but it is good to show willingness to assist the customer if any issues arise in the future. That way, customers will not hesitate to contact the customer center. If you’re playing a Game and have an issue but don’t feel like reaching out for help, you won’t be able to enjoy it for long, right?
2. When You Cannot Resolve a Customer’s Issue
Providing game services can be most frustrating when you are unable to solve a customer’s problem. Sometimes, even the agent writing the answer may think it’s unreasonable or doesn’t make sense. After all, agents are customers outside of work, too, and because of that, they know a users’ mind better than anyone else. Regardless, it’s uncomfortable for agents when they are unable to provide an immediate clear answer to inquiries or resolve them at all. But you can’t afford not to answer. When that happens, depending on the type of inquiry, the customer agent will convey the error a customer kindly informed them about to the game’s development team. “We appreciate your patience and understanding that this may take some time to fix. ” Or “We’ve completed the investigation into this issue.” “We’re working to fix the error, but we want to apologize for the delay.” These are some good ways explain the current situation thoroughly and apologize for the inconvenience caused by the wait.
The example above was for an in-game error, but you’ll always want to 1) Fully explain the current situation, and 2) Add a sincere apology. If you apply these two, you can also deal with other messages in a similar manner. For example, “How many times have I reported this and why isn’t it fixed?” is answered with “Thank you for reaching out to us out of love and affection for the Game. As for your suggestion regarding OOO, our development team is looking into it. However, this is an important balance issue in the Game, so we need to test it and make a judgment call on whether to apply the changes. Depending on the results of our testing and review, these suggestions may not be implemented, and we apologize for the wait.” This is one way you could answer such a message.
3. Show, Don’t Tell
In other words, “We need to be even more kind.”
Rather than “Enter your coupon code in Settings.”, you should describe it as if you were seeing it, such as “Enter your coupon code under the gear icon on the top right of the main screen > User Information > Coupons field.” If the setup allows you to attach screenshots, feel free to attach them. However, attachment of screenshots may not be possible according to internal regulations, and even if it is allowed, thorough review is necessary to ensure that personal account information is not exposed and that no information which should not be visible to users is included. If you make a mistake during this process, it has the potential to be a major problem, so be kind and explain it in text.
4. Make Your Customers Your Colleagues.
When your customers send inquiries, please make sure they do not feel insignificant. Even if it’s a minor complaint or bug report, it’s best to respond to customers in a way that makes them feel like you’re on their side. The game and the userare inseparable. Without games, the concept of a user cannot exist, and without users, games would be meaningless. That’s why it’s important to maintain a friendly relationship with your users. If you respond in a way that shows the game can be improved because of their valuable time, the user will think, “Oh,my question is meaningful,” and they may not hesitate to give you feedback or send you questions in the future.
5. Please Empathize With Your Customers.
When a customer contacts the customer service, it’s likely because they are experiencing a problem or have something they want to communicate to Game Operations. Empathize with the customer’s emotions or issues. Let them know that you fully understand the inconvenience they are experiencing and also emphasize that as a gamer yourself, you fully understand what they are saying. Customers often assume that the person answering their questions doesn’t have a good understanding of the game, and therefore believe that they won’t listen to their messages. To convince them otherwise, explain enough to show that you know what you’re dealing with and that you get it, but for some reason this is the way it was meant to be. This way, users will understand.
