Emotional intelligence refers to the capability of individuals to recognize their own, and other people’s emotions so as to discern between different feelings and label them appropriately. It is the ability of individuals to use emotional information to guide thinking and behavior, and to manage and/or adjust emotions to adapt environments or achieve one’s goals. Wondering what it has got to do with customer service? Read on.

Emotional intelligence reflects abilities to join intelligence, empathy, and emotions so as to enhance thought and understanding of interpersonal dynamics. It plays a major role in the interactions between the employee and the customer. EI can actually decide whether the customer would come back to your store or not. It holds a lot of significance in customer service as:

Sharpens listening skills:

When working at a customer service center, listening and understanding the customers is one of the mandatory skills that the agents should have. Emotional intelligence enables the individuals to pick up on the emotions of others and anticipate their feelings. Also, it helps sharpen their listening skills so that they can act in a way that leads to a favorable outcome.

Helps manage one’s emotions and enhance customer service:

Angry and disgruntled customers are the greatest challenges that a customer service center has to face. An emotionally intelligent person will be in control even in the worst cases. This is so because emotional intelligence enables him to manage his emotions as well as the emotions of the customer, without letting the situation go out of control.

Provides a deeper understanding of customers’ needs:

Emotional intelligence helps individuals stay calm in a variety of situations, even when facing angry customers. It makes an organization solution oriented through a better understanding of customers’ needs. The basic idea of using EI is to handle each and every customer. It further aims at understanding his or her perspective and emotional involvement with the situation.

Makes organizations solution oriented:

Companies which are solution oriented and focus on serving the customer instantly, gain more loyalty from customers. When organizations train their employees using emotional intelligence, they are able to pick up on the complexities and address them. This further allows a successful customer interaction. Emotional intelligence offers quick solutions, never leaving the customer dissatisfied.

Emotional intelligence has got to play a crucial role in customer service and the companies/ businesses that realize it ultimately stand out from the crowd!