Understanding a customer's query is not always easy. Sometimes there are many grey areas in what they say, making it difficult for agents to grasp a complete picture of their situation.
Moreover, agents often cannot decipher what outcome they are hoping for and whether they are happy with the resolution path the interaction is hurtling towards.
In each of these scenarios, probing questions are an agent's best friend. They enable agents to dig into particular parts of a customer query to understand their reasoning and emotional drivers.
As such, they allow agents to gather the information they need to assist customers and improve business outcomes.
The Top 10 Probing Questions for Customer Service
Here are ten excellent examples of probing questions for customer service, each designed to elicit more information from customers into specific parts of their queries.
1. So we're on the same page, could you give me an example of what you mean by...?
Spelling out issues is not a skill that everyone possesses. As such, agents must often ask customers to rephrase their problems to understand them fully. This probing question is an excellent way for agents to check their understanding.
2. When did the issue arise?
Identifying the problem's onset may enable the agent to isolate its cause. They may then get to grips with how long the customer has experienced the issue, informing their steps to resolution.
3. Could you describe what you were doing before this happened?
Often, customers unwittingly cause the problem themselves, so understanding what they were doing when the issue first arose is sometimes critical to fully understanding the customer's query.
4. Has this occurred previously?
Often customer issues are not isolated incidences. By asking this question, agents can uncover whether this is a systematic issue. If this is the case, they can find out what solved the problem before and suggest small adjustments that work better in the long run.
5. What have you already done to try and solve the issue?
Customers are often quite creative. Often their solutions will do this trick with a simple nudge in the right direction. As such, agents can piggyback on their ideas while avoiding offering them the same solutions they have already tried.
6. Could you describe what you see/hear/taste?
Most agents have lots of experience in handling customer qualms. Asking sensory questions like this will help increase their understanding of the issue, so they can perhaps link it to other customer queries they previously handled.