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Guided customer service: Open and closed questions

October 31, 2011 by Peggy Carlaw — VP, Impact Learning Systems

Why are some customer service experiences better than others? Most often it's because the customer service representative confidently guides you through the call by using open and closed questions.

What are Open and Closed Questions

There are two types of questions: open and closed. Open questions encourage the customer to speak freely and are useful for gathering information. For example, to find out why the customer is calling you could ask, "How can I help you?" This opens the door for the customer to share the reason for the call and give clues to how you can assist them.

Closed questions are useful when you are needing a specific response or a simple yes or no. For example, to pull up an existing customer's account information you could ask, "May I please have your account number?". Another very useful type of closed question is a statement followed by a confirming question. For example, to confirm that a customer has chosen the most appropriate shipping method you could say, "We'll ship your order via FedEx Ground and it will arrive in 7-10 days. Will that work for you?"

Open and closed questions are best used together. You may think that you have understood what the caller is saying but you will never know for sure unless you ask a question to confirm. Follow these guidelines to effectively use open and closed questions.

• Your first question should always be an open question. "How may I assist you today?"
• After the customer responds, you may ask another open question to gather additional information or a closed question to either confirm understanding or request specific information.
• Continue to use open and closed questions to expertly guide the customer through the call.

Customer service representatives who are skilled at open and closed questioning are able to better assist customers. Appropriate questioning quickly highlights the reason for the customers call, and efficiently gathers information needed to diagnose the issue and recommend a timely solution. Using open and closed questions is a sure fire why to improve your first call resolution and keep talk time to a minimum.

Why Open Calls with an Open Question

Opening calls with closed questions can quickly send you down the wrong path and irritate the caller. No one likes to be interrupted and abruptly asked for an order number. Especially if you do not have an order number. Always start a call with an open question and allow customers to completely finish their thoughts before asking your next question. This may take an extra minute or two but will save you time in the long run.

Ask and Ask Again

Don't be afraid to ask multiple closed questions. When you have identified the customer's needs, asking closed questions in succession will expedite the solution.

About Peggy Carlaw

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