When Your Customer Service Stinks - PsychTests.com Reveals Why Rep Personality Makes A Major Difference

PsychTests.com's latest research uncovers the personality traits that are crucial for success in customer service.

MONTREAL, CANADA (MARKETWIRE) -- June 17, 2012

PsychTests.com, a pioneer in online psychological assessments has released its newest research on the type of traits that can be an asset for employees who dare to take on a customer service position. PsychTests' research reveals that those who succeed in customer service have certain personality traits that help them survive and thrive in this often challenging position.

Google "the customer from hell", and you'll come across some rather fascinating anecdotes of actual conversations between customer service reps and clients. You'll get a taste of what customer service reps go through on a daily basis, and understand why hiring employees with just the right personality profile can really make a difference. Aside from angry rants, name-calling, and some rather colorful language, customer service reps need to have both the fortitude and the patience to deal with some very unique characters.

Yet, the quality of customer service greatly influences the reputation a company has with its past and potential customers. "Poor customer service is what prevents customers from coming back. If you manage to enrage your customers they will make it their mission to badmouth your company with friends and family. They will invest the time and effort to warn others about your company on social networks - and this will get around," points out Dr. Ilona Jerabek, president of PsychTests. "Great customer service is about the underlying attitudes and focus on getting the customers to want to come back because they were treated well and their problem was handled properly. With every product or service, there are some problems, bugs or malfunctions. Of course we all try to limit how often it happens, but it still does. And the way problems are handled is more important to customers than the fact that they came up in the first place. That's why people working in customer service are so important. They need to be properly trained, that's true, but they also need to have the right psychological make-up and the right instincts."

Assessing over 1,400 test-takers with their Customer Service Profile, PsychTests' study results reveal very distinct differences between the personality of experienced customer service reps and the rest of the test-taking population. Those who have worked in customer service:

  • Have better communication skills
  • Are more skilled at resolving conflict
  • Have a higher level of patience
  • Maintain better control over their emotions
  • Cope better with stress
  • Have a more positive and upbeat attitude and are more self-motivated
  • Are more conscientious
  • Have a much thicker skin

PsychTests' statistics also indicate that experienced customer service reps are also more organized, have a knack for knowing how to meander through difficult and awkward social situations, and possess the crucial ability to maintain perspective - to step back from a situation (or person), and look at it objectively.

"The importance of personality in the hiring process is so evident in jobs like customer service," explains Dr. Ilona Jerabek, president of PsychTests. "Skills, for the most part, can be developed. It's finding someone whose personality fits the job that is crucial. Companies whose customer service is poorly rated need to take a good look not just at the speed at which they handle customer service calls, but also how. Customers may be a bit more forgiving when left on hold, for example, if the voice on the other side of the line is personable and patient, and the rep radiates a true desire to resolve the situation to the client's satisfaction."

Those who wish to assess their customer service potential can go to: http://testyourself.psychtests.com/testid/3087

HR managers interested in using the Customer Service Profile or other pre-employment tests can visit: http://www.archprofile.com/corporate/solutions


About Psychtests AIM Inc.

Psychtests AIM Inc. originally appeared on the internet scene in 1996. Since its inception, it has become a pre-eminent provider of psychological assessment products and services to human resource personnel, therapists, academics, researchers and a host of other professionals around the world. Psychtests AIM Inc. staff is comprised of a dedicated team of psychologists, test developers, researchers, statisticians, writers, and artificial intelligence experts. The company's research division, Plumeus Inc., is supported in part by Research and Development Tax Credit awarded by Industry Canada.

Contact:
Ilona Jerabek, Ph.D., President
Psychtests AIM Inc.
http://testyourself.psychtests.com/
ilona@psychtests.com