The job market, for young graduates, has never been better. There are opportunities galore in booming service sectors like BPO, retail and hospitality. Most of these jobs are customer centric and call for certain unique skill sets. BPOs and multiplexes hire fresh graduates as customer service/sales executives, while retail stores look for shop floor executives, supervisors and managers.

"The job market is currently demand driven and youngsters with good communication skills and a positive attitude will be spoilt for choices," says Prashant Kuruvilla, VP (HR) at Delhi based E-soft Technologies. So, if you are a fresh graduate looking to make a career in the service industry, here are the 10 key customer service skills you must brush up on.

Language skills

Good communication is the lifeblood of the service industry and it is important that your language be devoid of grammatical errors. While we have all learnt the basics of grammar, the most important attributes in spoken English are sentence construction (your ability to form meaningful sentences) and word order (ability to use the right words as per the context). Speak to people in English as far as possible and watch English news channels and sit-coms. The objective here is to develop conversational skills.

Vocabulary

You need to have the words in your vocabulary to tackle all kinds of challenging communication and customer service scenarios. You should be able to demonstrate a satisfactory use of word choice so your customer maintains confidence in your skill sets. Follow the TIS rule (Think it, Ink it, Sink it). When you come across a new word, make a note of it in your personal diary and read it out loud at least three times.

Pronunciation

You need to speak with clear pronunciation and diction so it does not interfere with overall communication with a customer. Institutes like the British Council offer courses in communication skills for call centres and service oriented jobs. These programmes also help you to neutralise your accent and sound more professional.

Tone

It is important to speak with an upbeat, positive tone that reflects empathy and concern for your customer.This enables you to connect with customers and colleagues and also build long lasting relationships. Negative emotions like anger, sarcasm, impatience, etc. can easily be communicated through your tone, so it is important to focus it. 

Listening, a must

Good listening skills will help you understand the main ideas of the person you are communicating with. It also enables you to understand the specifics of a particular situation you could be dealing with. Good listening skills will also ensure that you provide appropriate answers to customers' questions and understand the emotional clues he or she may drop.

Problem solving

You should be committed and have a sincere desire to solve a customer's problems. Your ability to ask the right kind of questions will be a key factor in providing an effective solution. You also need to prioritise your time and understand a customer's needs and wants.

Flexibility

You must be able to adapt to a customer's unique needs and changing circumstances. Be open to change, be willing to take the customer's feedback and act on it. Being flexible also helps you identify new business opportunities and generate more sales for your organisation.

Initiative and proactiveness

It is important to anticipate a customer's problems. Apologise and correct a mistake rather than hide behind the company's policies. Walking the extra mile for a customer will cement the relationship and lead to repeat business.

Professionalism

You need to be friendly and courteous, yet professional. Being direct and expressive helps you build a strong relationship with the customer. Conveying respect for the customer, team members, company and competitors is also important, as this demonstrates confidence in self and the organisation. A professional attitude will leave the customer with a positive feeling.

Task orientation

As a customer service professional, it is important to strike a balance between the job at hand and relationship / rapport building activities. While you need to engage in building a positive relationship with the customer, you must keep issue resolution and meeting targets as the top priority. "Most tele-sales consultants keep sweet talking with customers without asking for the order (closing the sale). This is ineffective as the objective of the organisation is also to generate sales and profits," says Kanishka Malhotra, Managing Partner at Hotel Solutions India, New Delhi.
 
Brush up on these skills and success will definitely be a lot easier to come by.

-- The author is a corporate training consultant based in New Delhi.