Turns out, managers with the best intentions of raising morale sometimes make dumb mistakes, a recent study by OfficeTeam found.

Here’s what to avoid:

1. Messing up the details. Get the agent’s name right, first. Then make sure you know and describe exactly what he or she did right.
2. Giving inappropriate rewards. A stapler for a 10 year anniversary won’t go over well. And a $100 bonus probably isn’t necessary for taking a few extra calls.
3. Being too vague. “Good job” is never enough. Explain the impact the good work had on the company, customers or co-workers.
4. Overlooking contributors. Make efforts to single out team members who helped behind the scenes, too.

You don’t have to agree with customers’ complaints  – but you have to agree that their complaint is important to them. Here’s how to make customers feel that way.

Try one of these responses from  Ron Kaufman, author of Uplifting Service: The Proven Path to Delighting Your Customers, Colleagues and Everyone Else You Meet. They can help you rebound from the five most common complaints.

Customer says: “That person was rude and unprofessional to me.”

You say: “You are right to expect courtesy, respect and helpfulness.”

Customer says: “Your policies are too rigid. You have a bunch of red tape to jump through.”

You say: “I agree that we should be as flexible and user-friendly as possible. Your suggestions can help.”

Customer says: “This is not what I expected for the high price I paid.”

You say: “I’m on your side. You have a right to be satisfied with whatever you purchase from us. You deserve a good value for your money. Let’s review what you have bought and see if there’s a better option for you.”

Customer says: “I’ve been waiting forever. Why did it take so long?”

You say: “We understand that in today’s world speed counts. You deserve fast, friendly service.”

Customer says: “Your website is terrible. I couldn’t find the information I need.”

You say: “You are right to want an informative user-friendly website. What information couldn’t you find? Your suggestions on how to improve the site are a big help.”

Click here to read the free whitepaper!   

• A “win-win” deal. Instead, be upfront about the whole impact – even any potential negatives.
• “Outside the box” thinking or “innovative” ideas. Customers will decide based on experiencing the product or service.
• “We’re not here to talk about the past.” Customers understand this as, “We don’t want to answer your questions” about an unpleasant subject.

Click here to read the free whitepaper!   

Turns out, they want to save money.

More than 60% of customers say they look for discounts and coupons when they connect with companies through social media, an IBM Global Business Services Executive Report found.

About half want to actually make a purchase (probably after they found their discount!) when they find you on Facebook, Twitter or other social outlet, the study found.

For true customer service needs: Only 37% of customers who head to a company’s social media offerings want help or advice from contact center agents.

Based on this, one of your best approaches to social media may be to offer followers occasional discounts, and regularly remind them that you’re there to help. In the meantime, keep phones, email and chat staffed to keep up with the bigger customer demand.

The American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) rose slightly to 75.9 on a 100-point scale.

The quarterly ACSI is a national benchmark of customer satisfaction across industries. Today’s scores mark the fourth time it’s increased in the last five quarters, despite a slow economy.

Satisfaction scores for the iPhone – that includes customer feedback on service and product – smashed others in that category. Apple had an 83 satisfaction score. No other cellular phone company has ever had scores higher than 80.

Overall, though, satisfaction scores across the cell phone industry dipped slightly. Other industries lagged, notably the subscription television industry.

“While the range of services offered by the industry is larger than ever, reliability and cost are hurdles along the path to higher customer satisfaction,” said ACSI Founder Claes Fornell. “Service providers need to improve reliability without upping prices, which may be a tough balancing act in an economy where the monthly cost of TV service can rival that of energy utilities.”

Their answers will help you decide the best ways to keep them satisfied with their environment and challenged just enough by their work.

• “If I were calling from another organization to recruit you, what could I offer to lure you away?” This will help uncover what they like least about working in your contact center.
• “What would you like to do more of each day?” Use agents’ answers to help you decide which tasks to assign them.
• “Where do you see yourself in two years from now?” Use their feedback to create a career path that works for them and your organization.

As a contact center pro, you probably deal with a few jerks. It doesn’t mean you have to put up with their bad behavior.

Jerks come in all shapes and sizes – from customers and co-workers to connivers and loudmouths. Fortunately, you don’t have to let them ruin your day.

Instead, try these proven tactics from management expert and author Robert Sutton to deal with jerks at work.

1. Politely confront jerks. Some people don’t even realize they’re perpetually difficult. Some jerks who know they’re mean just need another person to stand up to them. Let them know that their words and/or actions belittle you or make you feel uncomfortable.
2. Limit contact. If a polite confrontation doesn’t do the trick, avoid jerks as much as possible. Skip meetings that you can where the jerk will be. Schedule phone calls, rather than face-to-face chats. Keep all conversations short.
3. Enjoy small wins. This isn’t about getting revenge. It’s about taking the upper hand sometimes. Tout your accomplishments to the boss in ways that show bullies in their true negative light. Ask for prime job assignments before they can get to them. With customer jerks, remind them of your great qualifications and the extraordinary things you’ve done for them.
4. Practice indifference. Remind yourself after an encounter with a jerk (or when you know you might have one) that you’ll never change him. Go through the motions of dealing with him and never care about how it happens.
5. Keep a diary. If a jerk persists, document every incident when she belittled, hollered or behaved badly. Turn it over to a supervisor so the employee is reprimanded or the customer is dealt with by management.

Then agents get the more complex and involved issues to handle personally on the phone. It’s those interactions that can make or break customer satisfaction and loyalty, says J.D. Power and Associates researcher Mark Miller.

Customers don’t get as upset over an issues when using chat, email or phone menus. But if the person on the other end of phone makes a poor impression, loyalty can suffer, Miller found.

That’s why contact center leaders need to train as much as possible. Here are three perfect times, according to customer care expert and author Barbara Burke:

• In the moment. Leaders can use quick sessions when they see a frontline agent do something either very well or incorrectly. For good work, leaders can praise agents for it on the spot so others hear what went so well and learn from it. For less-than-ideal work, leaders want to take reps to a quiet place, explain what was done incorrectly and how to improve it, and have the rep try the better method immediately.
• Escalated calls. When customers demand “a supervisor,” leaders will should keep agents on the line so they can hear firsthand how to handle the situation.
• Monthly one-on-one. In addition to using these meetings to check that agents’ can handle their workload, managers want to touch on one important training topic.