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How to Answer Open-Ended Questions

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Part of the video series: Customer Service Basics

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Summary: Learn how to answer customers' open-ended questions properly with expert training tips in this free online customer service training video clip.

Views: 685 | Tags: training, service, basics, good, skills, communication, customer, relations, employees

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About the Expert

Pamela Unruh Pamela Unruh has been working in the customer service industry for nearly 20 years. She has a great deal of experience on the subject and has been a corporate... read more

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Video Transcript

How to Answer Open-Ended Questions

In this section we're going to be discussing a model known as 123s of customer service. I'm Pamela Unruh with Expert Village. Now let's discuss the other side of that coin open ended questions. An open ended question remember it's a question that you ask that is meant to get a lot of additional information. This is when you're trying to narrow down a topic or find out what exactly what your customers issue is. I work in a service oriented business right now and we have customers who use water treatment systems. If a customer calls me and simply says my system is not working right I could go through an entire list, is it using salt, is it making a funny noise, is it making your water soft. Each of these questions the customer can answer yes or no but it's going to take a very long time to go through an entire list of questions that deal with that specific piece of equipment. Instead I would ask an open ended question what can you tell me about your system is doing, maybe they would start to narrow it down a little bit. Well sometimes at night I hear funny noises, what type of noise are you hearing, "well it sounds like wishing noise", that helps me narrow it down the topic a little bit better. Then I would know what my customer is issue is it helps me assist them and it helps the customer explain something to me that maybe it's just a little bit beyond their particular expertise. So open ended as oppose to close ended questions you use them in different situations but both very effective tools in getting to the part of the matter to the customer.

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