Obvious Questions, Polite Answers, No one's stupid !

Customer Service staff have or rather should have a vast knowledge of the companies they represent; that's why they are front line employees afterall. Some customers, even though they visit a company daily and should know where the company's wall clock and trash can are located, would still ask questions whose answers are known to a two year old. What do you think of the picture below?

Obvious customer question, polite answers, no one's stupid.

Your customer is not and will never be stupid regardless of your opinion. No matter how obvious the answer to a question is, a customer service employee should still answer politely as many times as possible. It is frustrating you might say, but how much better is sitting at your desk without having to attend to a single customer? How much better will it be to receive a notification that your company will be downsizing because sales has dwindled drastically?Or would it be better to have your products rot before your very eyes if you are a sole proprietor?

Every single action directed at your customer comes with a consequence. We often times don't see the consequences eating into our businesses until the damage has gone far. A polite answer hurts no one, and never should your customer be made to look stupid. Even when the customer is stupid, as long as he could make the decision to visit your company and not others, he is still to be treated nicely.

If it is a frequently asked question, print answers boldly in an easily accessible portion of your service area or website. That 's still no reason why the question shouldn't be answered'. Answer politely and refer them to the easily accessible  area for a confirmation of your answer and a reference point should they ever need clarification at a future date when you might not be available. Obvious questions go well with polite answers because no one leaves feeling stupid.