1. Personalize interactions by recognizing customer milestones: Building relationships increases trust and loyalty, which Arely believes is crucial for CX success.
2. Evaluate agents' empathy, communication, and problem-solving skills: Passion for the industry ensures meaningful, engaged customer support.
3. Use macros as guidelines but encourage agents to add a personal touch: This balances efficiency with authenticity, which enhances customer satisfaction.
4. Tracking KPIs like CSAT and resolution time: It ensures performance improvements, helping the team grow together and celebrate shared success.
5. Human touch in CX builds trust and relationships: This is essential for handling both simple and complex issues, according to Arely's approach to customer service.
Arely Payan's rigorous approach to customer service at CLEARSTEM Skincare, come's down to her attentive supervision and commitment to one-on-one conversations set the bar. Find out how she manages expanding tech solutions and team size by tracking important KPIs, utilizing outsourced assistance, and keeping a personal touch.
Meet Arely, the Customer Service Manager at CLEARSTEM Skincare!
CLEARSTEM offers Anti-Acne & Anti-Aging Skincare with Zero Toxins. CLEARSTEM takes a holistic approach to skincare, encouraging their customers to not only use their toxin-free products but also educate them on how to evaluate their lifestyle for other acne triggers that might be affecting their skin.
Working through her college years, Arely began to realize that CX really interested her. “It became clear to me that I like the customer service industry and it was not just about addressing customer concerns,” she recalls. “There was a cultural component in shaping the overall perception of the brand and it motivated me to dive deeper into the field.” It’s no surprise she’s studying Business Entrepreneurship and taking management classes.
Arely was on her own at the beginning of CLEARSTEM’s rise in the beauty field, as the only CX employee. Now running a team of 15, she has brought on additional support. The CLEARSTEM team currently works with CX Atalyze to help manage customer service.
Arely’s outsourced team includes a dedicated Team Lead, an SME, and a QA. “We’re very ‘one’ with the customers, but we wanted a QA to keep up with the SOPs and tone of the brand.” She encourages the agents to speak to customers like friends and family and look for opportunities to personalize the interaction. She underscores the importance of capitalizing on chances to establish a personal connection, like recognizing a customer’s recent vacation or extending congratulations on a special occasion that the customer had shared with the agent.
“Their growth,” she notes, since the addition of the QA a few months ago, “has been amazing.”
The off-shore agent pool gives CLEARSTEM a 7-day SLA and holiday season scalability. Rather than letting go of the agents after the holidays, Arely usually keeps them on board as a safeguard. She emphasizes that, especially during periods of growth, having an additional set of hands is advantageous, especially when they are already familiar with the process.
“Our customer service team is always growing and we love growing with them!”
When Arely is in the process of bringing a new agent on board, CX Atalyze provides an agent kit. She explains, “I thoroughly examine their interview video, review their résumé, and consider any additional information they provide. I assess their empathy, communication skills, and problem-solving abilities. It’s essential to me that they demonstrate a genuine passion for skincare and or the health industry”
She expresses her satisfaction with the current situation at the company, saying, “This time around, it’s truly remarkable. I take pleasure in being able to personally select the agents now, especially enjoying the process of watching their interview videos”
Arely’s team tracks CSAT, response time, resolution time, tickets handled per agent, first touch, and resolution.
Arely elaborates, “We thoroughly analyze the specifics to enhance our scores, and this is where our QA becomes essential. She resolves any uncertainties about how to initiate and the procedures for handling particular ticket types. Although we employ macros in Gorgias, we make certain that agents regard them as guidelines, infusing their unique touch into the responses.”
When the KPIs are good, her team celebrates. “It makes me so happy that we are all growing together! ”
Gorgias
Attentive
Loop
Okendo
Klaviyo
Slack
Shopify
“We aim for our customers to feel heard and understood, addressing both the simplest and most complex issues. Establishing a relationship and fostering trust is a top priority for us, and I believe that requires a human touch,” she emphasizes.
“We’ve implemented an automated chat feature from Gorgias that may address the questions customers are asking. We’re populating it with many articles and common inquiries.” Arely’s next plan is to assign a dedicated agent for the Gorgias Convert live chat, but currently, the chat is directed to ticketing and answered via email.
Favorite book: “Delivering Happiness,” by Tony Hsieh
AI or No AI: Not at the moment!
Can’t-Live-Without tool: The Notion page and our customer service document.
Favorite communication channel: Our typeform.
“That’s my favorite because all of the information is there, and it’s easier for the agents to track and look up their specific requests. It transfers to Gorgias and their Shopify profile pops up, which is amazing.”
Number #1 Challenge as a CX Leader: “My number one challenge would be training the agents on how to handle difficult or angry customers without sacrificing their customer experience. For a business to stand out, we need to value our customer experience.
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