7 powerful customer service skills your partners should master

FOX Brasil Tips for Freight Forwarders

Establishing partnerships with companies that offer good customer service is a must for every b2b that wishes to have a successful performance in the market. However, in logistics, this is even more important. That is, when searching for a freight forwarding partner to work with, customer service is one of the most valued skills logisticians consider as a differential.

In other words, it is crucial to ensure that your freight forwarding partner masters some customer service skills before sending them a shipment. Especially when working with agents overseas, their reliability will be entirely based on how available they are to hear you and attend to your demands in the best way.

If you are unsure about what customer service skills you should be looking for in a partner, we have created this post with the intent of helping. Here, you can check out the most powerful abilities your associates should have in order to represent your cargo effectively and integrate your operations. You won’t want to miss this!

What kind of customer service skills should your freight forwarding partner have?

·         Clear communication between sales and operational team

This is one of the most important abilities a freight forwarder should have. When closing a deal with your partner, you’ll most likely only be speaking with their sales team. They are the ones that will be in charge of hearing about your operation, sending the quote and passing all the information to the operational team to execute.

Therefore, only a company that has good customer service is able to align their sectors effectively and ensure that everyone is on the same page regarding your operation. If the communication is not clear, you have higher chances of facing problems along the way.

·         Strong knowledge of their area’s processes

When it comes to logistics, every area has its own different laws and regulations for cargo shipment and customs clearance. This is the good thing about having a partner with strong presence and knowledge in their area – they will be able to instruct you about everything and ensure the operation happens smoothly at every stage. However, you might face some problems if you work with a freight forwarding partner whose team lacks knowledge or is not able to give you all the information you need. Therefore, choose to work with a partner that offers strong know-how to advise you!

·         Time management skills

We know that most operations in logistics need to be completed in a very short time. Therefore, time management skills are essential in this segment. And if you think only your partner’s operational team needs that, you are mistaken! Working with a company that offers fast customer service, answering your quote requests as quickly as possible, is a must. After all, your shipments can’t wait for your partner to become available for them!

·         Ability to handle unpredicted scenarios

Although when working with a reliable partner your chances of facing any problems are much lower, you still need to ensure that in case something happens, they will be ready to deal with it on the right way. In logistics, there are many factors that could end up affecting your shipment, such as delays related to weather issues, problems with the carrier, accidents along the way, etc. However, a good customer service team is able to react quickly to the problem, ensuring you are constantly informed about the operation’s updates and won’t be affected in a negative way.

·         Commitment to keep their promises

Some freight forwarders tend to make unreal promises in order to get another company to close a deal with them. However, when the operation does happen, chances are they won’t be able to keep these promises and you will be disappointed with their performance and lack of commitment. Therefore, it is important to work with a freight forwarding partner that will stick to their word and guarantee that everything they promised will actually happen.

·         Helpful and available staff

It is natural that when you have your shipment under someone else’s responsibility you will worry about it and want to know updates at any chance you get. Therefore, a major thing to consider when looking for a partner to work with is how helpful and available their staff is for you. If even before closing a deal, you already feel like it is a struggle to get ahold of them, that company might not be the ideal partner for you.

·         Attentiveness to every detail

Last but not least, you should look for a partner whose team will listen to you very carefully and be attentive to every single detail of your operation. After all, we know that all logistics demands are different and each cargo has its own characteristics and peculiarities. So, there is nothing better than working with a partner who is able to understand that and develop a customized solution to best attend to your needs.

FOX Brasil is a Brazilian freight forwarder that offers all the infrastructure and customer service skills to integrate your logistics operations effectively. We are the ideal partner for any freight forwarder looking for a reliable agent with local expertise and strong global presence to represent their cargo. Click here to learn more about our services and areas of expertise or get an instant quote with us by clicking on the button below: