Customer Service Skills Test Question 11 – Recovering an application during a service outage
Read the background and customer communication, then choose the response you would be most likely to give. Repeat the task after the customer follow-up.
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Background
An online form has been unavailable for several hours. A customer says the form failed after they entered most of their information and none of it appears to have saved. The submission deadline is in two hours.
Customer communication
Customer: I have spent all afternoon on this and your website has deleted it. What am I supposed to do now?
Which response would you be most likely to give?
Response A
The deadline applies to everyone, so you will need to complete the form again when the website is available.
Response B
I am sorry the service has failed while you were completing the form. I will confirm the outage, check the approved alternative submission route and record that you contacted us before the deadline.
Response C
Keep refreshing the page. The system may return before the deadline and your information might reappear.
Customer follow-up
The outage team confirms the form will not be restored before the deadline. Staff are authorised to accept a completed offline form by secure email and record the time received.
Which response would you be most likely to give next?
Response A
Email whatever information you can remember in a normal message and we will convert it into an application later.
Response B
Wait for the website to return and submit then. The service should take the outage into account automatically.
Response C
I will send the offline form and secure email instructions now. If it reaches us before the deadline, we will record that time and attach it to your application.
Click to reveal the answers
- Initial customer communication: Response B
- Customer follow-up: Response C
Members can unlock the full explanation for all six responses, including why the recommended replies are strongest and what makes the other choices weaker or unsafe.
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