Assess emotional intelligent customer service candidates

Providing excellent customer service is critical to business survival in today's competitive marketplaces. Mediocre customer service can quickly torpedo your company's reputation.

Research says 42 percent of people encounter poor customer service at least monthly and that can hurt a growing business's reputation. And in today's connected online world, great customer service, regardless of the industry, is essential. Good customer service skills are valuable for employees in all positions and industries, even those who don't work directly with customers.

Let's look at what are the most important emotional intelligence skills to look for in a customer service candidate:

• Communication skills: This one is easy to spot. The best salespeople have great communication skills. They use active emotional listening to try to understand the customers' personality and needs--to hear the intent behind what is being said. They share useful information...