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Published : January 05, 2010 |
Author : Kate Tammemagi
Category : Business | Total Views
: 276 | Unrated
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 Kate Tammemagi
Kate Tammemagi has extensive experience in Supervisor Training - see http://www.focustraining.ie/focus/Main/supervision_training.htm. She also designs and delivers People and Performance Management Training – see http://www.focustraining.ie/focus/Main/managing_people_performance.htm.
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Customer Service Excellence is what every
organization, large or small, is aiming to achieve. We are now all
highly aware that delivering an excellent experience to all of our
customers will play a large part in keeping our Customers coming back.
Every telephone call is an opportunity to win or to lose Customers.
Here we give some of the essential Telephone skills, techniques and
best practices that will help ensure that extra positive experience for
our Customers.
Begin with a Confident Welcome
First impressions count and that first impression takes 10 seconds
on a telephone call! In Customer Service this means the Customer will
decide "I like this person", or "I do not want to deal with this
person" very quickly. Our goal in Customer Service is to capture this
call positively and to set the right tone for the call from the
beginning.
We want to sound confident and welcoming. The telephone skills and techniques for doing this are -
1. Positive Posture – sit up straight in your chair and lean
forward to take the call. Don’t slouch, as this will deaden your voice
tone. Positive posture not only helps give you a richer voice tone, but
it helps make you feel more confident.
2. Greet the Customer as if you are delighted they called. Smiling on the phone really does work!
3. Get the Customer’s name and use it. Everyone likes to be treated
personally, like a human being. We do this by giving our own name and
by using the Customer’s name. It is important to judge which form of
the name or title is most appropriate. There are rules on this, but
they differ from culture to culture. For example, in Ireland we use the
first name in a business-to-business setting, and we use the family or
surname in a business-to-home setting. It is worthwhile to investigate
the social or business norms in your specific area or culture as being
inappropriate can create a negative rather than a positive impression.
4. Give a positive, definite first response. For example,
”Certainly, I’ll be happy to help”; or “No problem, I can do that for
you”. A positive first response will have a reassuring effect on your
Customer.
5. Listen and use Verbal Nods to encourage the Customer as they
speak. For example, ”I see; Sure; I understand; I appreciate that”.
This may seem very obvious, but it is amazing how many people do NOT
use verbal nods on a phone, especially in difficult call situations.
Check if you do by recording a call and playing it back. If there are
no verbal nods, the call will sound cold and officious.
Questions, Good Ways of asking vs. Bad
In Customer Service we often have to ask a series of questions to
establish our Customer’s needs. On the telephone, we do not have the
softening effect of body language and our questions can often sound
unintentionally aggressive. Something simple like, ”What’s your name?”
can be very aggressive at the beginning of a call. ”Could you tell me
your name, please?” sounds so much better.
Always soften the beginning of the question and let your voice-tone
go up at the end of the question. That way you sound chirpy and the
Customer will be happy to answer. Remember to acknowledge the response
by confirming back or a verbal nod - ”That’s great, your number is…”
Offer a Customer Friendly Solution or Explanation
Having established our Customer’s needs, we move to the phase of
the telephone call where we are offering a solution, or giving
information or an explanation to the Customer. As we transition to this
phase, we often acknowledge the Customer’s issue by summarising it, and
then move to introducing how we plan to address this. ”Thank you for
that, Mrs Jones, you need a … What I will do now is …”.
Here are some tips and techniques for offering information or an explanation to a Customer on the telephone …
1. Use relatively short sentences with one idea per sentence. Use a
step by step approach with a pause in between the steps for the
Customer to catch up. ”First go to X. When you are at X, you are now
going to move to the next step.” Long, rambly instructions or
explanations are very hard to follow on a telephone.
2. Use Customer friendly language. Pitch the terms you use at the
level your Customer rather than yourself. Be very careful of jargon and
'business speak 'that is unique to your business or, indeed, your own
Company. If we use these terms every day, we often assume that they are
widely known and acceptable. Using them inappropriately with a Customer
can also sound aggressive, like you are talking down to them.
3. Use positive definite language rather than negative language.
Negative language is language with ‘not’ like ‘can’t, won’t, shouldn’t
etc.’ Try to switch what you are saying round so that it will always
sound positive. ”I am sorry, but we can’t have that for 10 days”
becomes ”I can definitely have that for you in 10 days” Do not tell the
Customer what can’t be done without giving them a positive option at
the end. ”I am sorry, but I can’t do …; The reason is … What I can do
is …”
Closing the Telephone Call Positively
In Customer Service, we want the Customer to go away with a very
positive impression of us. Callers remember the first impressions, and
the very last impressions.
As we move towards the close, it is good practice to summarise any
agreements, and to confirm any next steps or actions. Again it is
worthwhile reviewing HOW you do this, to ensure that your language is
positive and clear.
We finish with a nice positive close that will ensure our Customer’s go off the phone happy.
About The Author
Kate Tammemagi is a respected Customer Service Trainer and Consultant with Focus Training Ireland – see http://www.focustraining.ie. She has extensive experience designing and delivering customized Customer Service Courses, see -http://www.focustraining.ie/focus/Main/customer_service_excellence.htm.
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