telephone courtesy skills “lets make our job easy”
TRANSCRIPT
TELEPHONE COURTESY SKILLS“LETS MAKE OUR JOB EASY”
HOW TO ANSWER THE PHONE? When to answer a Phone?
With in Three Rings.
Why answer a Phone with in three Rings?
Because after the third ring the tolerance of the customer starts to fade away and customer may think:
PTCL is out of control. PTCL is understaffed or is not professional. PTCL does not care about customers. PTCL has gone out of business.
GREETING
Why should we greet?
Because it is an entry point into the conversation. It indicates yours friendliness. It shows your openness to the customer. It establishes your willingness to help the customer.
GIVING YOUR NAME
Why should I give out my name? This basic act of courtesy lets the caller know that he/she
has reached the correct person, who would help him.
Benefits of telling your name? Identifying your self saves you and the caller a lot of time
and frustration and establishes that you have taken ownership of the customers complaint/query.
ASKING IF YOU COULD HELP
Why should I ask “ How may I help you” ?
Saying these golden words “How may I help you” completes telephone answering etiquette by demonstrating that you and your company are ready and available to help and assist the customer.
PUTTING THE CUSTOMER ON HOLD Why tell the customers that they are being put on hold ?
Because people find it easier and more comfortable to wait if they have a mental picture of what the person on the other end is doing while away from the phone.
Be sure to provide whatever information if pertinent e.g. “ The answer to your question will take a few moments as I have to consult the system”.
PUTTING THE CUSTOMER ON HOLD
Why give a time frame? Giving the customer a time frame helps diminish the “I’ve
been forgotten” factor and has a calming effect. How specific the time frame should be depends on the length of time you think your customers will have to be on hold. If they have to be on hold for a longer time, then an honest estimate works better.
NOTE: YOU CAN HOLD THE CUSTOMER FOR 60 SECONDS.
PUTTING THE CUSTOMER ON HOLD What to say when short wait time hold is required (up to 60
sec) ? “Sir/Madam, Please hold OR Sir/Madam hold kijieay”
What to say when longer wait time hold is required (up to 3mins) ? “This question could take me two to three minutes to sort
out, would you like to hold or would you like call us again”?
PUTTING THE CUSTOMER ON HOLD
Things to remember
Always give a reason Always ask for permission Always wait for the customer response Always use the music on hold system Always thank the customer for holding
TRANSFERRING A CALL
Why should I explain to the caller that why his/her call is being transferred?
This feeling is called telephone destiny, and the customers basic questions in his mind are “where am I going, and who will receive when I get there?” by telling the customers to whom they are being transferred and why, you are answering one of the existential questions of telephone life.
TRANSFERRING A CALL
Why should I seek permission of the caller before transferring?
Because customers can get angry if they are transferred when they don’t want to be. Sometimes, after being transferred several times, customer may just to leave a message
TRANSFERRING A CALL
Why should I tell the story the customer has already narrated to me to the supervisor?
When the person receiving the call gets on the line with the customer and already knows the customers name and the basic circumstances the customer feels well taken care of and gets a sense of being known by your company.
ENDING THE CALL Why should I repeat what action or steps would we be taking?
By repeating the customers needs/requirements you agree on a line of action.
Why should I ask if I can do anything else for him/her? Doing so gives the customer a final chance to tie up any loose ends.
Why should I Thank the customer for calling us? By doing so you let the customer know that you appreciate his bringing
the problem (if there was one) to your attention.
TONE OF VOICE
What difference would tone of voice make?
The minute you pick up the phone, body language disappears and your tone of voice becomes 86% of your communication! The remaining 14% are the words you speak
TONE OF VOICE
What does the tone communicate?
Almost the entire message you project to a customer is communicated through your tone of voice, and it does not take long for your customers to pick up on your attitude. No matter what words you use, the tone of your voice reveals what you think and feel.
TONE OF VOICE
Three Ways to develop tone
Increase Inflection Control your volume Pace with the customer
TONE OF VOICE What is meant by inflection?
Inflection is the wave like quality of your voice. Smiling while talking on the phone can help you improve inflection. Try to smile while you talk and practice to stress on words.
Does smiling have some psychological effect on us? The reason for doing is not psychological but physiological.
When you smile, the soft palate at the back of your mouth rises and makes the sound waves more fluid.
TONE OF VOICE How can stress on words have any effect?
By stressing on different words in a sentence the whole meaning can change. So certain words need different stressing to change the feeling of what is being said.
Why should I breathe while talking? The inflection in your voice can be greatly increased by
learning to take long, slow deep breaths.
TONE OF VOICE How can volume control help us in a conversation?
If a customer is angry and speaking loudly, don’t yell back to him in the same volume. Instead behave like a professional and start out by speaking at a somewhat lower volume than the customer, gradually bring the customer’s volume down to yours. With a confused customer, speaking a little louder helps give him something to focus on and helps you control the conversation more easily.
TONE OF VOICE
How can I reflect back intensity? Most of the times when a customer is agitated using a low
key and almost casual tone of voice would further aggravate the customer. Responses such as" I'll see what I can do” don’t have the same effect as a professional “I’ll look into this right away”.
LISTENING SKILLS As long as my ears are open what else can I do for listening?
Pretended , alternative or selective listening can cause frustrations for you and the customer. When you just go through the motions of listening and your mind is not focusing on what is being said.
LISTENING SKILLS
What are the ways to listen actively Use verbal cues such as “ I see”, “I understand Sir” to let
the speaker know that you are listening and they have your full attention
Ask questions to clarify understanding Paraphrase and summarize in your own words to ensure
that you have understood what the other person is saying
ASKING QUESTIONS
ASKING QUESTIONS
Why should I ask questions? Many times we are so intent on getting rid of the “pest”
on the other end of the phone that we forget to ask questions. The heart of a service culture is focusing on the customer’s need rather than our own.
ASKING QUESTIONS What kind of questions should I ask and when?
At the start of a conversation Open Questions enable you to gather information, which include ?How,? Why, ?What and close ended questions are when you want the customer to reach a decision e.g. “Should I switch over your package to 8 MB DSL”
VERIFYING A CUSTOMER Three levels of verification used at call center 1, 2 & 3 Level 1 In level 1 verification only the Name of the customer is to be
verified and it used for calling the customer by his/her name. It delights a customer when we call them by his/her name. Use the customer’s name at least four times during a call.
Thank the customer for verification.
VERIFYING A CUSTOMER Level 2 In level 2 verification the customer usually has a request to
make, thus we need to make sure that an authorized person is making it, with irritating the customer. The customer would have to call from his / her own PSTN(CLI).
We should start with asking the least difficult question next i.e. Sir, Please tell me your name ( you can use this for calling the customer by his/her name. Sir please tell me your billing address.
Level 3 Level 3 verification is for more sensitive requests and ID card of
the customer is also verified. Which should be asked in the end.
VERIFYING A CUSTOMER Things to remember: Verification should start with the least difficult questions. Verification should not sound like interrogation. We should asses the customers situation and decide. At times
customers don’t have NIC with them. Explain to the customer that verification is for their own
good. Thank the customer for verifications. Consult your supervisor if a customer is unable to verify
himself but still insists to get his request processed
TURN ARROUND TIME What is turn around time? At end of each activity we should tell the customer regarding
the turn around time. Sir/Madam, it would take 24-48 hrs. to get this done.
What is the benefit of telling turn around time? By telling the customer how long it would take to get his work
done, it prevents him from calling us back.
DEALING WITH COMPLAINTS
How can I deal with complaints? When dealing with complaints you should think about your
doctor, his or her life is spent dealing with complaints. The rules of complaint handling and diagnosis the doctor applies hold true in other situations as well.
DEALING WITH COMPLAINTS
What are effective ways of dealing with complaints? Listen- It is easy to “switch-off” when some one is going on
and on. But where a complaint is concerned, hearing out your customer not only saves you from an over hasty diagnosis but give you the opportunity of learning something about the customer as well.
DEALING WITH COMPLAINTS
What are effective ways of dealing with complaints? Empathize- The first words the customer wants to listen to
once they have poured themselves out are those of empathy and concern.
Do Not Justify- Once you have listened to the problem don’t spoil by justifying the situation. Curb the tendency to rationalize.
TYPES OF CUSTOMERS
Does every customer have a type? Every customer doesn’t have a type or label. Stereo-typing
customers should be avoided. A minor fraction of the customers who are difficult to handle can be divided in to further types in order to develop skills to handle them better.
TYPES OF CUSTOMERS
What are the main types of those fraction of customers?
Angry & Aggressive Customers Rude Customer Chatter Box
TYPES OF CUSTOMERS
How should I handle an aggressive or angry customer? Maintain a professional distance (In your attitude) and
don’t get personally involved. The anger is not directed towards you but the organization.
Apologize for the specific cause and start doing something about it.
TYPES OF CUSTOMERS What can I do to handle a rude customer?
You should ignore the rudeness and deal with them as any other customer. Remember MR Wart-Hog is an unpleasant person deep inside and is like this to every one. You are not the only person he is or ever will be rude to. Show true professionalism and just stay focused on handling the problem like you would for any other customer. Do not respond to the insults and abuse he may be hurling at you just show concern, ask questions, find a solution as you would for others. Take his abuse and nastiness as you would if he was stammering- That’s just a problem he has, and it is his problem not your!
TYPES OF CUSTOMERS
What is meant by Chatter box customers and how can I handle them? Such types of customers are compulsive talkers and time
wasters but if you attempt to cut them off they will get extremely offended. Keep leading them back to the point every time they start going off track.
GOLDEN RULES OF SERVICES
The customer is always right The customer is the reason you are in business Don’t yourself get so bogged down in paper work and routine
that you lose sight of your departments objective. Fulfilling a customers needs is always more important than
refining your own knowledge of a product of technique
