Hi Dicken,
The key to providing high quality customer service lies in the interaction. We tend to focus on things like handle time, or call openings, or upselling, but these are all incidental to the interaction between agent and customer.
The first thing everyone needs to be coached on is this: the caller is not an alien! We tend to draw a line between us and them, and customers are usually referred to as “The Customer”. This dehumanizes the caller, which carries over into the entire call. We must always remember that there is a human being on the other end of the phone; someone who we would probably have a friendly conversation with should they be in front of us. Keeping this always in mind, our interactions become natural and the conversation flows naturally.
Item two is listening. The limits created by the telephone make it difficult to communicate. Compounding this is the multitasking required by agents. What is critical to the interaction is the ability to focus on what the customer is saying, asking questions to clarify that you understand what the caller means, and communicating that back to the customer before acting. This is not a flow of “So you say...I see, you mean...Ok, you would like me to...” That is a canned flow and irritating as well. However, just because the agent speaks English and the customer speaks English does not mean they can understand each other. The nuances of language are varied and we must always ensure that we can comprehend each other.
Item three: RELAX! The prospect of talking to a stranger on the phone seems to terrify people. Even veteran agents tense when the call comes through. This leads to pre-programmed sentences, such as my pet-peeve, the ever obnoxious and insincere “I certainly do apologise for the trouble you are experiencing and the inconvenience this is creating.” This sort of thing is better found at the end of a shovel at an agricultural operation. All one needs to do is relax and have a conversation. Tips like calling the customer by first name rather than title or surname can make the interaction much smoother. Being confident also puts callers at ease. Even if you do not know the solution, you can easily say “Beats me, Bob. Let’s see if we can found out what’s happening.” You will get much farther with that sentence than with “Do you mind if I place you on hold, Mr. Smith, while I research the issue?”
If there is a unified effect of the call centre industry, it is that it turns us into robots. We utter meaningless phrases, respond like machines, and quote rules and policy. This is why everyone is so angry when calling 800 numbers. Our industry has shredded language and social skills to such an extent that it is almost impossible to communicate. As a quality evaluator, it is essential to coach employees to be what we are: human.
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