If you own or run a call centre and work with a sizeable number of phone agents, today’s blog is for you. Well, all of our blogs are for you, but this one is especially important for your business, in particular. To stand out as top provider of customer service, it’s integral that your phone agents partake in some important customer service practices.
Smile – seriously.
Yes, you’re on the phone and your caller can’t see you. But you’ll generate a big improvement in your tone of voice when you smile during your call. Believe it or not, you just can’t help but sound more pleasant when you’re smiling. MeloTel’s Founder and CEO, John Meloche has long championed the “smile while you’re on the phone” technique. As a former call centre manager, he has a lot of experience helping phone agents sound great!
“Smiles translate through the phone, but should be used at appropriate times,” advises Zendesk.com, “You don’t want your customer service to come off as inauthentic, but you should still always be cordial during conversations. Smile as you would in a face-to-face conversation while responding to questions and conveying necessary information.”
Say my name, say my name!
If you’re hearing the beautiful voice of Beyoncé in your head right now, it’s because the hit Destiny’s Child single, “Say My Name” is as catchy a song as it gets. Keep the tune in mind when providing customer service over the phone and consider each of your callers the Beyoncé of the conversation. Saying a person’s name connotes that you are both respectful and familiar with the individual you’re servicing.
Using a person’s name rather than “sir” or “ma’am” will go a long way in building the rapport necessary to wow your customers. Miruna Mitranescu of Aircall recommends that you listen to your callers to learn how they’d prefer to be addressed. “’This is Dr. Stan.’ (Call him Doctor.),” she advises, “’This is Mrs. Smith.’ (Call her Mrs.) ‘This is Jane Brown.’ (Call her Jane or Ms. Brown, to be safe).”
Communicate what you can do – not what you can’t do.
It’s all in the wording. Surely, you won’t be able to do everything your callers ask. For example, some customers will be so irate about particular mishaps with their orders that they’ll demand they be free of charge. In most cases, you won’t be able to satisfy such requests. But instead of saying “I’m sorry I can’t do that”, offer a more positive response such as, “While I can understand you wanting to eliminate the costs, I’d be happy to offer a significant discount.”
While such statements may not always work like charms, it’s ideal to always offer positive remarks, rather than negative ones. On CallCentreHelper.com, Pinaz Hansotia, the Business Unit Head and Relationship Manager of Seamless Connections suggests that you place a list of “Top Reassuring Phrases” up in your call centre to give phone agents regular reminders of how to positively interact with callers.
Give MeloTel a call for a dose of our customer service. And be sure to ask us about our cloud-hosted Commercial Phone Services. Feel free to dial 1-888-MELOTEL or use the Live Chat feature on our website!
