There are a wide range of so skills. A number of the popular ones particularly associated with customer service are briefly described below.
Explain what can be done, not what can’t
It is nearly always more constructive to explain to a caller what can be done rather than what cannot. This has been described as spin-doctoring and involves replacing negative information with something more positive eg, ‘Sorry, we don’t have one at the moment’, becomes, ‘A new delivery is arriving tomorrow and we will send one, Mr Jones’.
In Phoneco, training was focused on ‘emotional trigger words’ that conveyed negative associations eg, ‘sorry, no problem, vehicle, premium, and sales training’. These were called RIP words and were prohibited. Instead, they were replaced by positive sexy words including, ‘certainly, rest assured, immediate, and great’.
Problem solving techniques
When products and services are more complex, such as financial services, callers can become frustrated with their own lack of understanding or control of the situation. To avoid misleading, bullying or patronizing the customer the best solution for the agent is to ask, ‘How can I help solve this problem? What would you like me to do? What would make you feel be er? Is there anything else that I can try for you?’. Training in problem solving techniques can also be used to address issues in the call centre itself, for example, where staff use quality circle activities to identify and implement solutions.
Selling skills
Selling can be very demanding particularly when salary is related to sales targets. This o en involves out-bound calls to potential or existing customers, although many organizations now consider most of the calls they receive from customers (ie, in-bound) as an opportunity to cross-sell or up-sell. The skill sets and attitudes of employees who prefer in-bound calls and those who were involved with out-bound calls o en tend to be different. It has also been noted that many employees in each of these categories are reluctant to change from one role to another.
Provide a choice
Giving the caller a number of options provides them and the organization with a number of benefits. Where two choices are suggested by the adviser it is o en the second one callers choose because it is the freshest in their mind. Therefore, if it is anticipated that one option may be more favourable to the caller then this should be used second.
Providing two options or more also gives the impression of choice. This strategy is sometimes used to close a sale where the two options both produce a positive outcome for the seller eg, ‘Would you like it in red or blue?’
Build rapport
Empathy with the customer can be developed through the use of techniques such as neuro-linguistic programming. This encourages the adviser to mirror the caller’s speed, tone and volume. Likewise, vocabulary should be chosen to match that of the caller and there should be careful use of jargon and technical language.
The customer is boss
Read the following dialogue and assess how customer friendly it is:
Mr Khan: The breakdown of the satellite for three days last week resulted in the loss of my television, telephone and internet access. I would like a refund of my annual subscription.
CSR: Now Mr Khan, we can’t refund your annual subscription just for a few days interruption in service. You don’t seriously expect the company to reimburse you for a whole year when you only lost a few days. We aren’t able to authorize that because everyone would want it.
This response has the potential to destroy the relationship with the customer, which may have lasted for many years. Many of the words and phrases in the CSR’s response have the potential to act like an incendiary device and escalate the bad atmosphere, eg:
‘Now Mr Khan’ This is a very patronizing way to address a customer. It is talking down to the customer and treating them like a child.
‘We’ Using the word ‘we’ suggests that the CSR is hiding behind the corporate façade rather than dealing personally with the issue. Using the word ‘I’ indicates that the CSR is making this a personal conversation and will take responsibility for resolving the situation.
‘Just a few days interruption in service’ Three days may not appear to be a long time but that is not for you to judge. Lack of communication services may have serious implications, eg a family member may be in hospital requiring frequent contact.
‘You don’t seriously expect’ This phrase belittles the claim of the customer and suggests that his or her call is frivolous and not important.
‘When you only lost a few days’ The use of the word ‘only’ implies that the three days were insignificant; it is not possible for the CSR to judge how important or not the lost days were.
‘We aren’t able to authorize’ Once again there is the use of ‘we,’ and using ‘authorize’ implies an organizational structure that prevents a refund. In fact, many customers understand that this is just a means of putting off the customer and not really listening to their legitimate complaint.
‘Everyone would want it’ This is not really the concern of Mr Khan since he is interested in his own situation.
In the short paragraph above the CSR has presented at least seven challenges or negative ‘moments of truth’ to Mr Khan. Each of them has the potential to destroy the customer relationship and remove the income stream that comes from this customer. Ultimately, as Sam Walton the founder of Walmart said, ‘It is not the company which pays the employee’s wages it is the customer.’ Walton also said, ‘There is only one boss. The customer. And he can fire everybody in the company from the chairman on down, simply by spending his money somewhere else.’
It is not unreasonable for the customer to expect some degree of reimbursement and the request for a full refund may be a response to the frustration of not having access to any of the services. It may also be an initial negotiating position with Mr Khan expecting a counter-offer. The company should have anticipated calls of this nature and have a policy in place with a range of options rather than leaving it up to the individual responses of the CSR. A much be er and possibly scripted response might be:
CSR: Thank you for your call Mr Khan. We understand the difficulties you have experienced not having access to our services. This was caused by technical problems in the communication between the ground station and the satellite. We would be happy to reimburse you one month’s charge and also provide you ‘free of cost’ access to our premium film channel.
Handling chatty and over-familiar customers
It is not unusual to get customers who wish to chat more than is really necessary. This can actually help develop rapport because it sometimes requires less initiative from the CSR; however, the transaction does need to be completed successfully and in a reasonable time period. Treating them courteously and without negating their feelings takes skill and there are a number of strategies that are useful. Appropriate responses include:
Irrelevant information: when they give superfluous details you might respond:
‘That’s interesting. Could you provide me with your . . .address, etc.’
‘That’s very interesting, now if I could have your reference number. . .’
Personal information: some customers ask for personal information about the CSR: ‘Are you married? Do you have any children’, etc. One swiftway of handling these are to say, ‘I’m sorry, the company doesn’t allow us to give this sort of information.’
Minor requests: some organizations have their ‘regulars’ who call up with minor requests (perhaps seeking a bank balance) but in fact are lonely and are really looking to have a conversation. Company policy may vary about the speed with which these calls are handled. They can o en occur in the evening when call pressure is less and this allows a more considerate approach to be taken.
Callers needing personal help: some callers may be in particular need of medical or even psychiatric support. Those with serious need should be directed to appropriate counselling and support services. It is good practice to have these numbers available.
Transferring customers
In an ideal world, automated call distribution would direct customers to the most appropriate CSR and all their needs would be handled by that one person. However, this is not always possible for a number of reasons including:
Callers may not always select the correct option.
Several different actions may be required.
The CSR may not possess the necessary knowledge to facilitate the transaction, etc.
Where this happens the CSR should not make the caller feel guilty about arriving at the wrong desk. Instead, they should not transfer them immediately, but should explain why and where they are going to be transferred, and if possible give the name of the person to whom they will speak. Before transferring them ask if they are happy with this process eg, ‘I am going to transfer you to our accounts department where they can deal with your enquiry, is that ok?’ This is much more considerate and demonstrates that the customer is in control of what he or she wants to achieve. If the customer says, ‘Yes’ he or she is sanctioning the transfer, or alternatively sometimes people may prefer to call again later.
When the call has been transferred, it is important that customers are addressed with their own name to indicate that the new person dealing with their call knows who they are and, preferably, knows most of their details eg, ‘Hello Mrs Kovak, this is Samira in Dispatches. I understand that you haven’t received . . .’.
Putting customers on hold
If the customer is told, ‘Please, hold for a moment,’ in effect they are being excluded from the process. This can be very off-putting particularly if it happens as soon as the call is answered, where the CSR or receptionist is perhaps dealing with another call or personal caller. Putting someone on hold is inconvenient and they should be asked first whether they agree with the request, eg: ‘I’m just going to put you on hold for a few moments, is that ok?’
Holding time
When a customer is asked to hold, different procedures should be used depending on the length of time a person may be expected to wait. If it is up to a minute then a suitable remark might be: ‘I’m going to put you on hold. I should be a short while/a few moments/a minute. Is that all right?’
If the hold is likely to be longer, one to three minutes, overestimate the time needed. This is done for a number of reasons: first, it may well take longer than you anticipated. Secondly, if the customer expects five minutes and you get back to them in four they will be more satisfied. If you say it will be four minutes and you return in five minutes they will normally be less happy because their expectations were not met. For example, ‘It is going to take about five minutes to find an answer to your question. Would you like to me to call you back, or would you prefer to hold?’
If the expected hold time is more than three minutes many organizations choose to offer a call back. If it is possible, it is courteous to get back to the customer every 30 seconds or so and say, ‘Sorry to keep you waiting, I am currently speaking to our deliveries department.’ ‘Thank you for holding, I’m processing your enquiry.’
Thanking customers for holding is a normal courtesy that conveys respect and o en overcomes any problems with unduly long holds. After all, they want a resolution to their call and will normally be willing and patient for a solution.
