Chapter Four Use the Telephone Well for Good Service

Customer Service, 5e Paul R. Timm 2 © 2011, 2008, 2005, 2001 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. Objectives: Know the benefits and drawbacks of telephonic communication. Identify your own telephone use attitudes as well as those of your company. Apply specific action tips on what to do and say when dealing with customers on the phone. Employ specific action tips to better express yourself on the phone. Use specific action tips to be more efficient on the phone. Recognize challenges and opportunities associated with building customer relationships with call centers.

Customer Service, 5e Paul R. Timm 3 © 2011, 2008, 2005, 2001 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. Know the benefits and drawbacks of good telephone communication Many people have never learned the basics of telephone courtesy and effectiveness necessary to convey a good business image. People cannot see the person they are dealing with.

Customer Service, 5e Paul R. Timm 4 © 2011, 2008, 2005, 2001 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. Action Tips for Identifying Telephone Use Attitudes

Customer Service, 5e Paul R. Timm 5 © 2011, 2008, 2005, 2001 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. Check Your Phone Use Attitudes How are your Phone Usage Skills and Attitudes? Pg. 57

Customer Service, 5e Paul R. Timm 6 © 2011, 2008, 2005, 2001 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. Contact and Compare Your Company Call the general contact number of your current employer and ask a routine question “What are your hours?” Compare with a competitor.

Customer Service, 5e Paul R. Timm 7 © 2011, 2008, 2005, 2001 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. Avoid Unnecessary Call Screening

Customer Service, 5e Paul R. Timm 8 © 2011, 2008, 2005, 2001 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. Answer with Professionalism State your name OR your department and your name

Customer Service, 5e Paul R. Timm 9 © 2011, 2008, 2005, 2001 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. Action Tips on What to Do and Say

Customer Service, 5e Paul R. Timm 10 © 2011, 2008, 2005, 2001 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. Answer Promptly and Be Prepared to Handle Calls Place the telephone in a convenient spot Keep frequently called numbers list current Have computer screen, note paper, message slips, and necessary forms handy Use a planner system

Customer Service, 5e Paul R. Timm 11 © 2011, 2008, 2005, 2001 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. Use Courtesy Titles Don’t assume that a caller prefers to be called by his or her first name

Customer Service, 5e Paul R. Timm 12 © 2011, 2008, 2005, 2001 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. Thank People for Calling

Customer Service, 5e Paul R. Timm 13 © 2011, 2008, 2005, 2001 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. Smile

Customer Service, 5e Paul R. Timm 14 © 2011, 2008, 2005, 2001 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. Be Sure the Conversation is Finished before you Hang Up

Customer Service, 5e Paul R. Timm 15 © 2011, 2008, 2005, 2001 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. Handle the Upset Caller with Tact and Skill 1. Understand why they are upset/difficult 2. Diffuse the anger/frustration with statements or questions like: 1. Help me to understand 2. I can understand why you would feel that way 3. What would be a good solution from your point of view?

Customer Service, 5e Paul R. Timm 16 © 2011, 2008, 2005, 2001 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. Action Tips on How to Express Yourself on the Phone

Customer Service, 5e Paul R. Timm 17 © 2011, 2008, 2005, 2001 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. Keep Your Conversation Tactful and Businesslike “Who?”

Customer Service, 5e Paul R. Timm 18 © 2011, 2008, 2005, 2001 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. Speak Clearly and Distinctly

Customer Service, 5e Paul R. Timm 19 © 2011, 2008, 2005, 2001 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. Speak Naturally and Comfortably Use warm, friendly voice tone Use a strong, clear voice Keep variation in the voice Pitch Be mindful of loudness Rate of speech

Customer Service, 5e Paul R. Timm 20 © 2011, 2008, 2005, 2001 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. Do Not Let “Dead Air” Happen Tell the caller what you are doing!

Customer Service, 5e Paul R. Timm 21 © 2011, 2008, 2005, 2001 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. Keep Callers on Track Summarize the call and what has been decided Speak in the past tense Say “thank you for calling” End the call positively

Customer Service, 5e Paul R. Timm 22 © 2011, 2008, 2005, 2001 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. Action Tips for Efficient Use of the Phone

Customer Service, 5e Paul R. Timm 23 © 2011, 2008, 2005, 2001 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. When Calling Others, Ask: “Is This a Convenient Time to Talk?”

Customer Service, 5e Paul R. Timm 24 © 2011, 2008, 2005, 2001 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. Take Messages Cheerfully and Accurately Get the full name and correct spelling Ask for the name of the organization if appropriate Get the full telephone number, including the area code if it’s long distance Say “Thank you” Note the time and date the message was taken

Customer Service, 5e Paul R. Timm 25 © 2011, 2008, 2005, 2001 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. Make Your Greeting Message Efficient Keep your greeting message current Keep your greeting message brief

Customer Service, 5e Paul R. Timm 26 © 2011, 2008, 2005, 2001 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. Learn to Use Your Phone’s Features

Customer Service, 5e Paul R. Timm 27 © 2011, 2008, 2005, 2001 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. Plan Your Outgoing Calls for Efficiency The purpose of your call A list of information you need to get or give

Customer Service, 5e Paul R. Timm 28 © 2011, 2008, 2005, 2001 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. Don’t Let the Telephone Interrupt and Important Live Conversation

Customer Service, 5e Paul R. Timm 29 © 2011, 2008, 2005, 2001 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. Consistently Work to Improve Your Telephone Communications

Customer Service, 5e Paul R. Timm 30 © 2011, 2008, 2005, 2001 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. Call Centers: Building Relationships One Phone Call at a Time “A call center is a department within a company or a third-party organization that handles telephone sales and service. Call centers use [automatic call distributors] to route calls to the appropriate agent.”

Customer Service, 5e Paul R. Timm 31 © 2011, 2008, 2005, 2001 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. Consider This Case Pg Read Case Study and answer questions w/ a partner