Excuses, excuses...

Your customers are calling for help, not excuses.  

These expressions...

• We're short staffed
• The phones are really busy
• My computer is so slow again

...are excuses and, guess what, the customer doesn't care.  They are calling for help.

I'm often told that the customer can relate to our situation and they understand. Hmmm, that's not the point. Did I mention they are calling for help?  

Focus on the caller, their situation and what you are doing to get them a solution.  

• I'm looking into some options now
• Let me research and get back to you
• Bear with me while I pull up your account
• I'll call you back with an estimated time for delivery

Put yourself in their shoes.  Wouldn't you rather hear what they can do vs. what they can't?  

Me too.

Behaving Badly...

Today, I was standing in line at a local business and noticed a sign posted asking customers not to use their cell phones while they wait.   My thoughts: "then make your service faster!"

I know it’s annoying when the customer calls from a cell phone, a speakerphone or is eating lunch when they call you.  But here’s the deal - they are the customer and they get to behave badly.

There is a good chance the only free time to call you is during their lunch break or when they are driving (hopefully using hands-free!).   Perhaps they want to use a speakerphone so that they can take notes or they were expecting to be on hold for a longer time.

This is a good opportunity to practice getting into your customers' shoes.  Try to understand why they are doing what they do; it may help you be a little more patient or improve your service so they behave better.  

Defend vs. Defensive

Getting a lot of price calls?  If so, I hope you are talking value vs. price and sharing how terrific your company is.  But beware!  Sometimes that passion can make you sound defensive.

Here’s how to avoid that trap.

Be prepared.  Work with your office to come up with sound solutions for the price or service concern.  What questions do you want to ask to engage the caller?  How will you explain your different price or package options?  Brainstorm as a team and practice your replies on each other. 

Choose the right tone.  When you are practicing, give each other feedback on your tone of voice.  It’s easy for a little sarcasm or apathy to creep in.  Catch it!

Be appreciative.  When the Customer tells you about a competitive offer, thank them for sharing the information.  It will catch them off guard!

Be patient. These are not quick calls.  Persuading takes time and effort.  Focus on this call not the others that are in the queue. 

What a little more help?  Ask about our webinar Handling Price Concerns.

Please hold

"Let me look into that for you.  Please hold and I'll be back in less than 3 minutes".

Did you like that?  I heard it the other day when I called Delta Airlines, and I liked it.

It sure beats some of the alternatives: "hold on a sec" or "hold for a moment."  And it solves the issue of having to come back to the call every 30 seconds to explain that you are still investigating.

Why not track your average 'on hold' times, set a standard you can beat, and give it a try.  

Let me know how it works. 

Happy is as happy does...

In 1996, Yale professor John Bargh conducted a fascinating study on the power of words.  He organized university students into three groups to unscramble thirty separate five-word sentences.

• One group unscrambled sentences associated with aggression, containing words such as "bluntly", and "disturb."
• Another group unscrambled polite sentences, with words like "courteous"
• The third (neutral) group had words like "exercise" and "prepares"

After the assignment was completed, the students were told to approach the researcher to let him know they were finished; however when they found the researcher, he was already engaged in a conversation (with an actor). The researcher ignored the students until he was interrupted or when 10 minutes had passed.

The results? 

• The polite-word group waited 9.3 minutes before interrupting.
• The neutral group waited 8.7
• And the rude-word group waited only 5.4

More than 80% of the polite-word group waited the full 10 minutes, whereas only 35% of the rude-word group chose not to interrupt. Afterwards, the subjects were interviewed to see if they knew why they did or didn’t intrude, and they couldn’t identify why.

Morale of the story?  Being around negativity makes us act negavitely.  Choose to say yes and today instead of no and enjoy a more positive interaction.

Gabby

Gabby is the name I’ve given my GPS.  Why? Because she is constantly talking at me! If I created a 'word cloud' with all of her instructions, the largest word would be “recalculating.”

You may be wondering why I am sharing this with you.

When a customer calls you for help, it’s like they are asking for directions.  Do you say:

• We don’t go there
• No
• Can’t
• I don't know

Or

Do you clarify? Did you mean Springfield, Il or Springfield, MO?

And offer options?   i.e. Avoid tolls and highways, etc.

Choose your words, offer options and help them get to their destination.

The easier it is to get there, the happier they’ll be.

For you...

When customers are upset, you offer empathy, reassurance and options.  

What do you do when they are REALLY upset?  For example "You people really messed up, this is all wrong!"

This situation calls for empathy, reassurance, options and (here's the secret) the words "for you"

• Let me look into this for you
• Let me resolve this for you
• Let me get some options for you

Two small words with a big impact.  

Happy Thanksgiving to all my Canadian Friends and Family.

What's the difference between American and Canadian Thanksgiving celebrations?  Canadian Thanksgiving is on a Monday, it's about the harvest and the only shopping mob you will find is in British Columbia at the Whistler Blackcomb Turkey Sale.  BTW great deals on Snowboards, Skis and all things related.  Get there early!