Holding On...

On-hold recordings are a great way for companies to spread the word about their brand, special deals or to simply play some nice music.

Do YOU know what your callers listen to while they're waiting?  If your customer refers to the on-hold message, will you be able to respond in a knowledgeable, confident way? 

Tip of the week:  Call your office and listen to the message.

That way, should you need to put your caller on-hold, you won’t be surprised by the comments you hear, the deals they want to know more about or the song they're humming when you come back on line!

By the way, if your company message promises dynamic service and your greeting is ho-hum, you’d better step it up!

Short is Not Always Sweet

Sometimes short responses aren’t as helpful as you might have intended. 

Have you ever replied to a query with a quick, efficient 'yes' or 'no'?  While your callers may appreciate your speed, they expect more of an answer in a service environment.

It's as simple as:

Instead of just plain ‘yes’ say, “yes, we can certainly do that for you.”
Instead of just plain ‘no’ say, “we can’t do that, but we can do this…”
 
It’s friendlier to use a complete sentence, even in our fast-paced world.  Don't you agree?

What's In Your Cube?

You spend a lot of time in your cube, so if you have the option to adjust your space, try these ideas:
 
1. Face the door.  Well you probably don’t have an actual door, but it turns out people work best when their back is not ‘exposed’.   Pivot your chair or use a different section of your desk if you can.
 
2. Make your workspace more comfortable.  Simply adding a small fan, an extra light, or a fragrant flower may do the trick.
 
3. Personalize it!  Bring in a picture of a loved one, a vacation spot or a movie poster from American Sniper!  It’s nice to have something visual that's meaningful to you, to help you after a tough call.

Make Today 'WOW Day'

Instead of offering your usual customer service today, aim to really WOW one customer. 

Pick one call and, before you answer the phone, make a point that this will be the caller you give over-the-top, super-duper service to:
* Maybe it will be with your best greeting ever.
* Maybe it will be your outstanding listening and ability to identify their issue quickly.
* Maybe it will be the way you relate to them and prove you understand their frustration.
* Or, maybe it will be an extra service that you offer that solves an issue they are facing.

Whatever it is, decide to be amazing and then blow them away with your personal attention.  Feel free to email me and share the story on what you did.

Happy Easter Monday!

If you, like so many of us, over-indulged in family, friends, and feasting this weekend, you might be feeling a little sluggish today.  Or on a chocolate-and-candy-egg-induced sugar high!

Time to get moving!  Today, aim to walk as much as possible.  Here are a few tips:

- offer to pick up someone else's printing.
- offer to go get a coffee refill for a colleague.
- walk that email up to accounting.
- walk that special order over to dispatch and explain in person what your notes were trying to say.

The goal is simply to move. 

PS - My British colleague Gaynor would like to point out that if you were in the UK right now, you'd have a day off work for a national holiday.  Feeling better? :-)

What's Your Style?

Customers want friendly service, but be sure you're not being too casual.  Be conscious of how your tone and words come across.

Here are some examples of how others make their casual expressions more professional:

• Chick-fil-A responds with: "my pleasure" instead of "no problem."
• Chase asks: "May I have your name so that I can serve you better?" rather than "name please."
• Your company might say "How is your day?" in place of "How's it goin'?"

Tip:  If you are afraid of being too stiff, simply insert the customer's name.  Research shows there's no sweeter sound than our own name....

Send me an email and let me know if you catch yourself being too casual. Share the phrase you can't shake, and let me know if you need help with a re-write.

Communicating well over the phone

An important skill for anyone who provides service over the phone is communication, which includes these 3 elements: credibility, connection, and logic.

 

Credibility means you know your stuff and demonstrate that knowledge.

Tip: Be conscious of any long silences on your calls.  You may very well be looking at their account and working on solutions to their problem, but they don’t know that.  Let them know you're still there by saying something like: “let me look into this for you” or “one moment while I review your account.”

 

Connection means your caller needs to know that you care, that you value their business and that you want to help. 

Tip:  Repeat their concern back to them with empathy.  Try: “I understand how urgent this is..."

 

Logic means your solution has to make sense.  To them.

Tip: Avoid both company and industry jargon.  Speak in plain terms and explain next steps as clearly as possible.

If the answer to: "Can I help you any further today?" is "No, thank you, I understand perfectly."  then give yourself a pat on the back.  Job well done!