Put Your Positive Pants On

via GIPHY

That was the quote posted at the gym this morning, and it's very fitting for the office.  There are so many things that are out of your control (the caller's issue, the weather, the volume of calls) and that can make it hard to bounce back between calls. 

Here are some tips to build resilience so that you can stay positive. 

Try this for physical resilience:

• Stand up and walk three steps from your desk then back again.  

Can’t do that?

• How about extending your arms up in the air or standing up and striking a victory pose?

Repeat as needed.  
Those movements will build your physical resilience which can help you stay in control of you. 

Try this for mental resilience:

• Snap your fingers 50 times.  Yes, exactly 50 times.  Count ‘em.  Go.    

Can’t snap?

• Then count down from 100.

Let me know which one you tried and how it worked for you.  

For more information on these tips watch Super Better by Jane McGonigal on Ted Talks.

Hurry up!

Companies like Uber, Pizza Hut, Grubhub, and Amazon are experts at keeping us informed and we love that. But, it fuels our impatience and feeds our desire for immediate gratification. 

“Instant gratification is the desire to experience pleasure or fulfillment without delay or deferment. Basically, it’s when you want it; and you want it now. Instant gratification is the opposite of what we’ve been taught and try too hard to practice — delayed gratification.”

— The Psychology of Instant Gratification. www.entrepreneur.com/article/235088

Customers want what they want - when they want it.  What can you do about it?

1. Manage expectations well by replacing  'Hold on a sec., A.S.A.P., end of day, and right away' with expressions such as: 

"This may take 3-5minutes to investigate. Would you like to hold or should I call you back?" or "Let me look into this and call you in 2-hours with some options."

2. Reply to emails upon receipt to let the customer know you've received their request and are working on it. (Be sure to let them know when to expect a solution.)

3. Offer a strong closing.  Instead of 'buh-bye', use their name, thank them, and tell what to expect next; a phone call, email, or visit, and of course, when to expect that action.

Customers are impatient, to offer outstanding service, manage their expectations.

Are you at work today?

Kidding aside, thank you for covering the phones and making customers smile.

Happy Labor Day!

Words Matter Too

Your body language impacts your tone of voice and that has a huge impact on your conversations.  But your words also have an impact on how your customers feel.

Turns out the words customers like the most are:

• Delighted
• Absolutely
• Pleasure
• Happy
• Understand
• Yes

Here’s a way to add some fun to your day and to make their day.

Make a list of these words and see how often you can use them with your customers.  Sort of a happy-word-bingo game!


Tip:   The goal isn’t to use them in one sentence, but if you can, please send me that sentence I’d love to see it!

Putting tough calls in perspective

Look, up in the sky! It's a bird, it's a plane...

No, it's the eclipse! So don't look up unless you've got your specialized Solar Eclipse CE and ISO Certified viewer and filter glasses for safe solar viewing.

The last time I heard so much pre-excitement and concern about an upcoming & timed event, it was the Y2K bug. But that one turned out okay.  

The eclipse, similarly, is causing customer service concerns, such as Hertz cancelling eclipse-related car rentals using robocalls, surge pricing on hotels and Airbnb, delivery exception notifications from Fedex, school closing, and more.  

If you need to take a breather today, check out NASA's live streaming of the eclipse. It's safer than going outside, and it will put any rough customer calls into perspective.

And that guy in the sky? That was Superman. Channel your inner Superman and make even your toughest callers happy. 

Take Charge and Set the Tone

Participants in our training classes tell us stories of how they are treated over the phone and I agree no-one deserves to be interrupted, yelled at or disrespected. 

My recommendation is to take the high road. 

When you pick up the phone, build credibility and set the tone with helpful words and an upbeat voice.

How do you want to sound?  Maybe calm and competent, or professional and pumped?  You can do it!

Write down the words you'd like others to use when they describe you, post those words by the phone, sit up tall, read those words and say your greeting.  Own it!

Don't let the day or the caller bring you down.  Choose to set the tone with your tone.

Guest or Interruption?

When the phone rings, what is your first response?

1. Darn, I'm in the middle of something!
2. Arrggh, what now?
3. Hmm, I wonder what they need and how I can help?

I hope you chose number 3, 'cause what you say to yourself sets the tone for the interaction.

This week, each time the phone rings:

• Stop what you are doing (people over tasks)
• Choose to think something positive
• Then greet that caller as a guest.

At the end of the day, take a moment to reflect on your calls and notice how much better your interactions unfolded.