This year I found myself in the middle of a challenging situation that involved two people who were totally irrational. Their mean spirit, ruthless tactics and harsh words made me want to lash out. I began to plot their demise and calculate how I could triumph. I rehearsed clever zingers that would put them in their place and practiced my response to their eventual apologies. And then I woke up! I knew I had to be a calming influence in a tough situation even though every bone in my body wanted to react. Trying to endure verbal assaults without having your own emotions come through
Balancing Quality of Service and Time
Does great customer service take too long? That may depend on your point of view. For any trucking operation,time is money when it comes to drivers and it is a valuable commodity in a customer service department, too. Some managers and CSRs have convinced themselves that using a script takes too long. Others have landed on a number for an appropriate length of a call such as 3 minutes or less in order to be productive and get the phones answered. It is unclear as to where the magic number of 3 minutes has come from, but it is a good starting point for you to use
Time is Money
I recently hopped in the car for what I thought would be a quick 10 minute drive, but because of new road construction it took an additional 20 minutes to get to my destination. I needed to look for an alternate route to go around the construction on my return trip in hopes of making up lost time. Guess what? That alternate route had heavy traffic because everyone had the same idea! 45 minutes was added to a 10 minute trip which meant I was going to be behind by an hour for the rest of the day. Now I had to figure out what task could be pushed back or pushed out to the following
Every Call Counts
Every call counts. Often times in customer service there is a snap judgment on whether the current call needs to be handled completely (and documented) or if it is a call where a quick answer will allow it to end in seconds without much involvement from the CSR. Suppose your customer calls and asks you to confirm which week is their recycling week or when their bill is due. The most common approach for a CSR to take is to give a quick answer and hang up. What are you missing with this approach? The opportunity to update the account information, ask for payment
Customer Service Stays Positive Despite Storms and Viruses
Boston has reportedly received 96 inches of snow this year and I have decided to measure any problems I have to the nightmare they have right now. It was 7 below zero this morning here in Chicago and I am smiling because I am not in Boston. They had severe cold and 96 inches of snow. Viruses may have been plaguing your office and you are finding yourself short staffed. Smile because you could be short-staffed, have 96 inches of snow and freezing temperatures. No matter what comes your way in customer service, you need to prepare and keep a positive attitude.
Service Is The Star
There is something that a customer service representative fears more than an unfriendly voice on the other end of the line and that is an unfriendly voice asking why there was another rate increase. How can you change the attitude in your office from panic to pride? Change their focus. The quality of your service needs to be the star when it comes to having the rate for service challenged by a customer or your competition. Providing a clear strategy and direct answers will help your CSRs and sales representatives handle even the most difficult customers
Scripts Work Best When…
I have the pleasure of coaching CSRs over the phone. The ultimate goal of our time together is to raise their Tooty scores. I usually begin by asking, “How do you use your script right now? Do you have it somewhere that allows you to refer to it at a glance or do you write on a script during the call?” The majority of CSRs will confess that they have the scripts in a folder or taped to the wall, but don’t actually use them.
Would your CSRs say scripts work best when-
A) Used as a coaster for a coffee mug
B) Used as a magnet to capture flies and dust bunnies
Your Customer Interaction Number- It’s Basic Math
We all have numbers that we watch intently because at some point those numbers will affect our lives. You could be focused on the score of a football game, the balance of your bank account or the winning lottery numbers. But, if I asked you what your customer interaction numbers have been for the last 3 days, would you know? There are two very important reasons why you need to know these details; they determine staffing needs and ultimately whether you are providing the type of service your customer expects.
How to determine your Customer Interaction Numbers
Retention
In training, we try to encourage the CSRs to think like an investigator. That means that they are actively listening to what a customer says and considering those details to contain clues on what is really going on behind the scenes. Those clues indicate what questions should be asked next to really understand the situation. Without probing further a CSR is sure to handle the customer call ineffectively and you may end up with a written letter of cancellation in tomorrow’s mail.
In a recent secret shopper campaign, we called offices around the country and asked how much notice was
Taking Short Cuts
Often it’s the little things that make the biggest difference not only to our customers, but in our working relationships with others. It can be all too easy to give ourselves permission to take short cuts. Maybe your short cut has to do with making blind transfers, not doing proper documentation in notes or only doing your best if you think it is a secret shopper call. Every time you take a short cut it chips away at your integrity and has the potential to cause pain for someone else.
Transferring Calls:
You may not have a script for
