For many customers, their opinion of your business will begin and end with how their calls are answered and handled. A good experience with your answering service can solidify a great customer relationship, while a bad one can cost you a customer and damage your reputation. Here are the must-remember practices when it comes to handling customer calls.
Do Unto Others
What do you expect when you call the companies you do business with, such as your bank or Internet provider or cellular service company? You want to feel like your call is important, you want respect, and, above all, you want to believe that competent people are taking care of the issues that are important to you. Give your callers this type of experience, and your call center will get stellar customer service ratings every time.
Employ and Train for Competency
Sadly, competency (or at least the appearance of it) is gradually slipping away. Customers frequently complain that customer service reps don’t understand their problems or don’t have the knowledge and experience to fix the problems. Work hard to employ the best possible call answerers and assure that they get all the training they need to handle customer questions, complaints, and issues with confidence and competency.
Carefully Manage Caller-Hold Situations
Sometimes it is impossible to avoid putting a caller on hold, but how that situation is handled is important when it comes to customer satisfaction. First, ask if it’s okay to put the caller on hold. Second, give them an option if it’s going to be a long hold, like whether they’d prefer a call back or if they want to listen to music while they wait. If the customer feels like their time is being respected, they’re more understanding about the wait.
Great customer service begins and ends with a qualified call center. Make sure yours is holding up their end of the bargain.
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