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Superior Phone Skills

06-Apr-2000, Number 40

I presently have the privilege of working for three months in one of Perth's major call centres - a helpline for a bank. The level of skill required to handle the vast range of calls received from customers is complex and high and the need to give superior customer service paramount. As we all have to answer and communicate over the phone I thought I'd go through some of the skills we've been working on - in case it helps you too. We'll cover some foundation skills here and look at ways to deal with more complex or difficult calls in future newsletters.

The very first thing you say when answering a call is crucial for setting the tone of the whole call. Sounding welcoming and approachable is essential from the very beginning.

Ways to do this include:

	Giving a greeting of some sort, e.g. "Good Morning", or "Welcome to ..." (followed by the name of your organisation.)
	Identifying who you are, e.g. by giving your first name at least, and sometimes both names. This helps the caller immediately. I'm surprised how many people, especially on home phones, just say, "Hello" and leave callers feeling awkward and having to ask to whom they're speaking.
	Research shows that it leaves the best impression when you say, "This is ...." (your name) and then nothing else afterwards. There is no need to say, "This is Rachel Green speaking" unless of course your surname is Speaking. The same applies to "Rachel Green here." It sounds odd on the phone.

Personalise the call. Make it obvious to callers that you know whom you are talking to and that you care enough to acknowledge them. Do this by using their names correctly.

Some tips for doing this include:

	Listen carefully to the very beginning of the call to hear any names that people use to introduce themselves. It's easy to miss them because you're listening to what follows next.
	When you hear their names write them down so you can remember them during calls.
	Use whatever names they give you. So if I call you and say, "Hi it's Rachel Green," then it would be appropriate to call me Rachel. Do not assume I want to be called Mrs Green if I haven't introduced myself with a title. If however, I say, "Good morning, it's Mrs Rachel Green", then call me "Mrs Green" and not "Rachel".
	Use a caller's names appropriately 3 or 4 times in a conversation. Don't over-use it at the end of each sentence, this sounds insincere. Good places to use it are at the opening greeting, on saying goodbye and somewhere in the middle, e.g. when saying thanks for something, when returning from placing the caller on hold, and so on.
	Use your own name so that the people on the other end clearly know whom they are talking to. If you get your name mispronounced, try saying it more clearly, particularly the last sound in your name, e.g. the "d" in "Brad", the "n" in "Helen," and see if people get it right more often.

Sound helpful. I've phoned people and found I've had to work hard to obtain information. Being helpful and initiating the provision of information can leave a much better impression than your only answering callers' questions.

Here are ways to be helpful:

State openly that you can help even if it seems you are stating the obvious, e.g. "I can help you," or "I'd like to help you sort this out," or "You've come through to the right person, I can help you with that."

Offer information before the person has to ask for it. For example if the caller wants to speak to someone who is not in the office, instead of just saying, "I'm sorry Clive isn't available", offer more information such as when Clive would be available or your willingness to pass on a message to him. So it may sound something like, "I'm sorry Clive is unavailable at the moment, he will be available by 3.00 pm, would you like me to give him a message for you?" This can be done at home as well as at work.

What impression do you leave on the phone? If you're in business the first contact anyone makes with you can be over the phone. Whoever answers the phone therefore needs to do it well. Otherwise callers may never make it to the next step of using your business.

Want to learn more? We have customised courses.

Enjoy answering your phone. The way you relate on the telephone may indicate the way you relate to people elsewhere in your life. That is certainly what your callers assume anyway.

Rachel