![\"Call](\"https:\/\/www.customerservicemanager.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/callcenterman.jpg\")
\nFind out if your telephone customer service is winning or losing customers by making a \u201cmystery call\u201d.<\/strong><\/p>\n If your customers aren\u2019t impressed by you or your co-workers on the telephone, they can switch businesses by merely hanging-up and dialing the competition. So, your telephone skills can have a significant impact on your business and your career.<\/p>\n To find out how you and your co-workers are perceived, take this telephone test. While you\u2019re at it, have a friend make a \u201cmystery call\u201d to see how your fellow employees measure up.<\/p>\n 1. How long does it take you and\/or your switchboard operator to answer the phone?<\/strong><\/p>\n a) 5 rings or less After two rings, callers are wondering what\u2019s going on. Your phone should be answered in-person by the second ring or by your voice-mail system by the fourth ring.<\/p>\n 2. Do you answer your phone with any of the following?<\/strong><\/p>\n a) \u201cHello.\u201d All of these greetings have flaws. A, B, and C are too abrupt and don\u2019t provide enough information. D is too wordy and dissuades callers from identifying themselves because it encourages them to get to the point rather than saying their name. Plus it forces you to check the clock to see if it\u2019s before or after noon. A better greeting is, \u201cThank you for calling ABC Company. This is John.\u201d If you are taking a call that\u2019s transferred to you, then always identify yourself as you wished to be addressed. Whether you choose to identify the department is optional.<\/p>\n 3. Have you ever said, \u201cPlease hold\u201d to a caller?<\/strong><\/p>\n a) yes Never put a caller on-hold without asking for their permission, and then waiting for their response. Putting customers on hold without their consent is a sure-fire formula to lose customers.<\/p>\n 4. How long does it take a person on hold to become annoyed?<\/strong><\/p>\n a) 2 minutes Studies show that after only 17 seconds, callers on hold become annoyed. The exception is when the greeter explains why the caller is being asked to hold and provides the estimated time required. Knowing beforehand how long they can expect to wait reduces the chance of annoyance, particularly among long distance and cellular phone callers. Another option to prevent frustration is to offer the caller the option of either holding or hanging up and having their call returned within a brief, specific time period.<\/p>\n 5. When you\u2019re talking on the phone while a visitor walks in, who gets priority?<\/strong><\/p>\n a) the visitor The person who made the effort to show up in-person gets priority. That means you need to interrupt the caller. The quickest way to get that caller\u2019s attention is to call their name. \u201cGeorge, I have someone who just walked in, can I ask you to hold for a moment?\u201d Wait for their agreement. Then acknowledged the visitor, tell them you\u2019ll be a moment, and wrap-up your telephone conversation.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re talking to customer in person when the phone rings, then get someone else to answer the phone, or use voice mail. Abandoning customers to answer the phone is downright rude and is a guaranteed way to lose customers. As obvious as this seems, it\u2019s one of the most common blunders in customer service.<\/p>\n 6. When receiving a call for a co-worker, how are you most likely to respond?<\/strong><\/p>\n a) \u201cSusan\u2019s not in right now, so I\u2019ll have to take a message.\u201d All of these statements have flaws that make the greeter sound unhelpful and unprofessional. Consider each response.<\/p>\n Response a)<\/strong> The statement, \u201cI\u2019ll have to take a message,\u201d makes it sound like an inconvenient chore. Instead, change two words: \u201cI\u2019ll be happy to take a message.\u201d The bonus is that you don\u2019t work any harder but you convey the impression of someone with a terrific customer service attitude.<\/p>\n Response b)<\/strong> It\u2019s completely irrelevant that the co-worker is at lunch. The caller might be thinking, \u201cThat\u2019s a long time to be at lunch!\u201d It\u2019s also irrelevant whether your coworker is \u201cin a meeting\u201d or \u201cwith a customer\u201d or \u201cbusy\u201d. The only relevant information is they\u2019re not coming to the phone. Therefore, \u201cSusan is not available right now\u201d is the most appropriate response, followed by, \u201cI\u2019d be happy to take a message.\u201d<\/p>\n Response c)<\/strong> Asking a caller to phone back later gives the impression that you\u2019re too lazy or disorganized to take a message. This gives a potential customer a terrific excuse to call your competitor. \u2018Nuff said.<\/p>\n The training solution<\/strong><\/p>\n If you\u2019re like most managers and business owners, you\u2019ll probably find that when you assess the phone practices within your organization, there\u2019s room for improvement. The good news is that with just a little training, it\u2019s easy to develop the skills that ensure that your customers keep coming back.<\/p>\n About the Author<\/strong><\/p>\n Jeff Mowatt is a customer service strategist, Hall of Fame speaker, and bestselling author. This article is based on Jeff\u2019s bestselling book, Influence with Ease. You can obtain your own copy of his book or to inquire about engaging Jeff for your team at\u00a0www.jeffmowatt.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Find out if your telephone customer service is winning or losing customers by making a \u201cmystery call\u201d..<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":337,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[2],"tags":[50],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.customerservicemanager.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18054"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.customerservicemanager.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.customerservicemanager.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.customerservicemanager.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/337"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.customerservicemanager.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18054"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.customerservicemanager.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18054\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18059,"href":"https:\/\/www.customerservicemanager.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18054\/revisions\/18059"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.customerservicemanager.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18054"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.customerservicemanager.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18054"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.customerservicemanager.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18054"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nb) 3 rings or less
\nc) under three rings<\/p>\n
\nb) \u201c(Company name only)\u201d
\nc) \u201c(last name only)\u201d
\nd) \u201cGood afternoon, this is (your full name), how can I help you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\nb) no<\/p>\n
\nb) 30 seconds
\nc) 1 minute
\nd) 17 seconds<\/p>\n
\nb) the caller<\/p>\n
\nb) \u201cSusan\u2019s still at lunch. Can I take a message?\u201d
\nc) \u201cSusan\u2019s should be back soon. Could you call back in about 15 minutes?\u201d<\/p>\n