Chapter Four

Use the Phone Correctly for

Good Service

PHONE RESPONSIVENESS
CAN ENHANCE CUSTOMER
LOYALTY

Copyright ©2014 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 4-1

 Learning objective 1:
Know the benefits and drawbacks
of telephone communication

WHAT NOT TO DO!

➢ How would you feel?
➢ What did the CS agent do wrong?
➢ What did the CS agent do right?

Copyright ©2014 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 4-2

What can negate the advantages
of telephone communication?

 Employees unaware of basic phone

professionalism that are needed to convey good
business image
 We cannot see the person we are dealing with
 Absence of visual cues needed to reinforce or clarify
messages

Copyright ©2014 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 4-3

 Learning objective 2:
Identify your own phone use
attitudes and those of your company

HOW OFTEN DO YOU….

1) Procrastinate calling someone, or fail to return a call?
2) Answer the telephone with a curt or mechanical greeting?
3) Let the phone ring, hoping the caller will go away?
4) Save travel time by calling for information?
5) End the conversation by summarizing what was agreed upon?
6) Solicit feedback about your customer service by phone call?
7) Put people on hold for more than a few seconds?
8) Have someone else place your calls for you?
9) Consciously smile as you speak?
10)Speak clearly and in pleasant, conversational tones?

N = Never R= Rarely S = Sometimes O = Often A = Always

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 Learning Objective 3:
Apply action tips for dealing with
customers on the phone

Copyright ©2014 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 4-5

Action tips for phone use professionalism

1) Check your phone use attitudes

 Do you see the phone as an annoyance instead of an
opportunity?

2) Contact and compare your company

 Phone call is often first customer contact. Is the impression a
good one?

3) Avoid unnecessary call-screening

 Let customers get to correct person quickly

Copyright ©2014 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 4-6

 Action tips on what to say and do

4) Answer with professionalism

 Identify self
 Offer to help

5) Answer promptly; be prepared

6) Use courtesy titles

 Opt for more formal “Mr.” or “Ms” before assuming first name
use

Copyright ©2014 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 4-7

 Action tips on what to say and do

7) Thank people for calling

8) Smile!
 (use a mirror?)

9) Be sure conversation is finished before hanging up

Copyright ©2014 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 4-8

 Action tips on what to say and do

10) Handle upset caller with tact and skill

 Recognize that they may have feelings like these:
 They are not valued or important
 They are helpless
 “It” just isn’t fair (whatever “it” may be)

 Diffuse the anger, frustration

 “Help me to understand . . .”
 “I can see why you might feel that way”
 “What would be a good solution from your point of view?”

Copyright ©2014 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 4-9

 Learning objective 4:
Employ action tips to better
express yourself on the phone

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 Action tips for expressing yourself

11) Keep conversation tactful and businesslike

 Develop sensitivity to word choices
 Make a list of good, bad phrases
 Avoid abrupt, unprofessional phrases

12) Speak clearly and distinctly

13) Speak naturally and comfortably

14) Do not let “dead air” happen

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 Action tips for expressing yourself

15) Keep callers on track

 Use bridging techniques (p.69)
 Close call by

 Summarizing what has been decided

 Speaking in the past tense
 Saying “thank you for calling”
 End the call on positive note

Copyright ©2014 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 4-12

 Learning objective 5:
Use action tips to be more
efficient on the phone

Copyright ©2014 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 4-13

 Action tips for efficient phone use

16) For outgoing calls ask “is this a good time to talk?”

17) Take messages cheerfully and accurately

18) Make your greeting message efficient

19) Learn to use your phone’s features

Copyright ©2014 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 4-14

 Action tips for efficient phone use

20) Use hold button and call transfer correctly

21) Plan outgoing calls for efficiency

 Be clear about purpose of your call
 Have list of information you’ll need to get or give

22) Don’t let telephone interrupt an important live

conversation

Copyright ©2014 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 4-15

 Learning objective 6:
Recognize challenges and
opportunities with call centers

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 Call Centers

 Integral part of customer care strategy

 Use designated contact specialists
 Easier to monitor and check quality

 Receive more intensive training for customer interaction

 Can overemphasize “economy”

 Sometimes quick call handling is not what customer wants

 Focus on short call times can damage relationship-building

Copyright ©2014 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 4-17

 Final Thoughts

 Telephone use offers advantages and limitations.

 Be aware of both!

 Poor telephone use can have a dramatic negative

impact on a company’s success—
 AND is a huge turnoff!
 Positive attitudes and winning phone techniques
build stronger relationships with customers

Copyright ©2014 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 4-18