Telephone Etiquette Nz1

8/14/2019 Telephone Etiquette Nz1

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TE LE HO NE ETI QU ETTE



Structure of the

presentationBasics

Why is it important

What it does for your customersBarriers to concentration

Limitations of telephone

Answering the phone

Call transfer

How to take a message

Case studies



Telephonic Skills

The essence of dealing withpeople, politely and efficiently,

over the phone



WHY ????

A friendly welcome sets thestage for a positive exchange

of information

When callers receive a friendly

greeting, they are inclined totalk more openly



What it does for your

CustomersThis is emphatically reassuringand puts the customer at ease

Tells him/her that you care

It shows that you’re friendly

It demonstrates to thecustomer that you are focusingon them



Why??

It’s a basic courtesy

People who do 2 things at a

time don’t do either one verywell

When you split your attention,

you’re likely to lose somethingimportant the customer says



Barriers to

ConcentrationInternal• The mind can process information

faster than most people talk The mind has a habit of

wandering

Pre -occupation



BARRIERS TO EFFECTIVE

COMMUNICATIONEmotional Barriers

Verbal Barriers

Mechanical Barrier



EMOTIONAL BARRIERS

ATTITUDELack of interest

Negative personalityPreconceived ideas

TIME PRESSURE

OverworkedNo time to prepare

No time to take notes

Failing to pass messages



VERBAL BARRIERS

VOICE

Too high

Too low

Too monotonous

WORDS

Too fast

Too slow

Too much of jargon

Complicated

Negative

Too much “I” &

SPEECH

Dialect

LanguageSlang

Swearing

No questions



MECHANICAL BARRIERS

Unable to see the object of discussion.

Faulty Equipment.Incorrect use of equipment.

No writing material at hand.

Distractions

NoisePeople

Weather

Interruptions

Another phone / fax / telex



The Moral

Give the caller your undividedattention

Focus on what the caller issaying

Avoid distractions

Do one thing at one time



Practices to Avoid

Avoid interrupting thecustomer. When you interrupt,

you aren’t listening

Let the customer talk, if you’re

doing the talking, you wontlearn anything

Let the customer finish what



Facts vs. AssumptionsNormally followan observationwhich provides

the evidenceleading to thefact

Can be proven

Leads to an

agreement

Can be made atany time withinsufficientevidence or noevidence at all

May not beproven

Leads to andisa reement



The Moral

Don’t interrupt. Let thecustomer finish what they

start to say

Stick to the facts. Avoid

assumptions

Remain objective. Don’t jump

to conclusions



Let ‘Em Hear you

Listening



The customer's side

When a customer does nothear verbal feedback he might

think:“ I have been disconnected or put

on hold”

“ They’re just not interested”

“ My call isn't important to theseeo le”



Why ??

In face-to-face conversations,you can give visual, signals,

such as a nod or a raisedeyebrow

There are no visual signals onthe phone.If you don’t giveverbal feedback to show you’re

listening, they wont know you



VISUAL

ACTIONS

EXPRESSIONS/GESTURES

POSTURE/WRITTEN FORM

PICTURE/APPEARANCE



VERBAL

The words we use:Dynamic words

Comforting wordsWeakening,sensitive/risky words

Words that paint pictures……..



VOCAL

TONE

PITCH

RATE

VOLUME

DICTION

ACCENT



FACE TO FACE

Visual

55%

Vocal

38%

Verbal

7%



TELEPHONE

16%

Verbal

Vocal 84%



What is Verbal

feedback?Verbal feedback are a varietyof short responses that let the

caller know that you’relistening and paying attention

Verbal feedback responsesinclude expressions like “AllRight”, “I Understand”, “I’m

making a note of that right”



The Bottom Line

Give verbal feedback clues tolet the customer know you’re

listening

Use a variety of clues to avoidsounding bored or mechanical



Notes

Making notes is recommended.The human memory is notperfect

Written notes give you arecord of the customer’s nameand message

Tools to carryPaper for taking notes

a pen or a pencil



Effective and Easy Note

- TakingRemember writing takes longerthan saying it

A good idea is to develop anabbreviations system for quick use

Remember to prioritize information

Always remember the objective of the call …..this will help you sort

what information you would want totake note of



The Next Step

Paraphrase/Rephrase Read themback to the customer. Tell thecustomer what he/she said in ourown words

If the customer changes anything

correct your notes and promptlyread them back

Helps you get the right information



Lets Revise

Always have a paper andpen/pencil by every phone

Use a system of abbreviationsto make note taking easier and

effective

Repeat or rephrase the

message back to the customer



Basics of Service on thePhone

Answering the Telephone

Putting callers on hold

Transferring a call

Ending a call



How to answer the

phoneThe way a company picks upthe phone tells the entire story

about the kind of service youcan expect to receive

How you answer the call sets

the pace & toneof the entire call



How to put a customer on holdHow to put a customer on hold

Putting a customer on hold is a frequently faced

situation, and more than often escalates to great

levels

The etiquette for putting your customers on hold

will help you avoid becoming confused and be

fuddled and thereby avoid the several negativemoments of truth that customers associate with

the telephone



Ask the customers Ask the customers

if you may put them on holdif you may put them on holdBecause it is an

inconvenience to your

customers to be put on hold,you should always ask

permission before putting

them on hold

Does anybody know I’m here?Have I been forgotten?

Why is this taking so long?Should I hang up?

#*%*#



Wait for a responseWait for a response

“Can you hold”click is a situation so common that

customers might be surprised to see you waiting for a

response.

The second part of of putting someone on hold is to

wait for a positive response from the customer’s side.

As soon as the customer agrees to hold say “Thank You”

before clicking off



Tell the customersTell the customers ‘Why’’ ‘Why’’

Most customers are very patient if they are politely

informed as to why they must hold.They find it easier

and comfortable to wait on hold if they have a mentalpicture of what’s the service associate is doing while

away from the phone



Give a time frameGive a time frameGiving the customer a time frame helps kill theI-have-been-forgotten factor and has a calming effect.

How specific the time frame needs to be depends on

the length of time you think your customer might have

to hold.Here are three examples with a suggested pathof action. When the time for holding is

Short(up to 60 seconds) - This will take a few mome

Long(1-3 minutes) This could take me 2 or 3 minute

Are you able to hold?



Thank the customer for holdingThank the customer for holding

Saying “ Thank You” for holding is very basic,

Good and common courtesy.This action nicely rounds

off the on-hold sequence and acknowledges the caller’s

understanding and patience



RERE

How to put a customer on hold

Tell the customers ‘Why’’

Ask the customers

if you may put them on hold

Give a time frame

Wait for a response

Thank the customer for holding



How to Transfer a callHow to Transfer a call

Customers are prone to be least tolerant

when being transferred over and over

again.To customers this means that thestaff is too overwhelmed to care or

the company just doesn’t care for them



Explain why the call is beingExplain why the call is being

TransferredTransferredThe customer’s basic questions are

“where am I going?

who am I going to?”

By informing your customers whom they arebeing transferred to and why, you are answeringone of the most basic questions

Also if a customer gets disconnected he can call bacand ask for the person by name



Ask if the customer minds Ask if the customer minds

being transferredbeing transferred

Customers get angry if transferred, when they

don’t want to be.Sometimes after being transferred

several times a customer may just want to leave amessage

If the person is calling on a cellular phone this

might be an expensive proposition

Always ask if a customer minds being transferred



Ensure someone is there to pick up the callEnsure someone is there to pick up the call

before hanging upbefore hanging upThe simple step saves the customer the frustration

to be transferred to someone who is not there

By staying on the call till the recipient picks up,

you are being responsible for connecting customers

to a person who can help them



RERE

How to transfer a callHow to transfer a call

Explain why the call is being

TransferredAsk if the customer minds

being transferred

Ensure someone is thereto pick up the call before hanging up

Tell the person the customer’s

name an purpose of call



Ending the c allnding the c all

The ending is one the most critical part of theconversation

The last 30 seconds of the call is what leaves the

maximum impact on a customer’s mind

It is critical to always end on a positive note

‘I always remember the last thing I heard.’



Key actions for Ending

the callRepeat any action steps thatyou and the customer have

agreed uponAsk the caller if you can doanything else for him/her

Thank the customer for callingand appreciate his effort andtime

Let the caller hang up first

Documents

Telephone Etiquette Nz1