Customers call as much as ever – and some things frustrate them enough to leave. Here’s what to avoid.
Commit any of these blunders on the phone, and customers may not contact you at all in the future.
- Failing to call back. Don’t have anything new to tell a customer? Call anyway. Most customers want to know that their issue is on the radar screen and an agent is giving it attention.
- Being unprepared. When agents call customers, they need to be armed with any information they think they’ll need. Being unprepared wastes everyone’s time.
- Using a monotone voice. Agents who use one tone sound distracted or uninterested to customers. Why would customers come back for that?
- Hanging up before customers. That often leads to not hearing one more question or request, which affects callbacks and dissatisfaction.
- Keeping outdated, outgoing voice mail messages. Customers don’t want to hear that you were on vacation two months ago. Change messages when you’ll be out of the office and switch back to the in-office message when you return.
- Using a speakerphone. It’s almost always inappropriate in an office environment where others can hear the conversation.
- Answering at an inappropriate time. If you can’t handle a phone conversation, don’t answer it. For instance, if you’re going into a meeting (or in one), let voice mail take the call.
