At some point in time, you've probably heard a soothing voice on the telephone and felt like talking to that person for hours; conversely, you may have called a company and felt disgusted speaking to their customer service representative.
It is really important to have good phone manners, yet many companies don't make any extra effort to train their employees on basic phone etiquette. Some people simply lack basic phone manners – and this often results in lost revenue, irate customers and lost opportunities.
Unfortunately, many people have stopped respecting others and talking politely. Surveys suggest that a whopping 8 out of 10 Americans don't know how to talk politely and they lack respect and courtesy. It has evolved into a serious national problem.
The fact is that most negative reactions are cased by poor customer service. So if you really want to provide your customers with good service, then you should educate your employees and keep them from saying the following:
- “It's not our policy”- These types of excuses are just poor telephone manners. Customers don't like to be
neglected and they don't care what the policy is — they want their problem to be solved and to feel like the
company cares about them. If an employee cannot fix a complaint, then they should seek help from their manager or
supervisor to find alternatives. - “That's not my department or my job” Everyone working in the company should be ready to be accountable and
field every customer's needs. - “Can you call back”-These words really boggle customers' minds. It keeps them wondering when they should
call back, and why. Nothing is more important than customer service, and this phrase should be avoided.If the problem absolutely cannot be solved on the spot, the employee should take the customer's name and number,
and give an exact time as to when they will receive a return call.
Of all the reasons that customers stop doing business with a company, poor phone manners and lack of customer service is #1. Just as important as knowing what to say is knowing what NOT to say.
