How To Improve Call Center Effectiveness

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By Piyush Bakshi

One thing that customer service call centers dread is customer backlash and this is something that is becoming all too common for call centers all over the world. Disgruntled customers choose to do business with a rival instead of you because you could not offer them the after-sales service that you promised. When customers consider their trust to be breached their reactions include a poor perception of your company, reduced likelihood of doing business with your company, and almost no chance of recommending your company to a friend.

Customer call centers invite trouble when they deviate from the maxim that an existing customer who has paid good money deserves respect; ironically most businesses are aware that it's easier to retain a customer than go for a new one.

Poor customer perception of business call centers is not industry-specific. Its spread across industries covering businesses of all sizes. Too often, businesses lose sight of customer requirements and in an effort to improve operational efficiencies they cut corners and try to reduce costs. This affects call center performance.

If you are running a call center, you should know where the trouble lies; here are some of the issues that are pet customer peeves

Having to make more than one call and then talking to more than one customer representative

Having to stay on hold, deal with IVRs and a menu that is anything but easy to use.

The absence of dedicated executives, so that each call is a new beginning where the problem has to be explained afresh.

Poorly trained executives who more often than not escalate the issue to their seniors while you are put on hold.

If you wish to improve your customer's experience when interacting with your call center, here are a few things that you need to understand -

Time and effort devoted to offering customer service should not be viewed as an avoidable cost, also your call center is not a cost center it is a profit center which if run properly will get you a very quick ROI on what you put into it. It also means that you have to select your call center

A successfully closed issue helps a great deal in retaining a customer.

Only trained staff can deliver consistent results so focus on training the staff, quality control. Attrition can prove to be a drain on your resources so work on retaining the experienced and talented staff.

Remember there are a lot of intangibles and trifles that lead to improved customer call center performance which in turn enables you to achieve sales conversions. Empathize with your customer and you will be handsomely rewarded for it. Do not forget that it also means that you have to carefully select your call center CRM application.

Piyush Bakshi is a full-time content provider working with Gate58 which owns http://www.vendordemo.com

Putting the "Service" Back in "Customer Service"

by: pianopl123
 The future of customer service is here. Technology has made seeking out support faster and easier than ever. But, has your digital age company sacrificed true service in the name of automation?

Today, finding customer support is as simple as writing an e-mail or picking up the phone. But, even though you're not face-to-face with your customers, you still leave a lasting impression. Do you come across as caring and competent, or menacing and mechanical?

Offering stand-out service on the Internet isn't as hard as it is rare. Take these simple steps towards old-style service in the digital age:

Give Each Customer a Personal Response
Be Clear, But Sincere
Offer Live Customer Support
Make Sure Your Support Reps Have All the Answers

Give Each Customer a Personal Response
When a customer sits down to e-mail your company, it's because he needs help. He chooses e-mail because it's quick, but his request still warrants a satisfying and personal response!

Companies eager to save time and money often take automation too far in their customer support. Each customer has a unique question, and deserves a unique answer. Even if you save time by copying and pasting stock replies, change the opening and closing to make the message sound less robotic.

Be Clear, But Sincere
When responding to customers' e-mail, be sincere and to the point. Before sending a message, try turning the tables. Ask yourself, "Would this answer satisfy me if I were the customer?"

Take that extra moment to give your customer the help he deserves. It might mean the difference between a satisfied customer and a credit card chargeback!

Offer Live Customer Support
E-mail has become an acceptable form of communication. But, live customer support is still necessary. The plethora of information available online can be overwhelming to customers, especially those new to the Internet!

Single your company out from the crowd by providing customers with a real person to talk to. Live phone support is an invaluable way to foster trust. When your customer has reached the end of his Internet rope, and just needs help, your toll free number is the answer he's looking for.

Make Sure Your Support Reps Have All The Answers
The presence of phone support will do no good if your staff doesn't know your product! Customer support reps should be warm and friendly, and willing to help with any aspect of your product.

What a good feeling it is to talk to someone who feels confident in his product. It's even better if he's knowledgeable enough to solve your problem without transferring you all around the company!

Provide Stand-Out Service; Gain Lifelong Customers
Too many e-businesses skimp on customer service, hiding behind web sites and message boards. Customer support is an integral part of every company, even those operating solely online. Be one of the few to offer stellar service, and gain customers for life!

Article Source: http://www.ArticleStreet.com/

How to Help a Boss Who Holds Bad Meetings

By Steve Kaye

Suppose your boss consistently holds bad meetings, but doesn’t seem to recognize that this is a problem.

What can you do?

Here are some possibilities.

First, be careful. Some bosses consider any type of coaching to be an attack on their performance. Then they become defensive. If this is the case, you may have to endure bad meetings held by your boss. Attempting to help such a boss could damage your career.

However, if your boss is friendly and open to suggestions, any of the following ideas may work.

1) Offer to help with some small part of a meeting that would make the process more effective. For example, you could prepare the agenda for a meeting. As part of this task, ask your boss questions such as, “What is your goal for the meeting?” “What result do you want to have at the end?” “What do you think is the best way to accomplish that result?” etc.

2) You can also (conversationally) ask guiding questions such as those listed in #1 above when your boss schedules a meeting. Even if you boss refuses to answer them, these questions will make him think about his goal for the meeting. And that can help him work more effectively.

3) Give your boss a book on effective meetings as a gift. Tell him that you bought it after hearing another manager brag about how much it has helped (e.g., earn a raise, get promoted, be complimented by senior management).

4) Conversationally (such as during lunch) mention that you read an article about meetings that told about a “really great” technique for . . . . (something such as preparing an agenda, or making decisions, or etc.). Offer to give your boss a copy.

5) Confront your boss directly with an idea, such as “I think our meetings would take less time if we had an agenda.”

6) Ask your boss to use a facilitator for a meeting. A skilled facilitator will show your boss what an effective meeting is like.

7) Ask your boss to buy a workshop on holding effective meetings (because everyone else needs it).

Ask the people who are responsible for training to schedule a workshop on effective meetings. This works best if all of the managers are invited to the workshop. Then your boss must attend.

9) Wait until your boss complains about bad meetings. Then ask gentle questions such as, “What makes you upset with that?” or “What caused that?” or “What should they have done?” Perhaps, such questions can lead your boss to discovering what needs to be done. Note: most people believe what they say (and doubt what they hear).

10) Complain about someone else’s meeting. For example, you might say, “Wow, what a waste to time. There was no agenda and no one knew what to do. We just sat around and talked about everything except anything that mattered.”

If your boss refuses to accept any encouragement to change, then wait. People who refuse to improve their work skills seldom last. In fact, your boss’s boss may already be upset with the time being wasted in bad meetings.

Steve Kaye helps leaders hold effective meetings. He is an IAF Certified Professional Facilitator, author, and speaker. His meeting facilitation and leadership workshops create success for everyone. Call 714-528-1300 for details. Visit http://www.stevekaye.com for a free report.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Steve_Kaye

Management Coaching Tip - Hire Smart or Fire Dumb

By Leanne Hoagland-Smith 

People buy from people. And people will buy a lot more from other people when they receive authentic and excellent care specific to what they are buying and even more importantly what they are experiencing.

I was watching a video You Can't Send a Duck to Eagle School when once again I realized that a lot of smart business people in management roles truly do not hire smart and that results in them firing dumb.

Hire smart means that you hire for great attitudes, for respect, for the simple acts of being polite and kind. You can teach your products and services, but it is far more difficult to teach how to be nice to people. Management Coaching Tip: Find individuals with the necessary self-leadership skills.

Fire dumb means that firing people who you should not have hired in the first place is costing you a whole heck of a lot of money. You were dumb by hiring them. This stupidity is draining your various banks accounts and not just the one that holds your greenbacks. Your other bank accounts are: productivity, performance, progress, perseverance and potential. Management Coaching Tip: Your banks accounts are also your operating systems or Points of Potential.

One of my mentors, Michael Sleppin, shared this story about visiting one of his clients who was complaining about all the "numbchucks" in his organization. Michael in his very simple and direct manner asked this question: "Who hired all those numbchucks?"

Many companies go to great lengths to find the right person. Personality tests are given, background checks are undertaken and yet there is still a lot of dumb hiring going on. Part of this reason could be the fear of lawsuits and to the shortage of qualified workers.

Of course, the K-16 educational process does not help nor does the disconnect between today's parents and their children. However, organizations can still hire smart. They will need to be just a little more innovative and discerning in their hiring process.

How are your leaders doing within your organization. Get this free self leadership skills checklist.

What other strategies are you using to leverage your human capital? This free customer loyalty audit may help better understand how to cultivate loyal customers by turning them into raving fans.

Leanne Hoagland-Smith, chief customer officer with offices in Chicago & Indianapolis, helps organizations through business coaching training services to return to the purpose of business that being building ravings fans while increasing productivity and profitability. Her clients double their results in 30 to 90 days. Call 219.759.5601 to schedule a free business coaching training consultation.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Leanne_Hoagland-Smith

 

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This is a great opportunity to post your articles and promote your call center, training or leadership related business on a very high traffic call center site.

If you are interested we would like to here from you.  All you have to do is send us a note to our contact us form.

Simply put in the Subject Area:  Contributor

This is your opportunity to gain exposure and to speak up.  Make sure you take advantage of this as soon as possible.

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5 Simple Steps To Improve Your Customer Service Right Away

By Leonard Buchholz

There are so many things we try to improve Customer Service. And the most effective are the simplest. Read about 5 ways you can improve right now!

There are 5 Simple Steps that you can do that will make a difference in your Customer Service right away. Some of the Steps will seem obvious.

It’s just that we assume everybody has what is commonly referred to as “The Basics.”

I’m here to tell you…….WAKE UP! And smell the coffee before it’s too late.

Here are the 5 Simple Steps to teach that will make a big difference.

1. Teach them to SMILE. I know, it seems too simple, doesn’t it? Why would I need to point that out? It’s because I travel all over the country and consistently receive better service whenever I am Smiled at. And I can always tell when I am about to receive less than Average Service when I don’t receive a Smile.

In today’s faster, unfriendly and discourteous world it makes a HUGE difference.

It may not seem too scientific, that Smiling thing. Just try NOT Smiling to your Customers for a couple of days and see what happens. Understand this is a big part of the Perception. When people Smile at us, we perceive it to be a much better experience, even if it was mediocre.

I recently had a meal at a restaurant in Bellingham, Wa. that quite frankly, was average. It was not bad, it was not great, it was good. Average. However, if you asked me my Perception of that restaurant I would say it was Great! based on the interaction and Smile quotient that my waitress gave me. She was outstanding! Smiles will make the meal taste better and the Service sweeter.

2. Say their Name. It’s the most wonderful sound to our ears. Our Name. And when someone takes the time to learn ours, we feel really appreciated and will respond appropriately. Even in a quick Customer Service environment like fast food or dry cleaners, we will always return to a place that remembers our name.

It’s quite simple to do actually. Introduce yourself, and ask their name. It goes like this, “Hello, my name is Leonard, it’s a pleasure to meet you. Your name is…?” Whew, that was hard, wasn’t it? Here is the trick. Remember it by focusing on their name and either the color of their eyes or an article of clothing.

If you are in the restaurant business, introduce yourself, ask their name and when delivering their order, set it in front of them and say “Mary, you’ll really enjoy this dish.” Watch your tips go up.

3. Use Courtesy. Use those words you learned when you were little. They include “Please”, “Thank You”, “May I help you”, “How are you doing”, “Is there anything else I can do for you today”, “How did you find your service experience today”.

Courtesy also extends to actions, not just words. I worked at a dealership that emphasized things like walking your Customer to the item they asked about, cleaning the bathroom sink with a paper towel after using it and presenting the best possible face to the Customer along with other things that demonstrated their commitment to the Service Experience.

4. Ask for feedback from the Customer on the use of and experience of your Customer Service. Ask the right way. Instead of “How was our service today?” which will get you a “Oh, it was fine” kind of answer, ask “On a scale of 1 to 10 how would we score on providing Service to you today?” (It is the “Specific” question that gets results) You might get a lot more interesting answers especially if you ask the follow up question “Specifically, how could I make it a 10 in your eyes?” for any answer that is not a 10.

5. Invite your Customer to come back. The right way. It’s all in the presentation. “It was good to see you today, and I look forward to seeing you again. If for any reason you remember something we could have done better, call me at 111-111-1111 and ask for me personally.” If that is too long winded, say “My name is _____. Please ask for me when you come back.” You might even say “It was a pleasure to take care of you. Please come back and ask for me, ________.”

I read somewhere that the most complex questions we face in our society are often solved with the simplest of solutions. Here are 5 Simple Steps you can take right away.

Customer Service is not that complex. It’s a Simple Business. We make it complex.       

There is not a result unless you take action. This article is written in the hope that you decide what you would like to change and then taking action to make the change. If you like what you have read and would like to have more interaction to really have impact then email me at leonard@bizprotraining.com or call 760-529-5635.Leading Seminars in Leadership, Management and Customer Service since 2006.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Leonard_Buchholz

 

Call Center Morale Boosting Strategies

Michael Russell

Morale is deceptively important in the running of an efficient call center. The reason it is deceptive is because while most bosses acknowledge the relationship between morale and productivity, few call center bosses are able to accurately pin down a decrease in productivity as being directly related to a lowered morale. The reason it is important is the same; namely that a higher morale means happier workers, which in turn leads to an overall increase in call center productivity.

Michael Russell Your Independent guide to Call Centers Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Michael_Russell