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Click here to preview the course |
| Section 1: Introduction |
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Incoming calls are vital to your company's future. This short section introduces the ideas covered in this course.
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| Section 2: The Bureaucratic Bounce |
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Here are some symptoms of the Bureaucratic Bounce:
- The caller is transferred from department to department....
- He is put on hold over, and over, and over....
- He has to repeat his request over, and over, and over.....
Here's how you can fix the Bureaucratic Bounce:
- Connect the caller with the person who can help.
- Ask if the caller is able to hold and wait for a response..
- Transfer the request with the call.
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| Section 3: The Unanswered Phone |
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When a phone rings and rings and rings unanswered, the caller feels that your company is not interested in his call or his business. It's always best to answer the phone promptly if possible. But sometimes the problem is not the number of rings, it's what you say when you finally do answer.
Here's how you should answer a phone that has been ringing too long:
- Apologize.
- Acknowledge the delay.
- Offer to help.
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| Section 4: The Dreaded Hold |
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A caller hates to wait. So, of course, he hates being put on hold. There are, however, some things you can do to make being put on hold less annoying.
In this section you will learn the Telephone Doctor® prescription for taking the dread out of the dreaded hold:
- Advise the caller you'll need to put him on hold.
- Be truthful about how long he will be on hold.
- Give a mini-visual so he can mentally picture what's happening.
- Ask, "Are you able to hold?" and wait for a response.
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| Section 5: Cliff Hangers |
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A cliff hanger is a statement that offers no helpful information and no support. It is totally passive. Some examples are:
"He's not here."
"She's gone."
"He's on the phone."
After a statement like this the caller is left hanging; he doesn't know what he's supposed to do next.
In this section you will learn the Telephone Doctor®; prescription for rescuing your callers from cliff hangers:
- Explain why the person the caller wants to speak to is unavailable.
- Offer to help.
- Use a proactive support statement, "Let me have your name and number, and I'll see that (s)he gets your message."
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| Section 6: Missed Messages |
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Getting a telephone message is a big part of handling customer contact. If you are using the phrase, "Can I take a message?" to ask for messages, you are probably hearing a lot of "No thanks. I'll call back." That means you may be missing a message that your company deserves to get. There is a message in every phone call.
Here's how to encourage a caller to leave a message:
- Avoid short, unhelpful statements.
- Offer to help. Ask, "How can I help you? What can I do for you?"
- Get the message. Say, "Let me have your name annumber, and I'll see that (s)he gets your message."
- Assure the caller that his message will be given to the right person.
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