For some people, customer service seems to be an insurmountable job. For Filipinos working as contact center agents, however, customer service easily becomes second nature. This is because the culture of Filipinos is generally hospitable and they treat visitors (or customers) with utmost respect and with the best treatment that they can.
The following principles are usually followed by contact center agents in the Philippines whether they are talking with fellow Filipinos or customers located in other countries.
Getting the name and the account number of the customer is of utmost importance so that the personal touch can be established easily. By calling the customer by name, the agent is able to establish rapport with the customer, making him more comfortable in talking about the problems that they may have. Technical problems do occur in phone conversations so it is also a good idea to ask for the number of the customer if no caller id is available so that the agent can call the customer back in case of a cut line.
Contact center agents also provide their names to the customers they are talking to so that they know who the person they are talking to. This also enhances the accountability and responsibility of the agent serving the customer.
Apology is given for any inconvenience experienced by the customer. Sincerity is important, however. Without it, we do apologize line becomes nothing more than just a scripted attempt to appease and patronize the customer. When a contact center agent says sorry, he had better mean it because the customer can detect an insincere apology.
When a customer reports a problem, the contact center agent should be able to ask the right questions to provide a good diagnosis of the problem and the right solutions could be put forward. The agent should also repeat the problem or query of the customer to ensure that he has understood the concerns of the customer.
Before hanging up, the problem of the customer should be solved; otherwise the customer service process has not been given adequately to the customer. The easiest and simplest solutions should be provided first to the customer. If that does not work, then alternative solutions should be put forward to the customer until everything shall have been covered.
The contact center should always remember to extend courtesy and politeness to the customer no matter what the mood of the customer is. If a customer is difficult to deal with, it is very easy to be frustrated and lash out at the customer. The agent might not openly curse or berate the customer but the tone of the voice and the words used will betray the true feelings he has. The key to this would be to smile often. Even if nobody is seeing the agent, a smile on the face translates to the smile at the voice. With such amiable personality, the complaints of the customer will be defused. So even if the customer is annoying, contact center agents should keep in mind that it is them who make it possible for contact center agents to have their jobs.
Contact centers in the Philippines make use of the strengths of their agents. Through these, they are able to make waves in the offshore contact center business.
Sitting at a phone all day and taking orders from customers who are in assorted moods can be a demoralizing job. Customer service representatives deal with customers who do not know what they want, customers who want what they cannot get and at times, customers who are unaware of what a business actually sells. These various factors make customer service a difficult profession.
Representatives who answer the phones for your business, however, may be more important in the public's viewpoint than anyone else in the company. Sure, customer service representatives don't run the company, create products or write and design the company's Web site, but they are in direct contact with the public during business hours, every day. When customers call a promotional products and corporate gifts company, they should be treated in a respectful manner. The representatives in customer services should be capable of handling problems with honesty and respect; they should care about each customer and their requests equally; and the company as a whole should have the ability to come up with creative ideas that inspire each customer through newsletters, emails and possibly a blog.
Problems come in various shapes and sizes. Customers can be disappointed that the spacing on the 100 cups they ordered is not wide enough or that the seat cushions they purchased are not the correct hue of red. Each of these issues, no matter how small or trivial they seem, are important. Every issue a customer service department deals with should be done so with care and honesty, that-as cheesy as it sounds-comes from the heart or at least the heart of the company. In the article ?Communicating with Credibility? on http://EmergingLeader.com, Christine W. Zust said, ?When a message is communicated from the heart, it is more believable.? Without genuine care and honesty, customers will think the company they are dealing with did not care they made a mistake. This can cause the customer to not want to deal with that company again. Zust said that leadership that deals with and accepts full responsibility for their words and actions from the beginning are the most successful.
Another definite way to lose a customer is if your company customer service representatives have an air of indifference. In the article How to Enhance Customer Service in the e-magazine Customer Service Professionals, Bill Gessert, president of TeleSolutions Consultants LLC, said, ?68% of customers who stop doing business with you do so because of a perception of indifference. If customer service is not your passion, it will be for your competition.? Indifference or a lack of enthusiasm is something to avoid; don't let it bring down your company.
The last thing that should be maintained by customer services and a company concerns employees who think of the ideas a company presents. This does not directly pertain to those answering the phone, but it does concern those who write the company's newsletters, emails, blog, and those who come up with and design the products the company sells. A monthly newsletter that goes out to customers and gives them new market trends, product ideas and special company discounts can help a customer feel like they are in touch with a company. Having a company blogger may also help or come in useful if a customer has a particular question they want answered. Many companies have a blog that is run by someone within the company. This blogger can help customers develop product ideas to ensure the customer gets what they want. Newsletters, blogs and emails can get the attention of a customer and help them communicate with those who create products in a timely manner. In the article ?The Keys to Delivering World-Class Service? in the e-magazine Customer Service Professionals, Jay Lipe said, ?In a recent study by Jupiter Research, 33 percent of all Internet companies surveyed took three days or longer to get back to customers that had e-mailed for help.? Make sure that your company contacts customers quickly to ensure customer satisfaction. This type of communication between customer and employee may not be as personal as a phone call or a meeting, but it is important.
Customer service is a department at a company that should not be ignored. Merely hiring someone who has the ability to pick up a phone is not enough to maintain and build a customer base. Hiring people who have the ability to maintain an honest message, having employees who care and who are able to interact and assist customers with specific products and interact with a customer will.
Both James Stinson & Abbie Stutzer are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
James Stinson has sinced written about articles on various topics from The Internet, Recruitment and Guide Guitar. James Stinson is Owner and Founder of Global Sky Inc. He employs a team of 50 in a high quality call center facility based in the Philippines. For more info on outsourcing your project visit:. James Stinson's top article generates over 90500 views. to your Favourites.
Abbie Stutzer has sinced written about articles on various topics from Types of Cancer, Marketing and Recruitment. Abbie Stutzer is a graduate student in the William Allen White School of Journalism and Mass Communications at the University of Kansas. She is currently working in the marketing department at Absorbent, Ink. (. Abbie Stutzer's top article generates over 9900 views. to your Favourites.