Often times in a call center setting, agents will receive calls from angry or irate customers. Of course there are different levels of and reasons for these emotions, so not all protocols will be the same. Call agents must be empathetic enough to understand the client’s point of view, but also be able to reason with them to reach a resolution.

Listen to the whole story. The last thing you want to do is make an already angry customer more upset. Let them tell their story so you can get all the details as to why they’re calling. Even if you don’t agree with their reasoning, remain calm and understanding – never argumentative. Many times, customers will settle once they release their emotions to someone representing the company.

Display empathy. Some customers will try to dominate the call with their opinions. Stay in control of the situation and regain their attention with a simple statement that shows you care:

“I understand your aggravation, Mr. Smith, and I truly apologize for the inconvenience it’s caused. Now, I’d like to get a little more information from you to resolve this issue.”

Patience and positivity are key. Remember that the caller is not angry with you personally, they are mad because of the situation they’ve encountered. They will initially be most upset on the first call, so allow them to vent and stay optimistic. In the end they will appreciate your patience and have a better outlook on the company’s customer service level.

Cut yourself a break. Managing caller’s emotions can sometimes leave you exhausted and uptight, so be sure to take a few minutes to yourself when you feel this happening. A productive, happy workday starts from within; short breaks throughout the day are recommended. Take a walk, grab a coffee, stop by a coworker’s desk to chat – anything to help you balance your own emotions and reduce stress. Once you feel rejuvenated it will be easier to cater to callers’ needs effectively.

Business Identity and Caller Empathy

When handling incoming calls, agents should always identify themselves right away with his or her name and the company they are representing. After politely inquiring about the reason for the call, agents should be patient while letting the caller fully explain their questions or concerns. Allowing the caller to speak without interruption helps develop a trust factor. When the customer is finished speaking, agents should display a level of concern for their needs and follow up with probing, relevant questions to help resolve the issue at hand. As a call center, one of your main goals is to ease any uncertainty the caller may have about making a commitment later in the conversation.

Establishing Desires of Clients

When prospective clients make the very first call to a business, they may not know exactly what they need or even what to look for. This is where call center agents use custom scripting and industry training. Call center agents must ask probing questions to discover the caller’s needs, collect useful information, and develop a rapport.

Eliminating Cancellations

Post-call remorse may occur after getting off the line with a caller who has agreed to set an appointment, purchase a product, upgrade a service, etc. Many agents will rush to get off the phone after upselling, cross-selling, or appointment setting in order to avoid sudden changes of heart from the caller. While this may seem effective, it can actually leave the new customer feeling regretful and panicked. To significantly reduce cancellations, call agents should follow a post-close script that will leave the caller confident in their decision to utilize the business’s services.

Call center agents who develop a healthy rapport with callers are proven to capture more leads and make more conversions than those who do not establish an agent-caller relationship.

“The practice of law has always been a relationship business and remains a relationship business despite the growing importance of the Internet,” Weiss says.

People like to be informed, especially when dealing with a lawyer. Keeping clients in the know can include receiving new awards, joining new associations, adding new staff, making changes to procedures, and much more. It also means being available when the client is trying to get in contact. Law firms that are proactive and maintain open communication with clients and colleagues gain trust and are more likely to get a large share of the client’s legal work and referrals. Lawyers can also ultimately charge higher rates for higher quality services.

One way to keep an open line of communication in a law firm is by implementing an attorney answering service. Customer service plays a huge role in a lawyer or law firm’s success. A legal receptionist guarantees that callers will reach a live agent 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Attorney answering services offer the flexibility of creating a custom script to obtain all pertinent caller information and leave little room for miscommunication. By reaching a live person rather than voice mail or an automated service, callers are less likely to hang up and give business to competitors. Consider an attorney answering service to get leads and increase revenue – don’t let a missed call become a missed opportunity.

To read more about the surveys and results reviewed by Bob Weiss, click here.

Frances Starr, Director of Sales & Marketing for Alert Communications.  Alert Communications provides 24/7 call answering support.

A few years ago, a study of 784 call centers in the United States showed that on a scale of 1 to 10 (10 being highest), 32% of customer service representatives rated their stress level a 10. That’s disturbing but understandable. Many people are upset when they call or visit a customer service department, and it’s the service rep’s job to keep the conversation on an even keel.

I don’t know if many customer service representatives will receive flowers this week in recognition of a job well done, but I think they all deserve congratulations. For remaining calm, keeping a smile on their faces and in their voices, being good listeners, apologizing when needed just generally trying to help out in every way possible. 

If a customer service rep helps you this week — or next — don’t be shy about thanking about him or her. “Thank you” are two of the best feel-good words in the English language. So go ahead and make someone’s National Customer Service week.

Frances Starr, Director of Sales & Marketing for Alert Communications.  Alert Communications is a 24/7bilingual inbound call center, specializing in professional attorney answering, virtual receptionist, Spanish answering and business answering solutions.

I even got a survey recently from an orthopedist’s office I visited, and one of the questions was “How long did you have to wait to see the doctor?”  Notice the question wasn’t “Did you have to wait to see the doctor?” Waiting was assumed, even by the survey writers.

So where does your business fit into this paradox? Are you contributing to the expectation that your customers will get less even though they’d like more? Or are you the exception?

Are your customers disappointed when they call your office during the day or after hours? Maybe they expected to get an answering machine but were hoping they might reach a real person. Maybe you should give them more than they expect.

The whole idea behind using virtual receptionists and business answering services is to provide customers with an immediate response. Answering-service clients want their customers to speak with a “real” person, 24/7, who can either patch them through directly to someone or immediately get a message to the client. Shouldn’t that be something you want for your customers, too?

If your business is already the exception to this want-more/expect-less paradox, then good for you. If your answer is “not so much,” then I encourage you to think about what you can do to bring an end to it. If your customers are reaching an answering machine instead of a virtual receptionist during office hours or a business answering service after hours, maybe it’s time to reconsider. Professional answering and/or virtual receptionist services can help you be the exception to the paradox.

Frances Starr, Director of Sales & Marketing for Alert Communications.  Alert Communications is a 24/7bilingual inbound call center, specializing in professional attorney answering, virtual receptionist, Spanish answering and business answering solutions.

I think I’m a good judge of quality customer service. I pride myself on the level of customer care that Alert Communications provides our clients, and it always surprises me that some companies still aren’t taking the customer experience seriously. I have to share a shopping experience I had recently.

I was out shopping for a dinner party that I was hosting, and I went into a well-known department store looking for a particular serving plate. I spent quite a bit of time trying to find it and never heard from the sales clerk who didn’t look busy at all. Just before I reached that total frustration point, I asked the clerk for help.  She briefly made eye contact with me—which I almost missed—and pointed in a general direction for me to look. I followed her ‘point’, didn’t find the plate, and I left. One lost sale.

Then I went into Williams-Sonoma^® looking for a particular combination of dish soap, hand lotion and hand soap. Walking through the store, I noticed some pre-wrapped sets, but not in the scent I wanted. When I reached the back of the store, a sales clerk asked if she could help me, so I explained what I needed.

They didn’t have exactly what I wanted on display, but that didn’t stop this sales clerk from making it happen. (Here’s where great customer service comes into play.) She said she’d be happy to put together what I needed and would find me as I continued to shop. A few minutes later, back at the front of the store, the sales clerk tapped me on the shoulder and handed me exactly what I was looking for: a wrapped set of soap and lotion in the scent that I wanted.

Two very different stories. The first one didn’t have to end negatively. The major department store didn’t have what I wanted, but if the clerk had paid a little more attention to me, I might have left without the grudge that I feel now. The customer service prize goes to the Williams-Sonoma clerk who went well out of her way to help me. It will be very easy to go to Williams-Sonoma again, but I don’t think I’ll be returning to the other place.

Are the faces and voices of your company providing the right customer experience? Do your employees meet your expectations of customer service? Do they have the tools and training to get the job done? If your goal is to create loyal customers and clients, then make sure they are receiving best customer experience available. Feel free to share a good or bad customer experience that you’ve had!