It’s often been said “don’t judge a book by its cover,” however, a cover doesn’t necessary have to be something visible to the eye. It can be an email, a visual impression or simply how you present yourself over the phone. Having professional interactions with customers will keep them happy and build a better reputation for your contact center. Here is a list of dos and don’ts to keep in mind while on the phone.
Do:
Speak Clearly and Professionally
It is often hard to take someone seriously when they speak in slang—or as if they have a wad of bubble gum in their mouth. Make sure to take the time to talk to every customer like you’re in a job interview: polite and cheerful, but not enough to make them feel uncomfortable. Also make sure to enunciate all your words. It can be hard enough to hear someone over the phone, but without the use of proper syllables, it can become nearly impossible.
Be Personable
While you want to be polite, you also don’t want to seem like the human version of your grandmother’s stuffy couch in the sitting room; you know, the one that no one was allowed to sit on? Ask questions, laugh at something if it’s an appropriate time, apologize if they are calling because of a problem they are experiencing. Showing that you truly are a person on the other side of the line will cause the customers to both treat you with more respect and favor, as well as hold your company in higher regard.
Know your product
Whether your company sells a product, or asks for donations for a charitable cause, it is important that you know the answers to the frequently asked questions that you may experience on the job. That way you will be more knowledgeable, represent your company better and not have to ask the person sitting next to you for help during every call.
Don’t:
Read Directly from a Script
If you do, they will know. It doesn’t sound natural, but instead makes you sound like a robot. It’s okay to have a map of what you’re going to say in different situation—and this can even be good, because you will have quick answers already outlined—but a script only makes you sound forced and not personable, which in turn reflects back on your company.
Make the Customer Wait for Answers
This aligns with knowing your product. Most customers won’t call you for the thrill of getting transferred from department to department, so know your stuff. If it’s an easy question that you’ve noticed gets asked often, remember the answer, or write it on a sticky and stick it on or next to your computer. Also, put a cheat sheet on your desk listing which departments answer which questions. That way you will be able to quickly and more effectively get a customer where they need to be, if you can’t answer their question—and you’ll free other contact center workers from having to figure out where they need to transfer the person who was transferred to them.
Wait Until the Last Minute to Discuss a Problem With Your Supervisor
In a contact center where most customer-worker interactions are recorded, it is hard to keep a situation quiet, no matter what the reason you might not want to call attention to it. Take the time, when you can, to talk to your supervisor and tell them about the situation and how you handled it. Chances are they will be appreciative that you have told them, and if something should have been done differently, they will correct you. Then you can take it as a learning opportunity—instead of an opportunity to find a new job.
Without seeing a customer face-to-face, it can sometimes be hard to remain professional and positive when problems arise. If you pay attention to these dos and don’ts though, you will have conquered some of the most commonly seen problems existing in contact centers. Be sure to check out our other blog posts to get more tips on how to offer great customer service in your contact center.
Everyone gets them. They’re difficult to serve, and your best customer service program bounces off them like a rubber ball. When they’re through with your contact center team members, morale can be in the basement.
Irate customers are a fact of life for contact center employees. And while every solid call center should have clear customer service goals and a good performance review process in place, no matter how you strive to make an emotional connection in helping callers, irate customers are inevitable.
The good news is that irate calls are still amenable to management. Here are a few effective communication tips to think about when you come in contact with an irate customer.
Granted, dealing with an irate caller can be as pleasant as a root canal, but behind the pit bull, there just might be a real area where you can improve. By cultivating a dispassionate view of the caller’s problem (rather than the caller’s attitude) a complaint can turn into an opportunity to improve contact center performance.
In dealing with unhappy callers, a self-confident approach can soothe customers who fear they are not being helped. But there is a fine line between a calm, self-confident contact center team member and one that comes across as arrogant or condescending. Since not everyone naturally has the ability to strike the right balance, instituting a communications component in your training program specifically dealing with angry customers is a good way to help your team cope.
Contact center team members should stay calm and remember not to take the matter personally. By putting emotions aside, they work from the position of strength. If the conversation gets off track, maybe offer some words of encouragement and bring the topic of conversation back to the main problem.
Be sure to convey that contact center team members are indeed listening to an angry customer’s concerns. By making ‘listening noises’ and repeating back to the customer their problem, you can inspire conviction that your team member is trying to help. Conveying sympathy is a means of making that critical emotional connection. The feeling of being understood and taken seriously will bring back repeat customers.
Actively attempting to understand the caller’s point of view is the key to forming a plan of action. By asking questions and staying focused on the problem rather than the unpleasant caller, a resolution can usually be found. Once again, sympathize, and if you have to, run through the entire problem, step by step, from beginning to end, to ensure you have all the information you need to resolve the issue. This will also assure the caller that their problems are being heard and taken care of.
The customer is always right – and sometimes that means the company is at fault. Where a mistake has been made, owning up and admitting to it can go a long way towards deflating a heated situation.
You want to keep customers happy, but not at the expense of business objectives. This means that an angry customer, even if in the wrong, can be mollified with a concession – it makes better business sense to establish a reputation for customer service and professionalism, even if this means giving way.
Because of one of these customers, it is critical to have training in place so that team members are aware of what latitude exists and how and when it is to be used. Having an ace up their sleeve can be the best means of producing the calm, confident contact center team that excels at soothing an irate customer.
A follow-up call a day later to ensure than the customer has received a satisfactory resolution to their problem is a great way to build a strong relationship with a customer base.
Having a process in place to manage irate customers is a critical piece of any contact center’s training program. By changing the ethos of team response from a defensive posture to a proactive attempt to guide an unhappy caller through a process of identifying and then resolving problems, a bump in the path becomes an opportunity to increase customer satisfaction.
Working the long hours of a contact center job can often be stressful, especially when people are constantly calling you to solve their problems. This stress can grow exponentially when the calls keep coming in without any time to relax and take a breather. Here are several tips that contact center team members can use before, during and after a tough day to ensure they keep coming back.
Get Enough Sleep
This may seem like a basic idea, but you might be surprised at the number of Americans who don’t get enough sleep every night. Lack of sleep causes your brain to work more slowly and makes seemingly simple tasks harder then they should be. If you do stay up late the night before work and are struggling through the day, stay away from sugar and caffeine―instead stay hydrated. Sugar and caffeine may seem like a quick fix, but will actually cause you to crash and feel more tired a couple of hours later. Drinking a tall glass of water instead will make you feel more calm and alert for hours to come.
Take Your Vitamins
We all remember the days that our mom or dad would make us take our vitamins and eat our green vegetables to “grow up big and strong,” but making sure that you get those vitamins and vegetables is just as important now as an adult as well. While you’re not still growing in inches, our bodies continue to replicate and grow cells and need the vitamins to do it. The lack of vitamins and protein will not only slow down these processes and make you feel more sluggish, but will also increase your susceptibility to losing your temper over minor situations in the contact center.
Skip the Talk, Take a Walk
After a tough situation, it’s easy to use your lunch break eating with your contact center coworkers and re-hashing every detail, but that will only lead to more stress. Eat a quick lunch and then spend the rest of your lunch break on a walk. Exercise helps control anxiety and increases oxygen flow to your brain to get rid of stress, whereas dwelling on the situation only increases stress.
Focus on Positive Words
In high-stress conversations, words are often said that could negatively influence your psyche and, in turn, could easily inject stress into an otherwise normal day. Find a couple of quotes that motivate you and put them on a sticky note next to your computer, or stick one on your monitor. That way when you feel like you’re about to burst, you can look up and find inspiration again. Here are a few suggestions: “A mind at peace, a mind centered and not focused on harming others, is stronger than any physical force in the universe.” (Wayne Dyer) “One important reason to stay calm is that calm people hear more. Low-key accepting people are the ones who keep people talking.” (Mary Pipher)
Don’t Forget to Breathe
This doesn’t just mean a quick breath. It means closing your eyes, breathing deeply, holding it for three seconds, and then letting it out. If you still feel stressed, do it again. The first time you try this, you may feel silly, or be convinced you won’t feel any better. However, you will be surprised when you begin to feel calmer right away. Just as exercising increases oxygen flow to the brain and decreases stress, so does taking a deep breath.
In fact, you may be feeling calmer already. If not, all of these tips are easily repeatable and will continue to have an effect no matter how many times you do them. If all else fails, remember this: It’s not the end of the world. Just pick yourself up and keep working. That’s what separates the great.
Instances of violence on the campuses of U.S. colleges and universities are on the rise. Many institutions of higher learning have attempted to meet what has become a growing concern by crafting internal policies and procedures. While these policies are an important part of the attempt to stem violence and make colleges safer, the results are often piecemeal with little broad collaboration between institutions.
With more students pursuing post secondary education than ever before, parents are increasingly evaluating campus safety as a major criterion in finding the right college for their children.
Many in campus law enforcement have called for the creation of a national organization to help address violence on school campuses. These concerns were first addressed at the national level in 2005 when the National Summit on Campus Public Safety Report recommended the creation of a National Center for Campus Public Safety.
The International Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators (IACLEA), the leading authority for campus public safety, spearheaded the call to action of the 2005 summit. An association that seeks to advance campus public safety for its more than 1,200 education institution members and 2,000 individual members, IACLEA seeks to make colleges and universities safer places by providing educational resources, advocacy, and professional development services.
IACLEA worked tirelessly after the 2005 summit to bring about a national forum for discussion and collaboration concerning college safety. These efforts were brought to fruition on March 26, 2014, when President Barack Obama signed the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act of 2013 into law. The authorization for the NationalCenter for Campus Public Safety was one of only a handful of new initiatives included in the legislation which keeps the federal government running through the current fiscal year that ends on September 30, 2013.
Having taken note of the increased dangers of college campuses as part of a trend over the last decade that has witnessed high profile instances of violence and murder on school grounds, the action on the part of the federal government is welcomed by law enforcement across the nation.
The National Center for Campus Safety is intended to support sharing of information, policy development, model practices, operations, and research. According to the legislation the Center is intended to:
Law enforcement across the nation can welcome the creation of the National Center for Campus Safety. With the new resources the Center can create, greater communication across the spectrum of stakeholders will be a potent force in making American college campuses safer.
9-1-1 is a bedrock of American civil society. Without the support of state and local authorities, coupled with the tireless and at times daunting service of 9-1-1 operators, many men and women would not be alive today. In a world that is apt to take any service for granted and to marginalize the importance of emergency first response, the wakeup call is usually dialing 9-1-1. At such times brave men and women step forward and make a difference.
Each year a broad spectrum of associations supporting the critical role of 9-1-1 service assemble in Washington, D.C.’s Union Station to honor the very best in first response heroism. For the 10th year in a row The NG9-1-1 Institute, in conjunction with National Emergency Number Association (NENA), the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials (APCO), the National Association of State 9-1-1 Administrators (NASNA), the Industry Council for Emergency Response Technologies (iCERT), the National Association of Emergency Dispatchers (NAED), 9-1-1 for Kids and the Congressional NextGen 9-1-1 Caucus, gathered together last year to present six awards to citizen heroes.
These awards reflect the excellence, the heroism, and dedication of citizens in helping others in life-threatening situations, or whose contributions to education about the critical importance of 9-1-1 emergency communications have elevated public awareness.
The co-chairs of the Congressional NextGen 9-1-1 Caucus were invited to present the awards.
The Citizen in Action Award recognizes a person who demonstrated exceptional bravery and heroism to save a life at a critical time using 9-1-1. The 2013 award was given to Stephanie Hines of Bedford, Texas.
The Education Award is given in appreciation of the recipient’s efforts to coordinate and promote education and awareness for 9-1-1 education. The award was given to: Patti Cross of the Denton County 911 District; and Patti West and Robin Ericson of the Longmont Department of Public Safety.
The 9-1-1 Professional Award honors the true “first responders” on the front lines of emergency communications every day. It was given to Kara D. Nichols of the Washington State Patrol in Bremerton, Washington.
The Government Leader Award recognizes the efforts of federal, state, and local officials in developing and implementing public policy to advance the capabilities of 9-1-1 emergency communications. This award was presented to Marlys Davis of the King County E9-1-1 Program Office.
The Industry/Technology Professional Private Sector Award honors individuals in the commercial sector who make exceptional contributions towards the advancement of emergency 9-1-1 communications. The award was given to Mark Fletcher of Ringwood New Jersey; and Paul Yarbrough of Arlington, Texas.
The Outstanding 9-1-1 Call Center Award honors a specific Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) for its excellence in key emergency communications areas ranging from the handling of emergency situations reported to 9-1-1 to the deployment and management of new technology. This year’s award goes to the Aurora Public Safety Communications Department of Aurora, Colorado and to Newtown Emergency Communications in Newtown, Connecticut.
“This year’s honorees highlight the truly invaluable and life-saving work that the 9-1-1 system and its professionals do around the nation,” said Angel Arocho, Chairman of NG9-1-1 Board of Directors. “On behalf of the NG 9-1-1 Board, we are grateful for their service and are delighted to host this event to honor these extraordinary individuals, and to recognize industry members that play a critical role in helping to operate and advance it.”
KOVA joins with the NG9-1-1 Board of Directors in extending its sincere gratitude and appreciation for the self-sacrifice, compassion, integrity, and diligence that these award winners have displayed in helping make our country a safer and better nation.
You might not know it, but the week of April 13-19 is National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week, an opportunity to remember those who serve our communities in a vital capacity.
Public safety is everyone’s concern. Whether on the job, at school, at home, or on the road, when an emergency happens, having a lifeline to help can mean the difference between life and death. Linking someone in trouble with first response personnel is the corner stone of public safety.
But it’s easy to take for granted that that this invisible lifeline staffed by faceless angels is maintained and manned by dedicated professionals who work tirelessly in a profession that is much more than a career. It’s a vocation, a calling to serve others and make their communities safer places.
That’s why in 1981, Patricia Anderson of the Contra Costa County California Sherriff’s Office decided it was time to honor the men and women who provide emergency telecommunications. National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week was at first observed only at Patricia’s agency. But the need was evident, and the idea grew.
Local chapters of the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials (APCO) in Virginia and North Carolina took up the banner in the mid 1980’s, and by the turn of the decade, APCO was advocating for National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week at the national level. Finally, in 1991 Rep. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) introduced H.J. Res. 284 and the long overdue tribute to emergency response telecommunicators became a national event.
President George Bush followed the House Resolution with a Presidential Proclamation in 1992. President Bush noted that:
“Public safety telecommunicators are more than a calm and reassuring voice at the other end the phone. They are knowledgeable and highly trained individuals who work closely with other police, fire, and medical personnel…. Our Nation enjoys the highest standards of public health and safety in the world, and we owe a great debt to the men and women who, by applying their expertise in telecommunications, help to make that achievement possible. During this special observance, we acknowledge that debt and extend a heartfelt thanks to each of them.”
President Bill Clinton also issued a Proclamation honoring National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week, in which he thanked those who keep us safe:
“These dedicated men and women are more than anonymous voices on the telephone line. They are local police, fire, and medical professionals who use public safety telecommunications to quickly respond to emergency calls. They are also Federal public safety officials who use telecommunications for everything from drug interdiction to protecting forests to promoting conservation. We rely on their knowledge and professionalism as they make critical decisions, obtain information, and quickly dispatch needed aid…. I urge all Americans to observe this week with appropriate programs, ceremonies, activities, and appreciation for these outstanding individuals.”
There are between 200,000 to 500,000 public safety specialists in the country working every day, saving lives every day, every day making a difference. KOVA wishes to honor them and the critical service they provide.
April is 9-1-1 Education Month, and so to participate in this month’s efforts to educate our nation’s youth and adults about the importance of 9-1-1 service, and what to do in an emergency, we here at KOVA have assembled a list of tips to share with our readers about what to do when calling 9-1-1.
We hope that this list will not only serve as a refresher course for you, our readers, yourselves, but that you will also share it with your own friends and families, to spread the word about how best to help 9-1-1 help you.
If you would like to participate in an activity supporting 9-1-1 Education Month, there are many ways to pitch in. You can contact your local public safety answering point to find out if they are hosting any official events that you could volunteer at or help spread the word about. You could also take it upon yourself to put together an event, whether on a large scale, such as a community event, or on a smaller scale, such as a school field trip.
Whatever you do to help, know that your efforts will be appreciated by the men and women who sacrifice so much to help keep us all safe.
Part of educating our young about how to be good citizens is teaching them the critical lesson of how to be safe – and in the event of an emergency that threatens their safety, how to get help immediately. Teaching children early and thoroughly that 9-1-1 is not a toy, but a way to keep themselves and others safe, is a priority in today’s society.
It was with this important objective in mind that the United States Congress in 2008 recognized April as National 9-1-1 Education Month, supporting the initiative of the National 9-1-1 Education Coalition, an alliance of eight national organizations dedicated to advancing public safety communications.
The Coalition is made up of the NG9-1-1 Institute, 9-1-1 For Kids, the Industry Council for Emergency Response Technologies (iCERT), the Association of Public Safety Officials (APCO), CTIA – The Wireless Association, the National Academies of Emergency Dispatch (NAED), the National Association for State 9-1-1 Administrators (NASNA), and the National Emergency Number Association (NENA).
Each April the NG9-1-1 Institute celebrates 9-1-1 Education Month by co-hosting a kickoff celebration, conducting 9-1-1 education outreach efforts by providing 9-1-1 educators with a coordinated education campaign in an attempt to teach both children and adults about the appropriate use of 9-1-1 and how to call 9-1-1.
The national campaign theme for its education and awareness outreach remains “BE 9-1-1 READY.”
You can be a part of the campaign by encouraging members of your community to understand that being ready to call 9-1-1 will help public safety answering points provide the assistance they need quickly and correctly.
In honor of 9-1-1 Education Month, you could arrange a school visit to your local PSAP, ask representatives from your local PSAP to visit your school, hold a street fair or block party, or offer to go to your child's or grandchild’s class and read about 9-1-1. Other ideas include conferences and training events for parents, teachers, and care-givers that bring together the public safety community and industry leaders in a common effort to promote 9-1-1 education. Emergency communication tips are vital for survival, so consider taking part in 911 education.
Acoustic shock. It’s something you probably have never heard of, but it’s been around for over a decade. If you aren’t aware of the term, not knowing might just imperil the acoustic safety of your contact center workforce.
Acoustic shock disorder (ASD) is a condition that occurs when unannounced sounds, ones that are materially different to normal speech known as white noise, travel through a telephone line or a web interface in the space of under 16 milliseconds, and into the headset. The bursts of white noise are then transmitted through agents’ headsets, causing damage to ears. First isolated as a condition 15 years ago, it is a devastating 21st century industrial injury problem. Since the call center industry has more than doubled in those 15 years, the number of at risk personnel is vast and growing. This is why it isimmediate health problem that needs awareness.
The sounds produced can vary. The effect can be described as consisting of a single frequency, or of a rising frequency sounding very much like a bang or clang. The impact this high concentrated frequency sound can have on the eardrum runs the gamut from pain and tinnitus (ringing in the ears) to hyperacusis (hypersensitivity to sound). Multiple exposures to these burst of sounds can lead to serious heath issues, resulting in work time loss.
Initial symptoms include:
Severe symptoms include:
Acoustic shock disorder does not cause hearing loss, but in the rare occasion that it does, rather than being a high frequency pattern induced injury, it affects low and mid frequency sensorineural hearing.
With the identification of ASD, output limiters in headset equipment have been developed to restrict maximum volume levels transmitted down a telephone line. However, ASD continues to occur despite their use, because headset equipment is not the only way acoustic shock disorder can occur.
Examples of sounds that can cause acoustic shock injury:
Technology is available to measure worker noise exposure before and after the device has been attached, and to store the data for up to six weeks, thus providing a continuous noise risk assessment among a group of workers. However, limiting the sound output does not completely prevent acoustic shock injuries, because acoustic shrieks can occur at low volumes as well. But, with the proper equipment, we can take at least try and eliminate most of the risks.
While preventative measures can be implemented by means of adapting operator headset technology, the key to ensuring the best work environment for your team is to include ASD awareness in your contact center employee training program. Make sure each team members knows what ASD is, how it occurs, and what the symptoms are. The better informed your employees are, the earlier the problems will be noticed, hence making them quickly diagnosed and treated accordingly.
Contact center supervisors should be trained to recognize the validity of acoustic shock as a danger to an employee’s heath, as well as having a procedure in place to address any instances reported to them.
Contact center team members need to be made aware of the dangers of an acoustic shock event, what it is, and what they should do in the event of experiencing one.
By empowering contact center staff to protect and care for their own heath, you can adapt to situations in a timely and efficient manner – benefiting the team member and the team as a whole.
Because of the growth of the industry, instances of ASD are on the rise, ranging from mild to severe. As a work safety issue unique to the industry, every call center should be aware of the dangers of acoustic shock and have procedures and training outlined to cope with it. A business's success would not be fulfilled without the employees, so it is imperative that we take care of each and every team member.
In the modern world of digital media and wireless communication, being connected is as much a basic need as the necessity of water and electric utilities. And as with any other basic service, consumers are usually on the lookout for ways to save money.
Voice over internet telephone service is an increasingly popular choice with consumers. Packages advertise unlimited long distance calls or year-long service for a fraction of the cost of land and wireless plans. A growing number of consumers are choosing to have their telephone service provided by such companies.
Consumers often jump at these plans, bringing with them assumptions that the internet telephone carries the same coverage as traditional phone plans. This isn’t necessarily the case. And what’s hidden away in fine print could literally be the difference between life and death. In some instances, dialing 911 may not be the best way to receive a swift emergency response from local first response agencies.
When it comes to an emergency, internet phone providers can provide a response that the consumer might not expect.
To begin with, the consumer may decide to register an address with the internet phone provider, typically through a webpage. The provider then assumes that service is being used at home. If customers do not carry out this process, the provider assumes a 911 call is coming from a wireless device. An emergency call will then likely wind up at an emergency call center managed by the provider.
Having a 911 call handled by an internet phone company’s call center is something that every consumer should think about. Unlike traditional, local 911 service, a call center does not have the capabilities consumers expect from operators handling an emergency call. Unlike local 911, a voice over internet call center cannot pinpoint a caller’s location. In processing the call, call centers agents will attempt to act as middlemen between the caller and local 911.
Also, so-called softphone use – when a computer is made to act like a telephone – and Wi-Fi connections will go straight to the voice-over-internet company’s call center. Many – but not all – voice over internet companies recommend that consumers have an alternate means of calling 911.
The federal government to date has little impact on communications, leaving regulations to state and local authorities. The FCC does not currently require voice over internet phone providers to offer 911 service. Those that do, do so on a voluntary basis. Such providers could opt out of carrying 911 service at any time without the need to inform customers.
There are horror stories of emergency calls through voice over internet systems being sent to the wrong state. While instances of serious harm or death resulting from 911 call disjunction are still very rare, they are certainly bound to rise as the popularity of voice over internet communication continues to soar.
Every consumer should enter into emergent voice over internet plans with eyes wide open. To ensure adequate coverage in the event of an emergency, consumers should still maintain a landline or wireless connection.
