I usually talk about leadership development, COO training, and the COO Alliance here.
Yet, today I thought about talking about something not a lot of people are talking about.
Your call center.
It is the most chaotic part of a business.
Employees don’t like working here – has a 26% staff turnover rate.
I realized after going to YPO that most people have a very bad, stereotypical view of call centers.
Yet – this is the most underrated side of your organization that nobody wants to talk about.
They are the primary way your customers will communicate with your business.
They’re responsible for resolving customer problems & even selling products.
Most call centers are chaotic.
Yours need not be one of those.
All you need is to focus on these 3 simple activities –
and you have happy employees AND satisfied customers.:
#1: Answer The Phone Fast:
Let’s be frank – if your customer has been trying to reach a real human for the past 45 minutes, then it defeats the whole concept of having a call center.
You are here to support your customer’s journey.
So as a rule of thumb, there should be a maximum of 4-5 rings until someone picks up the phone or the customer is transferred to hold.
Anything more than that means you are literally manufacturing angry customers using a call center.
You are better off with a ticket or email support system.
#2 WOW The Customer:
This is not for your call center alone…
Learning how to “wow” people is an essential skill even for leadership development.
You need to know how to “wow” your customers, team members, and suppliers as a COO.
Every contact your business makes with a customer is an opportunity to make a fan for life.
Give the customer exactly what they were looking for + more.
Blow their mind away by exceeding their expectations.
Did they call to check the status of their order?
Give them the exact date, time & also a contact person’s number if in case…
TO sweeten the deal, you can also give them a free shipping coupon.
Get creative with this.
You also need to note that a lot of people can get nasty when they talk to a call center representative.
You need to have a well-trained staff who can handle resolving conflicts & meet their customers without losing their cool.
#3 End With Dessert:
Never skip dessert.
Always end the conversation on a sweet note.
Make sure you tell the customer how important they are & that you appreciate them.
A script can help – but please make sure your team doesn’t make it sound like a script.
It has to sound as sincere as possible.
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