The Importance of Call Center Phone Etiquette

Running and managing a call center is among the most challenging aspects in the world of business. Call center agents are required to not only provide customer support but also take orders, deal with customer complaints, etc. With so much to work on, sticky situations are almost inevitable.

Running a call center can also turn out to be one of the most rewarding tasks in a business. The manner in which situations are handled when they arise can mean the difference between the retention of loyal customers and losing customers. Good customer service begins the very moment a call center agent receives a call. If you are wondering how to gain more business through your call center, you may want to start by looking at your agents’ phone etiquette.

Training

The most important thing that managers sometimes overlook is the great need for training. Whether your call center is being handled by one or two people or by a large team of agents, training is the key for overall success. It is advisable for small and large business owners to ensure that every person who responds to customer queries and concerns on the phone has been trained. Basically, any person who answers the business lines should have undergone training. It is up to the business managers and owners to ensure that employees apply company phone policies and best practices. 

Here are some of the things that should be observed to improve phone etiquette:

 

Consistency

 

When it comes to consistency, it means making sure that everyone answers the phone consistently. If a call is an in-bound call, it is important to indirectly let the customer confirm that they got the phone number right. Most importantly, the agent’s hello should be brief. Employees should be trained to mention the company name first followed by their names. This simple introduction should be enough. 

Don’t interrupt the customer

No one loves being interrupted, especially when they are expressing dissatisfaction of a service. In this regard, never interrupt a customer who is complaining. Business managers and owners should ensure that this is achieved regardless of how difficult it might be. Employees should be trained to listen to the entire problem regardless of how long it takes. This is particularly more emphasized if the employee handling the call intends to hand of the call to another member of the call center. It leaves the customer feeling well taken care of.

Knowledge of how to use the phone system

Ensure that every employee with permission to respond to business calls knows how to use the phone system. Does everyone know how to make use of the hold button? One of the worst things your employees could ever do is to the put phone to their chest with the intentions of muffling the mouthpiece for them to speak amongst themselves. Customers might hear things you really do not want them to hear. In such instances, the hold button is your best friend. 

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How to be a Contact Center Agent

Want to be a contact center agent? This informative video will show you what skills you need to have for a rewarding career:

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Benefits of Hiring Part Time Employees for Your Contact Center During Peak Season

Many organizations employ people on a temporary basis. If you run an in house contact center, you can utilize your part time employees during peak seasons to handle the extra volume of calls. Call volumes can fluctuate. During peak seasons there will be extra work. In this case, the organization cannot continue working at its full capacity without hiring more part time employees.

Part time employees usually have a flexible work schedule. Many of them may have full time jobs elsewhere. In addition, since these employees have to complete the assignments in less time, they might work at a fast pace. This will benefit the organization.

When you hire part time employees, you need to take into account the specific nature of the jobs. Hiring the right people is crucial. During peak seasons when extra work is readily available, many people express a desire to undertake part time jobs after their regular jobs. Unfortunately, many of them are inexperienced and do not possess the required skills. However, this problem can be solved by hiring employees through a contract staffing company. These staffing companies have trained employees who are ready to work part-time. In addition, they can supply the exact number of people required to handle the extra work.

Since training agencies also screen potential employees, an organization can hire people possessing the right skill set. If these employees deliver satisfactory performance, they can be appointed as full-time staff. As they have already received training, the organization does not have to train them again. However, there is a problem with this arrangement. The staffing agency which trained these employees has greater control over them, so they might leave the job if they find a better job elsewhere.

Why outsourcing is better

A better solution is to outsource your call center activities during peak season. This eliminates the need to hire more employees. Also outsourcing your contact center activities is much more cost effective because it eliminates the need to provide training to part-time employees. It also eliminates the need to invest in expensive infrastructure.

Organizations can hire a call center to handle the overflow of calls during peak seasons. They can handle the rest of the calls themselves if they already have a full-fledged contact center. However, remember that a larger outsourced company has better experience in handling call volume. An in-house contact center may not be able to handle the extra volume of calls that it receives during peak seasons.

The agents in a call center are also better at managing calls than your in-house team, because they have received specific training. They are also well-experienced.  What's more, when you outsource your call center activities, you will get service 24 hours a day 7 hour week. You can rest assured that no matter what time of the day your customers contact your call center, they will be greeted by a real person.

The biggest problem that companies face while hiring temporary staff is that they don't know how many employees are required to handle the extra volume of calls. By outsourcing your call center activities, you can easily overcome this difficulty. Hiring temporary staff is another viable solution.

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The Psychology of Customer Anger

Call centers must inevitably deal with angry customers from time to time. Let's face it, these situations can get ugly! Before you fly off the handle right back at the customer (which is a huge no-no), put yourself in the customer's place.

The key is to understand- really understand- the customer's point of view. After all, it's all about psychology! Check out this video on how to understand customer anger:

 

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How to Deal with an Angry Customer

Check out this helpful video on effectively dealing with irate customers during calls for a positive outcome:

A Conference Call (in Real Life)

What Does the Revised TCPA Act Mean for Telemarketers?

The Federal Communications Commission (FC) amended the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) in February 2012. The revised TCPA Act requires telemarketers to obtain written consent from consumers before sending them automated telemarketing calls. The revised TCPA act went into effect on 16th October 2013. Here is an overview of the new rules and guidelines:

Telemarketing calls to cellphones

According to the old TCPA act, prior express consent - written or oral - was required for sending pre-recorded telemarketing calls to cellphones.

The new act says that prior express written consent is required. That said, verbal consent may be enough if the calls are purely informational.

Telemarketing calls to residential telephone lines

Prior express consent - it could be verbal or written - was required for making automated marketing calls to residential telephone lines, unless of course, the caller had an 'established business relationship' with the consumer. The new rule has eliminated the exemption for 'established business relationships’. Now prior express written consent is mandatory for all automated telemarketing calls. Here again, no consent is required if the call / SMS is purely informational.

In other words, the new rule has made prior express written consent necessary for both mobile and residential calls. There is still an important difference. Verbal consent is still necessary for informational and non-marketing calls to mobile lines.

What exactly is meant by telemarketing calls?

The term telemarketing calls is used to refer to those calls that are made with the objective of promoting products and/or services to potential consumers. Any call made to encourage people to buy a product or service, will be considered as a telemarketing call. In general, all text messages or calls which are not informational in nature constitute telemarketing.

What are dual purpose calls?

These calls serve two purposes. They are informational in nature. They also serve a telemarketing purpose. Examples are: calls or SMS text messages send to customers to remind them that their coupons or gift certificates are going to expire. These calls, too, are considered as telemarketing calls.

The following calls are not considered telemarketing calls:

·         Calls made on behalf of nonprofit organizations are not deemed telemarketing calls.

·         Debt collection calls

·         Any call made for political purposes

·         Any call made by a loan servicer regarding a home or consumer loan modification

·         Refinance calls made by a loan servicer

·         Calls made for non-commercial purposes. These include airline notification calls, school / university notifications, bank / credit card balance or fraud alerts, survey or research calls, package deliveries etc.

What is meant by 'Prior Express Written Consent'?

The term 'prior express written consent' refers to a written agreement that authorizes the seller or other person acting on behalf of the seller to send telemarketing messages using an automated system to the person who signed the agreement. A digital or electronic signature that is recognized by the federal law is also acceptable. This includes permission obtained through a webpage or email.

Written consent checklist

The telemarketer needs to identify each company / seller to whom the consumer is giving consent. The written consent should include an affirmative statement like I agree or I consent. It should reveal that the consumer is permitting the telemarketer to send telemarketing calls or message using automated technology. The consent form should obtain a handwritten or electronic signature. The consent form should also reveal that the consumer is not signing the form as a condition of buying any goods, property or services.

What about existing customers?

Businesses can no-longer rely on verbal forms of consent. Businesses that already have prior written consent from their consumers should evaluate whether they have obtained all the necessary consents. If any of the consents required by the revised TCPA act are missing, they will have to obtain them.

TCPA best practices

Specifically tell consumers that you plan to send promotional SMS text messages. Obtaining written consent early in the relationship is advised.

Specifically identify all sellers in the consent form.

Encourage online consumers to manually check a box after reading the clearly provided disclosures and/or click the submit button after entering their telephone number manually.

Use phone lists directly obtained from consumers. Exercise caution while buying phone lists.