Telephone Tune-up
Simple Skills to Help You Improve the Customer
Experience
Every contact we have
with a customer
influences whether or
not they'll come back.
We have to be great
every time or we'll lose
them.
-Kevin Stirtz
Customer Service Gone Bad
Was Vincent
Ferrari
justified?
Self Audit
What is the best thing about your
telephone service?
What is the worst thing?
It’s not what
you say. It’s
how you say
it.
How to Create Rapport Over the
Telephone
Smile as you speak
Put lots of energy and enthusiasm into
the first 4-6 seconds of the call
Use the caller’s name more often than
you would in person
Speak more slowly than you would in
person
Be personable, warm, natural and friendly
Phone Finesse
Call Handling From
Beginning to End
How to Open a Business
Call in 4 Friendly Steps
1. Greet the caller “Thank you for calling
2. Company
Rooney Insurance.
name
My name is
3. Your name
Terasita. How can I
help you today?”
4. Offer to help
Acknowledge Concern
 “I realize this must be frustrating.”
 “I can understand how frustrating it
might be to gather your team together
for a video training and the video not
play.”
 “I cannot imagine how upsetting it must
be to…”
 “We want to get to the bottom of this
just as much as you do.”
Acknowledge Compliments
 “Thanks for being a loyal Myra Golden
Media customer.”
 “Thank you. We always like to hear how
much our customers enjoy our
products.”
Maintain Control (and put customers at
ease) with Assertive Statements
• “We appreciate customers who let
us know when things aren’t right.”
• “The first thing we need to do
is…”
• “I’m glad you called today.”
• “I can certainly get that
information for you.’
Bridge to Questioning
 “In order to determine what happened I
will need to ask you a few questions.”
 “Do you mind if I ask you a few
questions so we can figure out what
has happened?”
How to Ask Questions




Use please and thank you.
Be friendly and
conversational…don’t have an
interrogation style.
“May I have your zip code, please?”
“Thanks. One final question…”
Recap and Explain Next
Steps


“I will mail you a $50 gift card.
You should receive this gift
card within 7-10 days.”
“I will research this and call
you back at 918-398-9368.”
Ask, “Is there anything else?”
•
•
•
“Ms. Williams, may I help you
with anything else?”
“Is there anything else I can
help you with today, Mr.
Davis?”
“Ms. Bryant, do you have any
additional questions?”
How to End a Call
1. Repeat any action steps
2. Ask customer if you can do
anything else
3. Thank the customer for
calling
4. Let the customer hang up
first
Putting Callers on Hold
1.
2.
3.
4.
Get permission
Explain why
Give a time frame
Thank the customer
Sample On-Hold Dialogue
“Tim, may I put you on hold for
approximately two minutes while I
obtain more information? (wait for
response)
Okay, I will be back with you in a
minute or two…(45-seconds pass)
Thank you for holding. What I have
learned is that…”
How to WOW a caller who can’t
hear you.
“I’m sorry, I’m not able to hear you. Your
call is important to us. Please call us
back at 866-873-8419. Thank you for
calling Myra Golden Media.”
Be aware of and control
mouth noises.
How to Escalate a Call
1. Explain why you must escalate
2. Introduce customer to
escalated party and explain the
situation
3. Thank the customer and wish
them success
How to Communicate with a
Person Who Has a Foreign Dialect
Don’t pretend to understand
Don’t rush the customer
Don’t shout
Summary
Adapt Adopt
Apply
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conclusi
on
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