Communication Process

Sending and Receiving Messages

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Communication Elements

• Perceptions
• Channel
• Environment

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Word Choices

Do not use large, complicated words

Do not use slang

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 Word Choices
• DO not use large, complicated
words
• DO not use slang
• Avoid using jargon
– Translate jargon into common
English

FACT: Poor word choice can confuse cardholder or make

them uncomfortable.
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Voice Quality

Tone
Pitch
Volume
Speed

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Communication Barriers
External Interference
Internal Interference
The context of the message
Difference in Perceptions

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Effective Listening
Attentive Listening
Listening to important information

Empathetic Listening
Listening to appreciate other’s
feelings, emotions and attitudes

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Effective communication
(QLS)
 Questioning
 Listening
 Summarizing

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Communication Styles
• Aggressive behaviour

‘My need is more important than

yours’

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Communication Styles
• Submissive behaviour

‘Your need is more important than

mine’

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Communication Styles
• Assertive behaviour
Putting forward your ideas &
feelings and also respecting others
needs

‘Both our needs are important’

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The Quality Call Process
 Opening
 Questioning to understand query
 Listening effectively
 Resolving & giving benefits
 Closing
 Follow Up

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Telephone Communication
 Courtesy
Establishing & maintaining rapport
 Accuracy
Understanding customer inquiry
Giving solution & options

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 Telephone Techniques

 Voice – Well paced & varied

 ‘KISS’ it – Simplicity
 Use non-verbals – ‘Uh-uh’s’
 Hold procedure
 No negatives – ‘No But’s/ I’ll try’
 Telephone courtesies – Follow them!

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Difficult situations

• What are the different

situations that you anticipate in
terms of
– People
– Process

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Handling Angry Customers

• Deal with their feelings

Listen and don’t take it personally
Empathize
Give feedback

• Deal with the problem

Ask relevant questions
Give solution or options
Get agreement from the customer
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Handling Demanding Customers

• Be brief and to the point

• Mirror the customer’s tone of
voice
• Use the ‘broken record’ technique
• Give options

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Handling Talkative Customers

• Use closed ended questions

• Control the space between your
conversation
• Use minimum response

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Handling Objections
• Objection
Any rule, regulation or policy that
customer does not like
• Complaint
When competence, error free,
timely service has not been
delivered

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Handling Objections
• Misconception
– Explain to the customer
• Skeptical
Prove by showing facts
• Bad experience
Apologies and action plan
• Real disadvantage
Highlight other benefits

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 Commitments & Action Plans
Make sure your Action Plans are SMART

Specific - What, Where, Who?

Measurable - Easy to check when completed?
Achievable - Is it do-able?
Realistic - Is it challenging
Time bound - By when?

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Basic Telephone Etiquette

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Welcome – The Grand Opening

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WHY ????

• A friendly welcome sets the

stage for a positive exchange of
information
• When callers receive a friendly
greeting, they are inclined to talk
more openly.

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What it does for your
Customer
• This is emphatically reassuring
and puts the customer at ease
• Tells him/her that you care
• It shows that you’re friendly
• It demonstrates to the customer
that you are focusing on them

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Concentrate Full Strength

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Why??

• It’s a basic courtesy

• People who do 2 things at a time
don’t do either one very well
• When you split your attention,
you’re likely to lose something
important the customer says.

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Barriers to Concentration

• Internal

– The mind can process information

faster than most people talk
– The mind has a habit of wandering
– Pre-occupation

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The Moral

• Give the caller your undivided

attention
• Focus on what the caller is saying
• Avoid distractions
• Do one thing at one time

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Objectivity

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Ass out of yourself &
customer

ASSUME
ASS - U - ME

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Conclusions
• Once you jump on to conclusions,
you close your mind to other
possibilities.
• Instead of listening, you let your
own opinion distort or color the
caller’s statement.
• As a result you don’t really hear
the customer but a mixture of
the customer and yourself.

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Practices to Avoid

• Avoid interrupting the customer.

When you interrupt, you aren’t
listening.
• Let customer talk, if you’re doing
the talking, you wont learn
anything
• Let the customer finish what
they start.

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 Facts vs. Assumptions
• Normally follow an
observation which
provides the
evidence leading
to the fact
Can be made at any
time with
sufficient evidence
or no evidence at
all

• Can be proven
May not be proven
• Leads to an
agreement Leads to an
disagreement
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The Moral

• Don’t interrupt. Let the customer

finish what they start to say.

• Stick to the facts. Avoid

assumptions

• Remain objective. Don’t jump to

conclusions.
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Let ‘Em Hear you Listening

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Why??
• In face-to-face conversations,
you can give visual, signals, such
as a nod or a raised eyebrow.

• There are no visual signals on the

phone. If you don’t give verbal
feedback to show you’re listening,
they wont know you are paying
attention.

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 The Customer’s side

• When a customer does not hear

verbal feedback he might think

– “ I have been disconnected or put on

hold”
– “ They’re just not interested”
– “ My call isn’t important to these people”

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What is Verbal feedback?
• Verbal feedback is a variety of
short responses that let the
caller know that you're listening
and paying attention.

• Verbal feedback responses

include expressions like “All
Right”, ”I understand”, ”I’m
making a note of that right now”.

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The Bottom Line

• Give verbal feedback clues to let

the customer know you’re
listening.

• Use a variety of clues to avoid

sounding bored or mechanical.

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Every call is ‘Note-Worthy’

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 Notes
• Making notes is recommended. The human
memory is not perfect.

• Written notes give you a record of the

customer’s name and message
– Including correct spellings
– Case reviews
– And accurate contact information

• Tools to carry
– Paper for taking notes
– A pen or a pencil
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 Effective and Easy Note -
Taking
 Remember writing takes longer than saying
it
 A good idea is to develop an abbreviations
system for quick use
 Remember to prioritize information
 Always remember the objective of the
call…this will help you sort what
information you would want to take note of
 Quality is preferred over quantity
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The Next Step
 Paraphrase/Rephrase, read them back
to the customer. Tell the customer
what he/she said in our own words

 If the customer changes anything

correct your notes and promptly read
them back

 Helps you get the right information

 Tells the customer that you are

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Lets revise
Always have a paper and
pen/pencil by every phone

Use a system of abbreviations to

make note taking easier and
effective.

Repeat or rephrase the message

back to the customer.
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Basics of Service on the Phone

 Answering the Telephone

 Putting callers on hold
 Transferring a call
 Taking a message
 Ending a call

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 Good telephone etiquette is one
way that you can help ensure that
a customer can call any
department within your company,
in any city or country, on any day
and be dealt with in a uniform
way.

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How to answer the phone

The way a company picks up the

phone tells the entire story about
the kind of service you can
expect to receive.

How you answer the call sets the

pace & tone of the entire call

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The Three Rings
Three rings is the generally
accepted standard for picking up
the phone.

If you hear a phone ringing in

your department and no one picks
it up, make it your business to do
so. Even if you can’t help the
person on the line, you can at
least take the message.
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Greet the caller
A greeting should always be the
entry point of phone
conversation. It indicates
 your friendliness and openness
 your willingness to provide
quality service
Don’t make your greeting
too long or over the top

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 Give your name
This basic act of courtesy lets the
caller know that he or she has reached
the correct person, department or
company.

– Answering your own phone or direct line

– Answering the company phone

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Answering your own phone or
direct line

Usually the caller knows the

company he has reached and you
only need to identify yourself by
giving your name.

“Good Morning, this is Andrew, how

may I help you?”
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Answering the company phone

Usually receptionist and

switchboard operators would
answer the phone and give the
company name rather than their
own.

“Good Morning, City Finance, how

may I help you?”

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 Answering the department
phone
Usually saying only the name of the
department is sufficient, followed
by your name. However if the call is
coming directly from outside say
the company name before you
identify the department and
yourself.

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 Ask the customer if you can
help
Saying “how may I help you?”
completes the telephone answering
etiquette by demonstrating that you
and your company are ready and are
available to assist the customer with
his or her needs.

It pays to write down the customer’s name

and use it regularly in your conversation.
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 Recap
How to answer the phone

The Three Rings

Greet the caller

Give your name

Ask the customer if you can help

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 Ending the call

‘I always remember the last thing I

heard’

The ending is one of the most critical

part of the conversation

The last 30 seconds of the call is what

leaves the most impact on a customer’s
mind.

It is critical to always end on a positive

note.
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