All the caller wants is to be acknowledged

Augu 21, 2018

By RUDY SHUKRI


First, I would like to thank all who liked and commented on our post “To Give or Not to Give” and left their practical and interesting views.

Allow me to take it from there and add our best practice.

When it comes to customers/clients buying our products or services, they have ONE basic need, the need to be acknowledged – yes, I say “need” because what they “want” can be very different. So when they call you at their convenience disregarding yours, all they need is to be acknowledged in any way possible.

The methods of acknowledgment differ among cultures. For some, an automated SMS would do, for others, the expectations are higher.

The Ideal solution? There is no ideal solution.

Nothing fits 100% of the clients, and nothing works 100% with them either. The idea is to keep doing it with as many clients as possible and as perfect as we can, and, as long as this is done by the “right” people, success is guaranteed.

As you might have noticed, the Call Center person needs only to have basic communication skills, process knowledge, and time management. The customer service representative with his expertise would handle the caller with more details as needed.

The points that will improve the opportunity to satisfy the caller are:

1- The time needed to have a human answer the call is reduced (not a machine recording with 9 options to choose from, and then another 9 options to select a service, have you ever tried to call a bank or an insurance company?)
2- Only the expert answers: a little information can have a direct impact on the trust levels the caller has towards the service provider.
3- A promise and a commitment to get the requests answered immediately or within a certain period.

No matter the nature of the call, from complaints to inquiries, this method has proven its success. This process can be scaled up or down to fit any company size. Of course, there are challenges to overcome such as the suitability for the position and the decision-maker’s view but…….
what do you think you, in your capacity, can do to initiate impactful change???

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