The old African proverb “it takes a village to raise a child” rings true in the world of customer service. This is especially pertinent when trouble-shooting over the phone, where team collaboration and call-forwarding is essential to display the care and effort put into solving a caller’s problem.
Customers typically feel like they’re important and that your business is doing all it can to solve their dilemma when they speak to a team of associates over the phone. Instead of placing the burden of troubleshooting on one employee, it’s a better idea to have employees collaborate and come to a collective solution as a team.
To accomplish this, your business needs to use its VoIP (voice-over internet protocol) system’s call-forwarding feature, which allows phones to ring simultaneously or sequentially when answering a customer-service call. This article will briefly outline four steps for best practices while call-forwarding, so your business can quickly and effectively solve the problems of customers who call in.
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Confidently introduce yourself and get connected
First and foremost, greet the caller and clearly introduce yourself, and allow the caller to do the same. First impressions are important, so be sure that as the first person to speak with the customer, you have made them feel comfortable and taken care of. Also be sure to give them your extension, in case you are disconnected.
Next, as you listen to their problem, make certain you get their name and any other pertinent personal information from them, in case you need to reconnect with them later. As you go through this step, let the customer know that you have been taking notes, and that you are preparing to pass your notes on to the next associate, who will help you hone in on their particular problem or issue.
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Explain why you need to transfer the call, and to whom
As you build the customer’s trust, make sure that you let them know that your company takes their problem seriously, and that you will require the assistance and perspective of another associate to ensure that their issue is adequately resolved.
Before you forward the call, it’s a good idea to tell the customer what the title and name of your fellow associate is, so they know that you know what the next step towards rectifying their problem is. Foster a sense of confidence and authority in yourself and the company, so the customer knows that their issue will be resolved.
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Ask for permission and wait for their answer
Before you forward the customer’s call – and ideally, throughout your entire conversation – be sure to ask for their permission to speak with another associate and to have their problem analyzed by the call center team. Be courteous and polite, and give the customer time to answer your requests. Make sure they know that they only stand to benefit from having more eyes to solve their issue.
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End with Etiquette
As you forward the customer’s call, or have their call forward to you and solve their issue, make certain that your final moments with the customer are cordial and pleasantly concluded.
Make certain that they have no outstanding or unanswered questions, and that they feel like you did all you could to give them the best customer service experience possible. It is your job to be but one component of the collective effort to solve the customer’s problem through call-forwarding, but in this role, you should do all you can to ensure that the customer felt like they were special and care-about.
It may take a call-center team to solve a customer’s problem, but all it takes is one impolite or unpleasant interaction to derail the collective effort. Do your best facilitate the best customer-service experience possible in your one-on-one interaction, and leave the rest to the next member of your call-center team.
Consider these four steps the next time your call-center team collectively solves a customer’s problems. If you need more advice or tips on how to navigate the digital landscape, look no further than technicy.com.
