Your call is very important to us

Your call is very important to us

Is it really?

I have to admit, that I am not the most patient person around. I am even less patient when it comes to being put on hold, for what feels like hours, by supposed “customer service departments”. You know the hold message… The one that says “Your call is very important to us. Please hold for the next available agent”.

If my call were truly important, the hold time would be in a somewhat more acceptable range, say less than two minutes.

Then when you finally do get through to someone, you cannot understand them because the whole customer service department has been outsourced to a third world country, or if you are lucky enough to get a US based person, they are not exactly eager to help you with your problem.

At best they answer the phone robotically, asking you a series of “security” questions, treating you like your account number and not like a real human being.

I am even less patient and intolerant when I get a slothful and apathetic customer service specialist on the phone. I don’t think they realize that “customer service” is in their job title and that they should be specializing in exactly that.

Yes, I know, it can be a thankless job and they have to deal with sometimes irate people, but still… they are the face of the company they represent. Every single call is an opportunity to put your company’s best foot forward.

So here is how I see it. Even though they were hired to answer the phone and solve your clients’ issues or problems, they have a number of other primary and secondary responsibilities:

1. Often, they are the first “real person” experience with your company. They need to make your clients feel like they are the only person they are dealing with that day. Make them feel special and that you are truly there to help them. You only have them for a few minutes on the phone. Make the most of it.
2. They are there to actually SOLVE problems for your clients. That is their job description (or at least it should be).
3. They need to make your client feel appreciated and show empathy. The security questions can wait a second. Let the customer have their say, vent a little, then get to those pesky security questions. It will make your client with the problem feel like they are being heard and listened to.
4. They must restore confidence in your company. This is the most important and vital of all their duties. A client or customer is calling in with a problem about YOUR company’s service or product. While the expectation is to fix the original problem, they key is to do it so that you restore that clients confidence so that they will return again and again.

To sum it all up, in a recent article Janet Poklemba, a customer service manager for a home warranty company stated that her service theme is simple and effective: We are people helping people, not people processing claims.

Vance “Impatient” Morris

Author of the book “Systematic Magic, 7 Magic Keys to Disnify Any Business”

For more on Disney Style Service and small business marketing or having Vance speak at your next event or meeting, check out the free special report “Systematic MAGIC, How to Disnify Any Business”. Vance Morris is a Walt Disney World Resort Management Alumni, having spent 10 years as an executive in the Resorts. He runs the only Disney Service & Direct Response Marketing business on the planet. Here he coaches companies to create Disney Style Service Systems and then monetize them through direct response marketing. He is also the longest reigning GKIC Marketer of the Year. He can be reached at www.DeliverServiceNow.com or vance@deliverprofitsnow.com .

For speaking engagements, please visit www.vancemorris.com