Making The Telephone Work For Your Business

The telephone is the first point of contact for most businesses yet many organisations seem to ignore its importance as a customer service tool.

Here are some common slips that can result in lost customers. Could your organisation be inadvertently turning off customers?

Taking too long to answer the phone. The Australian standard is three rings and the average customer hangs up after six rings and tries the next business in the directory.
Not identifying the company’s name and who is answering. Sometimes this is said so quickly that the caller is not able to confirm that they have rung the right organisation. Conversely the greeting and identification can be so long that customers get impatient and interrupt. Ensure that your organisation’s greeting is standard and that departments identify themselves in a consistent manner. For example, all people in Accounts Payable should state this and not be allowed to add their own interpretation such as Accounts, Payments or Finance.
The IVR menu is too long.More and more businesses are using IVR to route callers and if this is appropriately used it can be very effective and a time saver for both parties. For example, if customers press '1' for new business or '2' if they are current customers this can effectively route calls to a sales or customer service function. Once customers have to select between more than three options they can become impatient and hang up. It is a good idea to allow the option of pressing '0' for the operator.
Voicemail is being inappropriately used or messages are not returned. Some times voicemail is used to screen calls or is turned on when the user is too busy to take calls. Voicemail is a tool to facilitate customer service and should not be used to hinder access to key people in your organisation. If you do have voicemail ensure that your receptionist or switchboard operator advises customers of this before transferring calls and the caller is able to choose whether they would like to leave a message on voicemail or not. It is also a good idea to offer an alternative number for urgent calls. There is nothing more frustrating than being caught in “voicemail land” and not being able to get through to someone who can help you.
Staff members do not know how to use the telephone functions so make disempowering statements like “I’ll try to transfer you but if I lose you then Brian’s number is 4628”. Who is going to trust your business to deliver on an important contract if your staff members don’t even know how to use the phone? At the very least all staff should be proficient and confident in the use of hold and transfer.
Staff members do not use the appropriate courtesies when transferring customers or placing them on hold. Customers should always be advised of both transfer and hold. Customers who have been on hold should be thanked for waiting and not asked the somewhat redundant question “Are you there?”
Customers are given the run around or transferred calls are not announced. “Call dumping” should be discouraged so that all recipients of transferred calls are able to make customers feel cared for by knowing and letting customers know that they are aware of the nature of the call. Ideally you should be aiming for one call resolution and this can be facilitated by ensuring that staff give their direct numbers wherever possible. This also takes the pressure off a very busy switchboard.
Calls are screened in a terse manner so that the caller feels disinclined to give their name or business. How often have you received this treatment? “Who’s calling? From? What is it in connection with?” Screening calls is a fact of business life but it can surely be done with a bit more courtesy and respect than this.
The opportunity is not taken to end calls on a high note. This is one of the easiest things to do and it will have an exponential effect on how customers perceive your service. Encourage all your staff to end calls by saying something like “Thanks for calling” or “I hope I’ve answered all your questions.” Even complaint calls can be ended on a positive note by saying something like “Thanks for bringing it to our attention.”

With a little bit of care your organisation can offer best practice telephone service and reap the rewards.

Sheila Roberts is Director of Performance Development Associates, a Melbourne-based training consultancy. It specialises in assisting organisations to hone their image and improve business on the telephone whether this be customer service, sales, reception or credit collection. Sheila can be contacted on (03) 9682 6055
First published: 21 September 2000.
Last updated: 11 November 2004.