Sound Training Solutions

Graeme' Book "Big Hearted Telephone Customer Service"

2009-09-23T13:37:00.000+10:00

For information on Graeme's book "Big Hearted Telephone Customer Service", click here.

IT Customer Satisfaction

2008-10-03T09:01:00.005+10:00

I spoke this week at the Australian Computer Society September forum and mentioned a quote from Gartner.

"More than 50% of users will be dissatisfied with the slow rate of IT change in their enterprises by 2013, up from 30% in 2008" (click here to see the whole article)

My point is that this statement, like many others in the history of the computer industry, can be proved wrong. This will only happen if there is commitment between IT people and users.

My question is, " is Gartner correct that the current level of dissatisfaction 30%?" What is your experience as a user or IT professional? What would need to change for this to be reversed?

Making a difference when the economy is slower

2008-09-03T16:19:00.010+10:00

The economy is slowing. Everyone knows it. On Tuesday the RBA reduced interest rates by .25% as predicted and the experts say there's more to come. Various commentators are offering their thoughts about how businesses will cope during the economic correction. Now it's my turn and I invite your comments.

I read an article written by journalist Frances Stewart on Tuesday, the same day as the interest rate reduction. The article addresses the need for franchisees and franchisors need to work together to get through this adjustment. Franchisees are obtaining additional working capital and are going to the banks to obtain it. Have a read of Frances' article by clicking here.

I was particularly interested in the sustainability of the approach Fracnhisees will obviously need to increase revenue to fund this or else reduce profitability while they “ride it out”. The question is how!

I think the answer lies in making a difference. A working knowledge of the emotionality of customer service excellence will be essential for customer retention and business growth. Consumer hesitancy, (and "buyer remorse"), to purchase can be overcome if businesses understand the psychology of customer engagement.

Last week I was speaking at a franchisor award dinner. They had a clear focus on making a difference for their customers by excelling at customer service - I guess that's why I was speaking there. It was a priviledge to share with them on that occassion.

What will you be doing differently to make a competive advantage during the tougher times?

Communicate, communicate, communicate

2008-08-03T00:43:00.007+10:00

This is a key to customer service excellence especially when things go wrong. QANTAS has been in the news lately and not for the best of reasons. The latest was an incident involving at 767 travelling to Manila that had to return to Sydney because of a hydraulic leak.

Until recently, I have been a bit of a fan of QANTAS keeping their customers informed about delays and when things go wrong. However, QANTAS has gone off the boil on this one recently. My own experience a couple of weeks ago was on the “midnight horror” or “red eye special” that is scheduled to leave Perth just after midnight and arrive in Sydney just after 6am. The flight was finally cancelled at 3am (O joy!) because of a bird strike in engine 1 on its final approach into Perth. We were left in the dark on a number of occasions when we were told nothing! At times we were told we would be updated on the latest status at certain times but no announcements were given when expected. Management of customer expectations is the key to customer service excellence. In my case, there was only the emotion of anger. In the case of QF19 on August 2, passengers would have had the emotion of fear. Customer emotions must be managed, especially in times of customer stress.

A number of passenger comments were recorded by the Sydney Morning Herald in their report on August 2. Click here to read it.

Here’s the question for you and your organisation. What documented policies and procedures do you have in place to communicate with your customers when things go wrong to manage your customers’ expectations?

Happy New (Financial) Year

2008-07-01T11:11:00.005+10:00

Can you believe it? We're half way through the year. A new financial year has just begun and you've got, in NSW away, 131 shopping day until Christmas if you don't count weekends! Execpt we now have weekend shopping so its more like ... Oh you work it out!

What does the next 6 months of business hold for you. What are you going to do to make your customers' experiences memorable?

Here are a some simple ideas and I invite you to add your own.

Don't wait for your customers to ring you. Ring them but make sure you have something of value for them, it's not just a chat; your customers are busy.
Follow up after you've delivered them a great experience. That way you can demonstrate that you really care.
Share with a colleague a difficult call you've had and discuss how you managed a difficult situation or if it went pear shaped, how you might do it better next time.

Together we can do more than anyone one of us can do by ourselves, (this is known as Gestalt psychology); so let's help each other.

The ultimate customer service question ...

2008-06-03T16:16:00.006+10:00

There’s a fair amount of ‘buzz’ around customer service circles about using Net Promoter Scores to assess customer satisfaction.

The Net Promoter Score, (NPS) was designed by Fred Reichheld of Bain & Company and is obtained by asking the following simple question –

"On a scale of 0 – 10 (lowest to highest) How likely is it that you would recommend to a friend or colleague?"

The NPS is calculated by the following formula:-
% of Promoters - % of Detractors = Net Promoter Score (NPS)

Promoters are defined as those who score the question in the range of 9 or 10
Neutrals are defined as those who score the question in the range of 7 or 8
Detractors are defined as those who score the question in the range of 0 to 6

There are a number of recent articles that have been written on the subject. Genesys in conjunction with Callcentres.net has some information you can download.

In 2006 Associate Professor Mark Ritson,of the Melbourne Business School did some research into NPS in Australia. If you’re interested in looking at his research, click here.

The main purpose of this blog is to stimulate some local discussion around NPS. Feel free to comment on articles you’ve read or any other contribution. I’m keen to hear from anyone who is using NPS and the benefit it’s adding to your business. Maybe you have a contrarian view. Great let's hear it I’ll be making some further comments later myself.

Is sales manipulation?

2008-05-04T16:50:00.004+10:00

It's time for a discussion on ethics. Is sales manipulating people to buy goods and services they don't need?

According to dictionary.com 'manipulate' means to manage or influence skillfully, especially. in an unfair manner.

Is that the art of selling? A google search of sales and manipulation results in over half a million hits.

What do you do when you sell to your customers. If you don't manipulate, what do you do. I'll come back later in the month with a suggestion of an alternative to manipulation.

In the meantime - what do you think?

Do Not Call Register - 10 months into it. How's it going?

2008-04-01T13:50:00.005+11:00

The Australian Communications and Media Authority, (ACMA), has just released its 5th edition of Making the Right Call, their industry newsletter.

In it they state that more than 2,000,000 people, (by my calculation that's 10% of the Australian population) has registered on the DNC.

I invite you to comment on how its working from both consumer perspective and how it's changed the way you telemarket your clients.

As a consumer:
Are you personally on the DNC? Are you one of the 2,600 complainants each month that say it's not working? What's your experience?

As a company:
Do you work of a company that has been complained against? (Make sure you answer this blog anonymously!!!). Has it made a difference to your business?

It sort, what's happening with the DNC?

Is Offshoring working for Australians?

2008-03-04T13:51:00.003+11:00

I noticed in a recent callcentres.net article, that "Offshoring markets are experiencing growth". It particularly mentions that "the Philippines has become a key destination for English voice-based work for the United States".

We're told offshoring occurs because either it's cheaper or you can't get the staff in Australia or New Zealand. I'd be interested in your personal reflections about offshoring and the Australian market. My observation is that offshoring is not all that popular with the local market.

Any perspectives ... ?

Is being cheaper your competitive advantage?

2008-02-07T11:30:00.001+11:00

On the home page of my speaker website http://www.graememarks.com/, I ask the question, "What is your competitive advantage? Are you cheaper than you’re competitors or better? Many organisations make the mistake of competing on price rather than difference!"

There is a real problem in competing on price because all that does is reduce margin. It seems to me that there is an expectation that customers will always buy the cheaper price.

Here's a question I'd like to reflect and comment upon ...

"Would you pay a plumber $100 to come and unplug your sewer who said 'I'll be there sometime on Tuesday' or would you pay $150 for a plumber who said, 'I'll be there between 10 & 11 on Tuesday'" (I know you pay much more for a plumber but you get my point!!!!)

As I said, I'd be interested in your reflections.

Environmental Reasons

2008-01-11T15:50:00.000+11:00

My own observations suggests organisations are citing "environmental reasons" for not offering services that they used to offer. My question this month is, "is this just a cost cutting exercise with a marketing twist". All of us want to be environmentally friendly. Is this the new marketing ploy for not providing services once offered.

One recent example was an organisation that once provided a news service free of change but no longer do so as this would mean less use of paper and toner!

What do you think?

When incoming customers have a hidden agenda - what do you do?

2007-12-06T12:30:00.000+11:00

I was doing some coaching this week with a client and the issue of getting control of an inbound call came up. The problem is that sometimes customers asks a question that is really another question in disguise.

For example, a customer's opening line is

"How long does it take to ship your goods from your Sydney warehouse to our Brisbane office?"

We really need to ask ourselves the question, "Why are they asking this?". Almost always there's a question behind the question. Do they just have an academic interest in shipping times? Probably not! They have a real reason for asking. Maybe something has not arrived that they think should have arrived. Maybe they want push our processess by ordering something after our close off time.

It's OK to answer their question with a question or not answer the question straight away. Here are some examples of what you might say instead:-

"It depends."
"Have you placed an order with us?"
"Are you expecting a delivery?"

Sometimes their questions can be even more obscure such as

"What is the life expectancy of your product?"

I'm sure you can think of many hidden agendas behind this question. You could respond with, "Do you mind if I ask what's prompted you to call us today?" Is that too risky a question? Let me know what you think?

How have you handled the hidden questions?

Forget about Exceeding your Customers' Expectations

2007-11-01T18:10:00.000+11:00

I heard a story of an airline in Europe as an example of how “good” it is to exceed customers’ expectations.

"There was a strike by one of the airlines and so the other airline was exceptionally busy. The airline that was still flying provided its callers with an introductory message along the lines of, “due to an industrial dispute by one of our competitors, we are experiencing an increase number of calls. We will be with you in 8 minutes”. At the 4 minute mark of waiting, an agent came on the line and took the call."

This was cited as an example of exceeding customer expectations and that this was a good thing! I suggest it's not good for the following reason.

To inform callers of the delay is quite good. It lets the caller know about a problem. The problem is in telling the caller that they will have to wait 8 minutes but getting to them in 4! Suppose the customer thought, “OK, I’ll just put the phone down and go and do this other thing I need to do. I’ve got 8 minutes”. They return to the phone after 6 minutes, just to make sure they’re back in time, and they hear, “beep, beep, beep”! Why? The agent comes onto the line after 4 minutes and is saying “hello, hello, hello”. After 1 minute the agent releases the call because who knows if and when the caller will return! That’s bad customer service! In that situation, the agent would need to wait for at least the 8 minute mark. The message here is:-

Forget about exceeding customers’ expectations!

Meet them everytime consistantly!

What do you think?

Asking permission to proceed on outbound calls

2007-10-01T13:40:00.000+10:00

When making outbound calls, do you ask for permission to proceed or do you think this just gives the potential customer the opportunity to hangup?

After you've introduced yourself and why you've called, whether it's a sales call or a customer service call, I always recommend asking the customer a, "is this a good time" or "do you have a moment" type question. Some suggest that, particularly in a sales call, this just gives the customer an excuse not to speak with you! I would say that if the customer doesn't want to speak with you they wont anyway!!!!

I think it's important to recognise that the customer might not just be sitting there waiting for our call. They may be working on important matters; even more important than speaking to us!
The following diagram may help.

Imagine your customer is working away in their office and of all the things they could be doing, their current task is at a priority 6.

The ringing telephone would be a priority 7. This is because most people will stop what they are doing to answer a ringing telephone. If they do not wish to be disturbed, they will normally forward the phone to voice mail. When we call them, we are asking them to treat our call at least as a priority 8. If another call comes in while we’re on the phone, we hope they will let it go to voice mail and continue to talk with us. We are certainly expecting that they will stop doing their priority 6 activity.

It is therefore simply a matter of common courtesy to ask permission before proceeding. In order for the customer to give us their permission to proceed we need to give them the reason for the call first. After identifying who we are and where we're from, the key phrase we might use could be, "I'm calling about ..., do you have a few minutes?"

Over to you and your thoughts. Do you agree or disagree?

The telephone equivalent of a "Handshake"

2007-09-04T14:22:00.000+10:00

In my June Newsletter, I raised the issue of why we say, "How are you?" to customers at the beginning of a call!! This is what I said in the newseletter.

I doubt if this is a genuine inquiry with regards to health. Over the years I've tried to determine what this is all about. I've come to the conclusion that it is the telephone equivalent of a handshake.

Have you ever wondered why we shake hands or why we use our right hands to shake hands? Perhaps it’s because in ancient times when two people met you didn’t know if they were a friend or an enemy. You approached the other person with caution – right hand extended. Would they grab their sword and run you through? If we both grab each other by the right hand then neither of us can go for our swords. The need for caution has passed but we have kept up the tradition of shaking hands.

Just as handshakes can be weak or firm, so can our response to be "how are you". A weak response might be the throwaway line, "I'm okay" whereas a firm response might be “I’m really well today”. You can use this moment to lift the emotionality of the call.

I know that some of you are working with this so I though it would be good to make it the subject of this month's blog. Have you listened and responded to the "how are you?"? Has it made a difference to the emotionality of the call?

Any comments??

Using words words like only?

2007-08-26T15:38:00.000+10:00

In my monthly newsletter this month. (Click on the logo to view the newsletter), I mention the use of words like "only" when talking with customers.

I invite your comments here as to how you might use this or similar words with your customers.

Where will we be in 10 years time?

2007-07-14T14:48:00.000+10:00

Recently I was asked to write an article addressing the question of what will the contact centre industry be like in the next 10 years? In one sense I could have made up anything because in 10 years time no-one will remember what I said!!!

Nonetheless, below is what I predict. Do you agree? Do you see other changes in store for us?

What will our industry look like in 10 years time? It will be interesting to pull this article out in 2017 and see how close to the mark it is. In predicting the future, it maybe useful to look back and think about other predictions and how successful they were. One of the classics was that television would see the death of radio. We have more radio stations than we've ever had! Another was that television would see the death of the cinema. Multiscreen cinemas are being installed in suburbs on a reasonably regular basis. I think it was Mark Twain who said, “I am somewhat reluctant to make predictions, especially about the future”. Nevertheless, here I go...

Is the following prediction true: “Technology will replace the customer service agent”? In the light of my initial examples, I am suspicious about such statements but I have better reasons than that!!

Certainly, there is, and always will be, a place for technology. Technology is a marvellous enabler. I think we'll see, over the next 10 years an increase in the use of technology and an increase in what technology will enable us to do . We have plenty of evidence to support this view. I can't remember the last time I rang an airline to book a flight. It is easier and more convenient for me to do that over the net. I expect we will see a greater move towards self-service by our customers, especially as our customers become even more technically savvy. However, I do not believe that in the foreseeable future, we will see technology replace the customer service agent in anything other than routine matters. The reason for this is quite simple. When a transaction is routine, such as booking a flight from Sydney to Melbourne, it is a transaction that only engages the mind. There is no emotion involved. However, in more difficult transactions, when the customer is not sure exactly what they want or if there are problems, emotion plays a major component. I do not see on the horizon any suggestion that we can simulate, with technology, a virtual agent with emotion any time soon. Will we be able to create a virtual agent that is able to handle emotionality? Not at the next 10 years in my view. Some research is being conducted in this area but we are a long way from Stanley Kubrick's HAL in 2001.

We have all experienced the implementation of speech recognition. The initial implementations were disastrous. The cynicism of the public is still so great that there is still a reluctance to embrace speech recognition. Organisations, of course, implement it because of the cost benefit. Obviously, as the technology improves, there will be a greater acceptance of the market of this kind of technology. Nonetheless, I suspect, the customer service agent's job is safe for a long time yet, because people will still want to deal with people when emotion is involved.

Over to you ...

Over 1,000,000 Australians have now registered on the Do Not Call Register!

2007-06-03T12:29:00.000+10:00

Even before the official start date, (May 31), ACMA has realised there are problems with the roll out of the DNC. Did you know that the restriction of Research calls on Sundays has been lifted?

This month's blog goes back to the DNC issue and asks the following questions:

Have you personally placed your number on the DNC and noticed any differences?
How's the implementation going for you if you're a Telemarketing organisation?
What changes in the DNC would you recommend?

I await your contributions....

Q: Why do we measure what we measure in contact centres?

2007-05-01T15:53:00.000+10:00

A: Because we can!!

Contact centres seem to have more quantative KPI's than any other department in our organisations. We measure talk time, service levels, average speed of answer, abandonment rate... the list goes on. One of the reasons we measure these, I suspect, is because the information is readily available from the telephone equipment.

What about measuring customer satisfaction, 1st call resolutions, customer retention, revenue etc? These are much harder to measure but deliver real value to the business.

In this month's blog, I invite you to tell us what you measure in your contact centres and most impartantly, why do you measure them?

National Do Not Call Register

2007-04-08T17:14:00.001+10:00

Comment added May 3: The userwebsite is www.donotcall.gov.au

Click on the following link and you can download the Australian Government's National Do Not Call Register Act 2006 that comes into effect on May 31. The explanatory statement of the legislation might be easier as it provides an overview. At least it's only 12 pages!

Unfortunately there has been little industry consultation (again) and there is much confusion out there. This blog is to assist in the implementation and compliance of the legislation.

In addition to the DNC, all outbound calls will need to comply with the Telemarketing Standards. Can I suggest you download and read this document. It is only 9 pages and is very clear. You may also wish to read the Guide for Telemarketers.

Below is a very simple overview of our obligations under the act. I invite questions for which I will try to get some answers.

Any private subscriber can register for free from May 3, (originally we understood it to be May 17).
Before you ring a number you must "wash" the number against the DNC. This is done by registering with Service Stream Solutions Pty Ltd. More information about how to do this will be published shortly. You will need to pay for this service.
You must not be more than 30 days behind.

Have a scout around the ACMA website and associated links, post your questions and we'll try to get some answers. You can also register with ACMA to receive updates by subscribing to this email address donotcalltaskforce@acma.gov.au.

Telecommuting - does it, will it work?

2007-04-08T12:44:00.000+10:00

This was orginally posted March 8, 2007

Telecommuting is the idea of working from home.

Is this the future for contact centre agents? We have the technology. A google search has over 3 million hits.

It has some advantages. It's a safer working environment especially for night shifters but what about the social aspects of work. Interaction in the workplace according to Herzberg is necessary.

What do you think? Would you want to work from home doing contact centre work? Would you be happy to have remote team members if you are a team leader.

Click below to add your comments

What are some positive rather than negative phrases we can use?

2007-04-08T12:42:00.000+10:00

This was orginally posted February 4, 2007

Suppose a customer calls you because an order they placed has not yet arrived. They want to find out when delivery can be expected. What do you say? I often hear agents say, "I’ll have to ring the warehouse." There are very few "have to’s" in life. I wonder if, psychologically, when we get a call like that we think, “Gee I wish I didn't have to do that!”. It makes our thinking negative which can actually 'be heard' in the way we say it. When I ask people to turn this negative statement into a positive one, more often than not they turn it into a neutral one such as, "I will ring the warehouse for you."

An alternative way, which would be more positive, might be to say, "I'd like to ring the warehouse for you."

The phrase “I’d like to” rather than “I’ll have to” actually creates a whole different way of thinking. You can extend this even further by varying your voice qualities. For example, if you speak more softly and a little slower and say, “What I'd like to do for you is…” it can sound as though you're doing something very special just for that customer.

What positive phrases have you used and, more importantly, how do you say them? Click on the link below and make your contribution.

When things are quiet ....

2007-04-08T12:38:00.000+10:00

This was orginally posted December 3, 2006

Well, it's holiday time for some but maybe you're still at work. How do you spend your quieter times?

Many years ago when I worked in a call centre, (we didn't know we were in a call centre because the term hadn't been invented yet!), we had some quiet times occasionally. I found a manual for the computer system and, as I flicked through it, found all sorts of short cuts on how to do "stuff" which I could pass onto others. The call centre was with an airline. I even found out how I could cancel or reschedule a flight!!! - not that I ever did that! Security was different 30 years ago!

These days many people have access to the internet. What sites have you discovered to help you in your role? In my monthly newsletter, (click here to access), I have suggested some websites to look at.

This month's blog suggests that you might like to add to the list or give your opinion of websites that are particularly helpful and why. Or perhaps somethings that you can do in the quieter times that you just don't get the time to do at other times of the year.

Over to you. Click below and make your contribution.

Those phone calls at dinner time!

2007-04-08T12:32:00.000+10:00

This was orginally posted November 1, 2006

I don't know what it's like at your place but I'm getting more and more telemarketing calls. That's OK. They have a job to do. What irritates me is that they seem to have a prepared script which they deliver no matter what else happens in the call.

They never ask me if I have time to talk. Is that because they think I'll say "no" and they won't get to deliver their spiel, or do they think I will simply stop doing whatever is important to me and talk to them?

Would you just barge into someone's office and start talking without knocking? I doubt you would do that even to someone you know let alone a complete stranger!!

Here's this month's question. Why do some telemarketers not ask for permission to proceed? Would their conversion rates go up or down? Would they spend less time on unqualified prospects and therefore increase their conversion rate?

Love to hear your thoughts.