Blitzed! 5 top tips for offshore employees dealing with US Holiday season.

It's coming....something twinkly this way walks!

They're running on the fumes of a candy cane frappachino.  They're trying to talk over the shrieks of visiting nieces and nephews,  and juggling tape, scissors, catalogs, and ornaments with one hand while writing their Christmas letter with the other: this customer is fragile. Handle with care!

Here's a few tips to help them handle the madness.

1: Tailor your materials to the "high middle" level of rep awareness.

My previous company put out company- wide communiques about Christmas, New Years, and Thanksgiving (yes, they missed a few holidays, but hey, they tried!). They included background, traditions, and greetings, as well as fun trivia.

They were geared towards the "intermediate" level, which I think was the right choice. Most agents are familiar with the basic idea of US Holidays-- they may have seen music videos, movies, or read magazines and books with these holidays featured. Some countries either celebrate the same holiday or have a version of it, so this raises awareness as well. Don't bore your audience with basic stuff-- at the risk of having them ignore it!

2: Give your reps an idea of what the customer (probably) loves about the holiday.

For Thanksgiving, it's all about the food and the football game. For Christmas, it's all about the big family gathering, the "loot" and the lights. New Year's is all about a resolution that everyone knows you'll break. If you give your reps a few quick talking points and sound bites, they'll make a much stronger connection to your holiday-season callers than with a tepid "Happy Holidays".

3: Go beyond the warnings about stress to the reason that the stress is happening.

Explain the pressures of travel, the expectations that those [expletive deleted] commercials set, the stress of seeing family members that were otherwise avoided all year, and so on. Try to bridge these to common experiences in your reps' lives, if you can.

4: Anticipate and adjust your top call drivers, and create training around these.

Quality and Operations may have done this already, but it's up to you to make sure your reps are prepped for the onslaught of returns, lost packages, and frantic orders that they'll face, especially if they're seasonal ramp employees.

5: Create a  training package for each holiday, with top call drivers, information about the holiday, sound bites, etc.

If you're off duty, traveling, handling the 50- people- just- quit -crisis, or just otherwise engaged, it's a smart move to have a place where you employees can go to get the information they need about the holiday. SharePoint, Chatter, Yammer, or other Enterprise Social Media/LMS is a great place to store this stuff.

And don't forget the reason for the season... Sharing photos, foods, or stories with your reps can help them "get it" much quicker and bettter than any Power Point presentation, no matter how awesome the graphic are.

Now get out there and start spreading some holiday cheer!

Tutorial: PhraseHacking!

Many articles and tutorials offer lists of helpful phrases and magic words that can turn a call around. I say that’s only half the story. You need the recipe, not just the finished product. You need to know how to construct your own magic phrases—not just parrot the ones you found on in a listicle somewhere.

I’ve performed word-by word “autopsies” on some effective phrases I’ve used or heard used in my call center days, for your own coroner’s report!

The four phrases:

“Hi, I hope you can help me.”

“Okay, we are at $87.52 today.”

“So, I see by the notes that you’re considering closing out the account today.”

“Oh, I wish I didn’t have to say that it’s the case, but unfortunately, that’s what we’re looking at right now.”

 1.       For collections: (For requesting contact information from a third party)

“Hi, I hope you can help me.”

This phrase was extremely effective. Why?

1.       “Hi” (Informal greeting, sets a friendly tone)

2.       “I hope” (no one wants to dash your hopes)

3.       “you can help me” (a request for help is actually a more powerful psychological bonding tool than doing a favor, studies show. Use this to “bond” your listener to you.)

Overall, this phrase gives your listener a direction, and something to do, to get you off the phone graciously—i.e., give you the contact information. It also puts you in this position (see below article), ‘the powerful supplicant’.

http://www.slate.com/articles/life/culturebox/2013/08/the_kindly_brontosaurus_the_amazing_prehistoric_posture_that_will_get_you.html

Frankenstein’s monster: making a similar sentence using the knowledge you gained from your autopsy

“Hello there¹, I’m hoping you might be able to² help me out here³.”

2.       For retail or other sales: (Giving tally)

“Okay, we are at $87.52 today.”

1.       “Okay” (casual usage, indicates wrap- up of job duties, sounds brisk yet friendly)

2.       “we” (magic word cubed. “We” creates a sense of teamwork, unity, and the subtle indication that you’ve been working with the customer this whole time.)

3.       “are at” (Some people don’t like roundabout ways of referring to dollar amounts- those numbers with no currency indicator you see on menus, or the like. I personally think it’s situational. When you’re the IRS, you don’t say “We’re at $15,528.53 today”. There are times to be exact, and there are times to draw the veil of subtly over what you’re doing. Shopping for pleasure is one of those times to blur the lines of harsh reality as much as possible.

4.       “today.” (You’ll be back! Or conversely “Hey, it’s just one day, tomorrow you can go on a budget! But YOLO!”)

There is something offhand, casual, and even at bit international about this phrase. Heard it at the H&M in Denver Pavilions shopping center and was so struck with it I decided to write this article.

Frankenstein’s monster: making a similar sentence using the knowledge you gained from your autopsy

“Alright¹, we’re² looking at³ 57.92 for you this time⁴.”

3.       For retention: (Upon opening up the case)

“So, I see by the notes [or “my other customer service agent told me” if you have a retention queue that is separate] that you’re considering closing out the account today.”

1.       “So” (this is the opening shot of a longer conversation, inviting explanations, which means you can give counteroffers.)

2.       “I see by the notes” (I pay attention and I care)

3.       “you’re considering” (You haven’t done it yet, but I am deferential to your wants)

4.       “closing out” (or some other delicate euphemism like “changing the status of”/ ‘discontinuing”)

5.       “today” (What happened in the recent past that dramatically changed your service so that TODAY you called us? Oh my gosh!)

I had to train my retention reps out of saying “You want to terminate your account, is that correct?” (So many things wrong with that, I don’t even know where to start!)

Frankenstein’s monster: making a similar sentence using the knowledge you gained from your autopsy:

 So¹, I can see that² you’re thinking about³ discontinuing⁴ your services with us today⁵.”

 4.       For all customer support bad-news situations:

“Oh, I wish I didn’t have to say that it’s the case, but unfortunately, that’s what we’re looking at right now.”

1.       “Oh” (universal signal for regret)

2.       “I wish” (further signaling that you care, and you regret having to give bad news)

3.       “have to say it’s the case” (firm yet polite way of setting expectations and boundaries)

4.       “unfortunately” (signally that you understand the frustrations/situation of the customer

5.       “that’s what we’re looking at” (I particularly like “what we’re looking at”- it orients the “team” to the mindset of problem solving and looking forward to solutions, rather than digging in and arguing about the policy or situation)

6.       “right now” (this signals that the situation is not ‘set in stone’, and the customer doesn’t have to contact the BBB or the Attorney General to file a complaint, things might change in the future)

Frankenstein’s monster: making a similar sentence using the knowledge you gained from your autopsy:

“Oh, gosh, what a tough situation¹. I wish I didn’t have to tell you this², but⁴ where we are5 right now⁶ is…”

I heard this phrase from a recorded call from India. I was tasked to find out why certain Indian reps were getting such high scores from our customers (answer: partly their Anglo-Indian accent, which sounded extremely high class and credible, partly their delivery—sweet and helpful.)

Well, you heard the medical examiner! Now you know why these types of phrases are so effective. Go forth and use your knowledge!

3 crazy things customers think, and how to set them straight

Ring the bell! School’s back in! Educating your “confused” customer the right way.

Isn't CustomerWorld just lovely? Don't you want to live there too?

Source: weheartit.com

 

Your customers live in a magical, bluebell-sprinkled world called “CustomerLand”. The Internet is free, or 9.99. Money grows on trees, their word is law, and everything written in promotional brochures about customer-centric focus is literally true. HA HA! Poor customers.

They have some ideas that, shall we say, are hindering you in providing them with the best service. What are those common beliefs and how can we educate our customers without angering them or talking down to them, and making sure they listen and understand?

Formula for success:

1: Sympathize with the belief, no matter how nutty or misguided.

2: Taking your cue from clues the customer has given you, choose your education approach.

3: Educate the customer and if applicable, offer them choices or a compromise to help ease the transition from CustomerLand to the Real World.

Belief 1: The Internet is a natural resource like air or water.

 Since I can get it “free” at places like hotel lobbies, airports, and the library, why should I pay your company anything more than the barest minimum for an internet connection?

The Reality: Where to start? Free wifi is a “hidden cost” that you “pay” for with the cost of your coffee or your plane ticket. Some free wifi comes from your tax dollars, your retail taxes, school taxes, etc.

The Internet is never free, but wily businesses make it look ‘free’. If you want high quality, reliable internet connection for your home, you’re going to get what you pay for, just like most everything else in life.

How to explain this to your customers without a blow up:

Choice 1: Just one steelworker blue collar person to another

“I know, it’s crazy, right? Everything seems like it costs so much more nowadays. But you know what, when you pay for quality, you get quality. You get [whatever features and benefits they are paying for: warranty, truck rolls, 24- hour- access to help, etc]. So I know it’s a bit of a pinch, but you’ll have peace of mind knowing you’re getting a quality product.

Choice 2: Tour guide dishing on state secrets

“I know it seems a little high, but the thing is, it’s all about what the market will bear. It seems like some people are willing to pay pretty steep prices for unlimited data, so that’s where the prices are set right now.”

Belief 2: If only we could go back to the “good old days” when there was no outsourcing. If customer service reps were all “Americans”, we wouldn’t have any service issues.

The Reality: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EokF_4MGjqI. This USA DMV employee sharpens pencils while a room full of people wait for her to call their number. One of many, many videos about American employees doin’ it wrong.  Point is, bad service is not limited to, nor does it originate in, outsourced call centers.

How to explain this to your customers without a blow up:

Choice 1: The Warren Buffet

“I know some call centers haven’t given our customers the service we’d like. But outsourcing some of our most common calls allows us to keep our prices low for everyone. If we sourced all of our work onshore, you’d be looking at much, much higher costs.”

Choice 2: The Mother Teresa

“I know, it’s hard to deal with outsourced centers sometimes. But you know, we’re really doing a wonderful thing giving people a job and a leg up out of poverty with these call center jobs. Sometimes we just have to look at the big picture and help our neighbors.”

Belief 3: Yes I did! (send that check, rebate form, item back to the warehouse)

This is a hard one. It’s very hard to argue something in the negative. You can’t “prove” that you don’t have something. However, the upside is, rarely can they prove they actually did do what they most likely didn’t do.

Reality: No they didn’t. (Or you have no record of it, which is pretty much the same thing).

How to explain this to your customers without a blow up:

Choice 1: That was then, this is now.

“Gosh, I wonder what happened. Well, the bad news is we don’t have the item, and we don’t have a record of it. So, your choices are….”

Choice 2: Hate the game, not the player.

“You know what, I gotta tell you, I just hate these new computer systems. Things are getting lost, not logged in, you name it. There’s always a chance it’s a glitch in the system. But what we need to do for now is…”

Remember, the customer lives in a world where there is one red phone on your desk, and he’s the only person you’ll deal with today, or her call is the only one in queue. Don’t break their fragile butterfly dreams, just gently guide them back to earth.

 

 

Ignore your Customer: The 8 types of Voice-of-Customer responses you can safely toss.

What do irrelevant VOC survey comments look like? (And how do you handle them?)

Source: Zazzle.com

When I first came to my language and cultural coaching job, I was appalled at the comments I was seeing from customers. They were so angry! Listening to my first few calls, especially those that had  angry comments attached, I could see why they were so mad. But over time, I learned that not every comment has merit, or is even true! 

Here's the easiest to spot types:

(Let's say your call center is handling KableForAll, a mega-provider of Cable Services )

1: Response clearly refers to another company's product or service. 

Looks like:
 "Every time I call you clowns, it takes three hours to get through. And then you still can't take my order right. All I want is to get easy, correct phone service. How hard is that in this day and age?!"

2: Response is mostly or fully based on the fact of outsourcing itself.

 Looks like: 
 "If President Whatever had a good head on his shoulders, he would BRING JOBS BACK TO AMERICA!"

3: Response is upset about out- of- scope issues:

Looks like: 
"Look, if I pay for a one year warranty, I think it's not too much to ask for you all to extend the courtesy by at least 2 months!"

4: Response is unintelligible or garbled. 

Looks like:
"yea, whatevs. You guys sux. Haterrrssss!"

Medium- Easy to spot

5: Response is based on the quality or standards of the product, and not your services:

Looks like:
 "This throttling is not what I paid for! GIVE ME MY FULL CABLE AND GAMES!"

6: Response is a reaction to a chain of events your rep just happened to be the last person to handle:

Looks like:
 "I am cancelling my service because since July of 2007 I have NEVER received good service. Good day to you!"

7: Response is specific, but upon reviewing the call, in your professional opinion, the rep did not commit the errors you read about:

Looks like:
"The rep kept me on hold for 45 minutes!! Is that what you yahoos call service!!! And when he got on the phone I could barely understand him, his accent was so thick!"

Hardest level: 

 8: Response is specific, but does not hit the issue. However, there were issues on the call, just not what the customer called out.

Looks like: 
"How many times am I going to call these phone lines and get an INDIAN on the phone? I am so tired of hearing the same scripted CRAP over and and over." (Your reps are not Indian, and do not use scripts, but they had accent and delivery issues). 

How do you handle these?

Well, every call center has its own protocols, but usually your Quality Assurance Team has come up with tags that will clearly indicate that the response is not relevant to your scores, and why. 

It's also key to have calibrations, both with your teams and with your clients. Ensure that what they consider an out of scope response is also what you consider out of scope. Equally important is the "why" they agree to toss out a survey response-- make sure that when you're discounting responses it's for the same reasons as your clients'.

Ensure that you are not biased, as much as you can. As a trainer and a coach, I had soft spots for certain reps, favorites, and people I did not give any inch of excuses for. We all do it. Just make sure you're not dismissing a comment because you "know Jim is a great guy" or giving more weight to a nutzy comment because that "Misty kind of *is* a b----".

Make sure you read the comments, the Quality Reports, and the breakdowns of the tags every time they come out. Again, different call centers have different tools, and they can sometimes vary from account to account, but most call centers track all kinds of stats. Ensure that you as a trainer or a coach work with your operations team to get access to those tools and reports and for goodness sake, use them!

Finally, it's important to do lots of audits. I used to audit almost 100 calls a week, and I became very good at spotting good calls that the customer would  wind up giving a bad review to. Calls where the customer couldn't get what they wanted, they were just plain mean people, or they had an axe to grind with the system or the product. 

Remember: when evaluating criticism, first consider the source.

The 5 types of reps EVERY call center should have

The 5 types of reps you need on your phones and working your floor. (And how to get the best from them!)

Who are they? They are....

•  Diamonds
•  Pearls
• Jades 
•  Marcasites
•  Golds

 Diamonds

Who are your Diamonds?

Diamonds are your superstars—they’re expensive, dazzling, sparkling, upbeat, high energy, and can be a little flashy at times. They love to show off, be loud, and get the party started. 

How do you use your Diamonds?

 Diamonds need to be appreciated with thank-you’s, bonus structures, public praise “Wow, everyone, Jeremy just got 1500$ before noon- let’s all give Jeremy a hand!”, and good news when coaching. Diamonds can be a bit moody, fragile, and temperamental, so if you have to give them coaching, use the “poo sandwich” method—praise the good, give the coaching points, end with more praise.

Diamond famous quotes:

"Hey, did you see that last sale I just got? I wam- bam- thank- you- ma'am-ed that customer! Woooo hooo!!" 

 Pearls

Who are your Pearls?

Pearls are your quietly glowing mother/ father figures. They have a gentle aura about them (and this applies to plenty of men too!) that seems to just melt customers that can’t even see them! They float serenely around the stations, dropping off kisses, hugs, and “how are you?’s” to all your staff. Everyone loves them.

How do you use your Pearls?

Pearls are great early warning systems for unhappiness and attrition on your staff. Because other types may enjoy or even thrive on chaos and gossip, you may not really see a problem if you ask them—you may not notice until half your staff has left over the romantic fallout between your Manager on Duty and your Team Manager. Pearls may drive you crazy with their slow pace and need to greet everyone and have (several) coffee and chat breaks a day, but they keep the human side running, and that’s important. “MVP” or “World’s Best Employee” plaques or mugs might be welcome, personal time with you (the boss) such as a coffee or a “reward dinner” might also work. Personal, thoughtful gifts are best.

Pearl famous quotes: 

"Hi, Shelia? How was your husband's knee surgery? And how's the new house working out, Fred?"

Jades

Who are your Jades?

Jades are cool, calm, collected, brainy types. They don’t get emotional, they just fix the problem. Sometimes they can be “clueless” about “people stuff” but they are key for those Tier III tech support queues you’re running. 

How do you use your Jades?

Jades do well as technical trainers because they often naturally command respect due to their technical expertise. Jades also make up good Team Leads and Subject Matter Experts—they seldom let interpersonal “drama” affect their business decisions the way other types can. Jades like challenging work, respect, and to be recognized for their expertise.

Jade famous quotes:

"Guys, if you would have listened to me about the server last month, we wouldn't be in this situation now. But good news is, it can be fixed." 

Marcasites

Who are your Marcasites?

Marcasites are your oddball creative types. They biked to work, they have tattoos, they have a side gig in a band. They tend to do pretty well with customers since they think out of the box and are willing to come up with creative solutions. 

How do you use your Marcasites?

Marcasites shine in creative endeavours. Find their talent (acting? Let them M.C. your next seminar. Flair for media? Let them try out a company twitter feed) and nurture it. Ensure that they are focused (they can be a bit scattered) and that you work with them on a long term growth plan (they hate to feel stuck or trapped). Use them to shake up the team and give everyone fresh ideas and fresh perspectives.

Marcasite famous quotes:

"What if we created a robot IVR that sounded like a cat purring? Wouldn't that be so rad? Customers would love it!"

Golds

Who are your Golds?

Golds are your basic, everyday employees who show up, come to work, do a very solid job, and go home to their families. They don’t give you any issues, but neither do they swing from the rafters with 5000$ checks in their hands after sales. They’re the setting in which your other types shine.

How do you use your Golds?

Treat them well, keep your word, and set a reachable but high standard. Treat them the way you would have wanted to be treated in your work, or the way you were treated by your best boss and you’ll find yourself with a very solid staff.

Gold famous quotes:

"Hi Boss, how was your weekend? What's new?" 

To be successful, you need a mix of people. With the right blend of your "jewels" and the right treatment, you'll be on your way to a very effective team!

Rebel Yell--- Throw those customer profiling materials out the window!

 Why you should rethink the way you teach customer service.

First things first…

What is a profiling- based customer response program?

Almost every customer service training program has a section (usually outright named “Customer Profiling”) that follows the stations of the profiling cross:

1: Lists the type of customers you’ll encounter (usually broken up into “Happy”/ “Irate”/ “Newbie”/ “Scared/ Anxious”)

 

2: Describes the common characteristics of these customer types—these are illustrated with either a smiley

or the dreaded “White Gumby” 

(white Gumby really gets around, by the way. I’ve seen him? (her?) On almost every awful PowerPoint Presentation in the last 5 years.)

3: Explains what these customers may be feeling or what may have led them to become this type 

4: Gives a few basic hints or tips on how to “manage” or “handle” that type of customer—usually very obvious stuff: “Just hear them out. Then acknowledge their concern and provide empathy.”

Most training designers and managers that propose and support “profiling” programs do it from the desire to make things more consistent, reliable, and streamlined. They tend to believe that most workers just want a solid, reliable system they can click into place and use over and over to “handle” the most irritating, overwrought, aggressive customers, or the most clueless, befuddled callers.

 Dovetail these beliefs with an operational viewpoint on bottom line (what’s the quickest, cheapest, and most effective way we can raise our customers’ satisfaction?), and a(nother) profiling program is born. 

With many companies expanding their footprint to more and more countries, it is important that your training program be scalable, and many training executives believe that individualized responses are anything but. 

All of this is understandable. 

So why is customer service STILL so poor in so many outsourced call centers despite these foolproof, airtight profiling programs? 

Where’s the miss? 

The flaws of profiling based customer service training:

1: Failure to adapt to huge social changes in the last 10 years.

With the technology customers use every day (cell phones, tablets, social media, the internet, television, even call centers!) becoming more and more adaptable, an inflexible, limited “one size fits all” customer approach is unappealing to most people. Think about it—your website lets the customer log in 24-7 from any device, allows them to create an account, log in and find answers, talk to their peers on forums, download documents, post reviews and comments, and customize their homepage.

Why doesn’t this extend to your handling customers over the phone or chat/ email? Why are you teaching your trainees to use the same stuffy “I’m sorry for any inconvenience this has caused you” with both a seriously angry customer and someone who likes to playfully kvetch to build rapport? 

2: It actually decreases empathy, rapport, and engagement with the customer.

We trainers know that one of the most difficult habits to break with our trainees and reps is “key word listening”—or what happens during the following exchange:

CU: “I got the kit; I’m just waiting for my grandson to get the radio transmitter off the dish.”

CSR: “Uh sir, were you informed that we will be sending you a kit to mail us back the equipment?”

 

Key word listening is pretty much what profiling- based training teaches. It teaches reps to listen for key words/ tone/ usage/ para-verbal noises (sighing, huffing, um’s and uh’s) and apply those to the profile matrix, looking for a match, and then applying the “prescribed” phrases.

But…different people use language differently—that’s one of the things that makes English so delightful for us English Majors and such a bear for non-native speakers.

How do you list all the possible ways a customer could try to build rapport? Show anxiousness? Show defeat and disgust with the company and its policies? Show their playful side by using “hot damn!”? (Robot hears curse word. Robot apologizes.) 

Consider the following example:

CU: “I’m all about the PDF, hee hee” (customer is trying to build rapport as she describes her software requirements)

CSR: [silence, keys typing]

Compare with this:

Customer: “So, what can we do about this? If I pay all $200 today, I can’t buy food this month.”

Employee: “Oh, I understand girl; I’m right there with you. Hang on a second… let me see what we can do.”

(Submitted by a customer, from the website http://notalwaysworking.com/)

3: It won’t fix the root cause issues that led to misapplied solutions anyway.

 

Cultural differences, language misunderstandings, even personality issues can all affect the way your representatives and trainees handle customers once they get onto the phones or onto the chat tool.  Using just written words on a PowerPoint slide to suggest how to handle customers may result in misinterpretations and misunderstandings.

We all have different ideas about what “explain things calmly” (or other proscribed scripts to “handle” customer types) means—to some that means with a flat affect and no emotion, to others that same thing might mean “be a broken record until the customer accepts your statements.”

Telling people (with no reinforcement, discover, or “aha” moments) that they “should” do A when faced with B rarely works. Come to think of it, does it ever work? 

4: It insults the intelligence and work ethic of your trainees.

 

I really, really believe in setting a bar of achievement that your employees will rise to, not creating a “fool-proof” system that “even a monkey could do.”

I won’t name names, but pretty much everyone I’ve worked with at the executive level has absolutely zero confidence in the abilities of the front level employees to make any kind of independent decisions. Yes, I can absolutely see why it’s scary to let bubble- gum- popping, ADHD, 3- months- and- I’m- bouncing- to- another- center- front liners make decisions that could cost you customers.

 But guess what? Customers revile being treated like a number, told that the rep can’t do anything, being reminded of “the policy” and listening to scripts more than they hate high prices, broken URLs, or shoddy products. 

You’re already losing customers with your ham- handed treatment of them as “irate” or “confused” (or as one EQ- challenged boss once put it “You got 4 types, okay? Lazies, crazies, daises, and hazies.”)—no one likes to be a number, a “type” or a label. 

Here’s some ire directed at a major telecom company for its use of scripted lines:

…. “So after 30 minutes of painful scripting they tell me it's a line problem.  Well duh!”...

Now of course if I were living in some kind of call center Utopia where agents had uniformly great judgment, there were enough supervisors to go around, no other departments ever got it wrong, and the product itself never caused the majority of the complaints, it would make total sense to give the front liners the directive to “use your best judgment” when dealing with irate, at- the- end- of- their- rope, crazy customers. 

But I live in the real world. 

So how do you address this? 

Create a customer service training program that does the following:

• Takes its core activities from real calls, real customer verbatim statements, real situations you’ve encountered, and real tools.
•  Encourages, through training, practice and coaching, the representatives’ own good judgments and actions and corrects the flawed or incorrect judgments and actions.
• Uses multiple ways to expose representatives to “the customer”—customer service review websites, role playing, listening to call recordings, games….anything but sitting through a theoretical lecture on “The Irate Customer and how to handle them.”

In short, training should be about teaching your reps to bring out and practice their own strengths in dealing with each customer as an individual, not a type.

None of us likes being a number, a statistic, or a “unit”, so why are we training our reps to treat our customers that way? Join the revolution and start thinking about customer service in a whole new way!