7 reasons you should "trip the web fantastic"

Wherever you are-- flicking through the TV spotting a super-cool graphic logo, idly scanning the cork-board announcements at your local coffee spot-- if you're anything like me, you're probably thinking "How can I use this for my classes?"

But what about those idle Saturdays at Joe’s Buzz Coffee spent flitting from interesting link to link, following the “web rabbit hole” and seeing where it goes? It’s a virtual (pun intended!) goldmine for your classroom—you’d be smart to put it to work for you.

My own light bulb moment: http://snapshot.trulia.com/. 

It’s a real estate website with an unusual twist- I’ll let Trulia explain it: 

“…search for any city in the U.S., can click around the map, scroll the slider through the most expensive/least expensive homes in your neighborhood, or just hit the big play button on the left to sit back and let your dream home find you.” Trulia Blog about Trulia Snapshot

In case you’re curious, Trulia used the firm Stamen Design to produce this super fun (and totally addictive) interface.

Immediately I was entranced with the application. I knew right away that I was going to use it—it mixed the playful feeling of exploring a “quest” video game with (almost) everyone’s natural voyeuristic streak (“Wow, what does the inside of a 4 million dollar home look like, anyway?”) 

The site was launched on its “maiden voyage” the very next week in a retention training class, as part of a series on housing costs and how most Americans’ money gets spent. I was teaching in the Philippines, in a relatively provincial area, where a two story, two bedroom townhouse (with furniture!) only cost about 140$ a month to rent- we needed a frame of reference and a visual anchor to really drive the point home.

How did the website benefit us? (Spoiler-- those 7 reasons are dead ahead!)

1:  It gave the class a visual portrait of housing costs in the US—much more concretely than a list of figures or even a snappy graph would have done 

2: It engaged tactile and visual learners (I let the class try the site one by one), rather than just aural and verbal learners, as lecture based classes did  

3: It can be used flexibly—I had them try to guess how much the “estimated monthly payment” would be on each house we chose to look at

4: It helped trainees sound sincere when they sympathized with customers calling in to cancel because of rising living expenses—they’d seen those expenses with their own eyes, after all


5: It was fun! There is a gaping hole in most training classes, and that’s genuine fun combined with learning. Not the manufactured “fun” of those awful ‘sales games’ you see in well-intentioned workbooks for sale in the business section of your local Book Emporium, but the kind of fun most people are having in their real life outside of class

6: It made the trainees feel that the trainers were going the extra mile to engage them, resulting in 100% throughput rates for 8 out of 9 classes

7:Screen shots from the tool itself could be used to create presentations for non- web-enabled classrooms, doubling the uses of the site.

Okay, fine. So that one great website helped me. What if you don’t run a retention or sales class (or other culture-centric class)?

I humbly proffer this website (or other fashion sites)…

Ralph Lauren's Collection Fashion Show Video

…as a great way to do the following:

• Engage visual and aural learners  
• Break up the monotony of a lecture/ raise the energy level and get people talking 
• Demonstrate lessons about data use and how it can rapidly add up without the customer knowing or intending (great for tech, customer service, or even billing queues)

Your turn:

Here’s a list of links to get you started on your own Alice in Inter-land Adventure:

Cutting edge visuals:

http://www.infosthetics.com/

http://www.visualcomplexity.com/vc/

For engaging, relevant US Culture content:

http://query.nytimes.com/search/sitesearch/#/interactive+graphs

http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/travel/united-states-guides/

For an “inside look” at unfiltered customer service from the other end:

http://www.customerservicescoreboard.com/

http://www.measuredup.com/

Happy trails, dude!

  

Should YOU hire hackers to grow your NPS? Yes! Find out why.

Hacker Love: Why you should encourage hacking in your CSRs.

Kitty Hacker

Customer watchdog service site The Consumerist calls them “customer service ninjas”— they’re the people who know the tricks and tips that can get you, the hapless consumer, real help.

“Well, off the record, I tried this once and it worked for my last customer” they whisper, pulling back the curtain to reveal the magical world of true assistance.

When the customer is in a catch-22, the software design is not customer-friendly, or the situation is rapidly becoming a “horror story”, the best reps step in with a creative solution, a backdoor key, a “work around” …a hack.

Customer service “hackers” just might be your most undervalued resource.

What exactly is a hack? (And what is not a hack!)

A “hack” is a piece of advice, tip, hint, trick, reminder, or extra step  that helps the customer do what they want to do—while still remaining on the right side of the law.

It’s generally not available to the general public and may have been something the customer service rep has only learned over time, from dealing with the same issues over and over.

 For example, if your business requires a credit card to be on file for paperless billing, but paper billing has a charge associated with it…you’re going to get a lot of irate customers demanding either:

a)      E-billing with no card on file

 or

b)       Free paper billing

(This is the actual set-up at a major company I worked with, not just a dystopian nightmare, sadly).

How did the reps find a way to give the customer what they wanted (no fees but no card on file either) while giving the system what it wanted (card on file or fees)?

Customer Service Hack: Put a prepaid credit card with a very low balance on file and stay on paperless billing. Then pay the bill however you like—credit card online, check, Money Order.

No more worries about overdraft fees resulting from “oopsie” charges to a debit/ credit card, no more rushing to the bank to deposit money onto a little-used card, and no fees for a paper bill either!

So what is NOT a hack?

A hack is NOT cutting corners, breaking rules, bending the law, or lying—its essence is not evil manipulation of the system, it’s navigating the system using your experience while staying within the rules.

Why use hacks?

Training manuals can’t cover everything

The state of training in most corporate call centers is…not terrific. Manuals and activities are designed “by committee.”  Global Heads usually set a course (often following the latest training trends) that gets filtered and diluted as it trickles down to the trainer level. And, by and large, training departments move as a herd—innovative ideas often get crushed by the wheels of “This is how we’ve always done it.”

By necessity, training manuals can’t cover all possible situations (how to manage “grandfathered-in” accounts, keyboard shortcuts that let you skip entering a zip code for nervous customers, etc), and all possible work around-s. That’s where your hackers come in.

The source has street cred with your staff

Most of us know that the stiff, overly- scripted role plays you set up during training will be forgotten on Day 1 in the babble of ringing phones, screaming customers, and howling floor managers—the real trainers are the hackers already on the phones—experienced customer service agents who’ve learned the little secrets that can make things so much easier.

Like bootleg cassette tapes passed from glove box to mailbox to P.O. box, these tricks, tips, and hints are usually flying beneath the company’s official radar—and that’s fine. People tend to believe word of mouth much more than memos from on high anyway.

It makes the customer feel like they’re getting special treatment

From everything I’ve seen on peer- to- peer forums, blogs, and support websites, customers just love being “in the know.” If giving them a little more information like “Stop by your local [phone company and internet provider’s] office, the guys on the ground level often know about upcoming installation plans.” gives the customer a thrill with their daily dose of Vitamin IVR, why not try it?

It gives your customer service reps the ability to do a great job

For almost everyone, feeling that they have the power to do a great job is paramount for job satisfaction. Money, perks, job titles and the like only go so far in attracting and retaining true talent. Getting paid big bucks to say “I’m sorry for the inconvenience, but I can’t waive those fees” over and over doesn’t feel good to most people. Hello, turnover for “personal reasons-other.”

 Your best reps take pride in being Super Agents- able to solve any problem, and work with any customer to find a workable solution. Give them the power to achieve this. Happy reps makes happy operations departments, happy managers, and ultimately, happy customers!

How do you find hacks and make hackers?

Ask your Team Managers for the names of a few of the top performing people, take them for coffee on their break, and butter them up. Then ask them for a few tips they would give newbies that maybe got “left off” the training manual. You can also run an informal, friendly Focus Group Discussion, where you ask for the “top five” tips “off the books” or things like that. Be sure to bring food!

 Quietly use their advice in your next training class “just in time”—when you get to the part of training where the hack would be useful, introduce it and explain it—gently stressing that this could really come in handy next time the trainees are between a rock and an irate customer.

If you audit calls and coach, be sure to praise creative solutions and hacks when you hear them: “I really liked it when you gave your customer the1-800 number for that out- of -scope equipment provider. It’s not required, but you really went above and beyond to find a solution.”

 You can also send out email blasts or post on your SharePoint site “Work- Around of the Day” or “Best Solution Award”—so that those agents already on the floor have a chance to benefit from your treasures as well.

Then watch your NPS grow thanks to hackers!

Go from complaints to Net Promoter Status with this ONE secret!

Many customer service articles talk about various aspects of both mechanical communication and soft skills, but tend to overlook one key communication skill that could greatly improve your contacts with customers. What is it?

Framing.

Framing: adding context, transparency, and customer focus to your conversation with just a few words.

We've all been through the IVR do-si-do as a customer where you give the nice robot lady all your information short of your star sign, only to painfully trudge through a series of questions about the same things once you get “a live one” on the line.

Imagine the huge difference it would make if your customer service rep took just an extra 5 seconds to explain:

“I have an account in front of me, but just to be sure I’m looking at the right one, could you please verify 2 pieces of information for me—your full name and billing address please?”

Wow, that’s so much better, right?

That’s framing.

What are the key steps in framing?

Think like a customer

Like many key customer service skills, framing doesn't exist or operate in a vacuum. Customer service representatives will have to tap a skill they've (hopefully) learned elsewhere—empathy or how to think like a customer.

As a customer service rep (or trainer / coach / team lead), ask yourself these types of questions:

• What would I want to know right now if I were this customer?
• How would I feel if someone returned from a long hold and suddenly asked me to fax over a copy of my birth certificate with no explanation or lead- in?
• Could I add some key information or advice to my resolution to prevent the customer from encountering common issues I've seen time and time again?

Most customers want 2 key things: knowledge and control. Few customers feel comfortable “going along for the ride” to see what happens when they give their CCV number to someone who barks out an order to do so with no explanation of why.

 Customers will become infinitely more compliant and co- operative when you give them knowledge (control is another story- and another post!).

What does it look like? “Mr. Hudson, I've researched your account and it appears that we’ll need some more documents to process your application. I’m looking at our list of acceptable documents here and from my previous experience the easiest thing on the list to fax in for most of our customers is their birth certificate. Would that work for you?”

Back up one—or maybe even two—steps

What was the root cause of the current issue? Can it be explained quickly and clearly to avoid it occurring again, thus avoiding call backs and repeat contacts? A few sentences of simple customer education can prevent a scathing customer complaint on your peer- to- peer forums later.

What does it look like?“Okay, it looks like what happened here is that back in September, due to an outage, you were credited a prorated amount for that month.

 In October, a promotion kicked in, lowering your bill for the next three months. 

Then, in January, your bill went back up to its normal amount, which is $57.99. That series of events is most likely why we’re seeing different bill amounts from September to now, and why the bill seems higher today than it was in the previous months.”

When in doubt, be transparent

Pretty self- explanatory. If you think a sentence or two would help, use it. Don’t be a word miser.

Using clear, simple, neutral language

Avoid jargon, long, complex sentences, “military language” or “business-ese” like “utilizing our total capacity, we have analyzed the output…”. Especially avoid canned, scripted ‘explanations’ if at all possible. Customers aren't fools. They have a nose for corporate evasion, and when they hear things like this, they end to react like a puppy seeing a vacuum cleaner for the first time: ready to pounce—on your every misstep!

Avoid the blame game

Keep the finger pointed away from your customer by using the passive voice. Many writing coaches strongly advise against using the passive voice under any circumstance, and in general, they are correct. Weak, odd- sounding sentences are usually the result.

The one exception, however, is when the customer did something (or didn't do something) that resulted in the current situation. Unsent documents, failure to “un-check” auto-opt-in features during the sign

- up phase, spilled Jolt cola on the keyboard—we don’t need to spell out to the customer that it’s “the nut behind the wheel” that’s the problem.

If you are dead set against the passive voice, or have spent weeks drilling it out of your ESL customer service reps, you can also shift the focus verbally to the business—i.e. instead of “you didn't send” you can use “We didn't get”.

No: “You failed to send your documents in time to claim your refund.”

Yes: “It seems that we didn't receive the needed documents in time for the refund claim.”

Use the triple- play method:

Say what you’re going to do, do it, and say what you did. In the case of explaining processes or records, it becomes: “Say what you’re seeing, thinking, and planning [on doing to resolve the complaint]”.

Using concise language, summarize the steps you’ll be taking and what you’ll be doing to resolve the issue. Then complete these steps, and then give the customer a summary at the end of the contact.

This will calm the customers’ nerves, help them feel connected to the process, give them some feeling of control, and help slay the “dead air” dragon while you’re at it. It also makes your customer service reps sound calm, collected, professional, and in control. Everyone wins.

What does it look like? “Okay, I’m going to pull up your account, research the charges you mentioned, and find where they came from. Then we’ll take it from there, okay?”

Gaining buy in

Use the phrases “Okay?” or “Will that work for you?” as a “check in” moment with the customer. You’re not really asking permission, just taking a moment to add a courtesy nod to their comfort level. It may seem silly, and of course we want to avoid using this with gruff, all-business types, but most customers will feel much more comfortable with a simple “alright?” at the end of your recommendations or instructions.

Just use this tip judiciously—you shouldn't sound like a nursery school teacher asking little Janey to stay in line and stop biting her classmates.

What does it look like? “Alright, I just need to pull up your account and then I’ll walk you through your billing statement, okay?”

Framing can make the difference between a stilted, jagged conversation that is as hard to listen to as it is to suffer through and a smooth, natural, “brand ambassador” contact.

Start using it today and see what happens! I think you’ll love the results. 

What's it all about?

Hi!

Image: http://vintageprintable.com/wordpress/vintage-printable-environment-landscape/landscape-airfield-parachute-lesson/

What's it all about?

If you're like me, a training professional (coach, expert, analyst, or trainer in the call center industry), you know that the web is chockablock full of articles about customer service. What's lacking is practical, concrete advice from professionals who've been there--advice you can use now. That's not to say that the "big picture" advice from the boldface names or the inspirational overviews aren't helpful-- they are!

But when you're trying to find out how to deal with classrooms full of broken, about- to- break, and beyond- hope equipment, how to work with other cultures as an ex- pat in a new country and a new environment, how to craft a really great email blast with only the most basic tools...well, let's face facts: answers.com or a quick Google search isn't going to cut it.

I started this blog as a tool for people like me: training and coaching pros in the call center business. The plan is to feature real stories, advice, and inspiration from the people who've been there, done that, and come out the other side still swinging.

I plan to feature guest bloggers from different geos (I've got South America, Egypt, and the UK on tap so far) so that wherever you are, there's content mapped just for you and your needs.

 I'm also including "The Noob Guide"-- something I dearly wish I'd had myself when I landed in the Philippines 3 years ago with little more than a week's notice and a vague action plan from a very overburded boss. Whether you're new to the country, industry, or the field, there'll be something for you to help you settle in and get your sea legs.

I'll be using Twitter to engage with my customers-- you!--- to find out what content you really want to see, to hear your stories and suggestions, and to alert you to new tips, articles, and ideas as they spring up!

Expect real stories, real solutions, and real results. School's in session--let's get started!