Proactive Statements Calm Angry Callers

Success in customer service is contingent on two areas, competence and care . A service associate must be proficient at processing customer requests and at expressing a natural sense of care and compassion for the caller's situation. Studies show that most buyers switch companies due to a lack of interest from the current vendor when they are on the phone. Far fewer customers leave their current vendors when they have been handled well. We realize that being handled "well" is far short of a raving fan or having your socks knocked off by service quality, but it really is enough to maintain your customer base.

There is no substitute for well-trained, competent service associates. We will focus on competencies in an upcoming newsletter. Many callers, however, leave the phone incensed, even when their problems were resolved. This is due to a general lack of caring by the telephone associate.

One quick tip to help callers receive the service they are hoping for is for telephone associates to use Proactive statements. The following are all examples of Proactive statements. "Let's get to the bottom of this." "I'm going to take care of this for you now." "You can count on me to handle this for you right away."

Proactive Statements accomplish two things. First, they calm the caller. Callers want their service person to "take charge." These statements will communicate to callers that this agent means business. Second, telephone associates that use Proactive statements can't help but be more proactive. Saying, "We're going to fix this now," empowers the associate. If you say it, you want to do it. It may sound too simple to work, but give it a try. You will be glad that you did.