Customer Service Excelence

7/27/2019 Customer Service Excelence

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Raising the Bar in

Customer Service

Travel Guard



Focus Skills Listen attentively to the caller to ensure

understanding of the request Re-state the caller’s question in order to clarify

before offering solutions

Explain reasons for asking informational

questions Set up follow up calls on cases effectively

Interrupt conversation (when appropriate) atkey points effectively to retain control of call

Control the call through to an effective “close” Avoid asking irrelevant questions or for

unnecessary information

Utilize a systematic approach to problemsolving



What is Quality Customer

Service?



What Callers Expect from Us

Caller should always feel as though they havecalled the right place - even if they didn’t

Caller should feel as though we are happy toassist them

Caller should feel like we know exactly how tohandle their situation, even if we don’t know

Caller should feel like their call/case is the onlycase we are working on

Caller should feel like they received clearanswers to their questions or clear direction

Caller should feel that we care about their

situation and want to help them find a solution!



Key Elements of Quality

Customer Assistance Service

Speed of Response

Understanding of the Problem

Bridging StatementsConcise Explanations

Accuracy

Professionalism

Resolution

ProblemResolutio

n

Professionalism

Accuracy

Identif

y

Proble

m

Bridging

Statement

s

Speed of

Response



Key Customer Service Skills

Mastering Voice

Inflection

Addressing the

Caller

Effective Listening

Identifying Client

Needs Asking Questions

Managing Different

Caller Behaviors

Delivering Bad

News

Managing Caller

Perceptions

Closing theConversation



Using Your Best Voice

Energy: The energy in your voice reflectsyour attitude and enthusiasm

Clarity of Speech: Enunciate clearly

Rate of Speech: A normal rate is 125 wordsper minute. Speaking faster can createproblems – slow down

Pitch: This can be a low, medium or a high

pitch. Ideally you should vary your tone andinflection

Quality: The above factors make up yourvoice quality



Voice Self-Assessment

Desirable Traits: My

Voice…

Is Pleasant-Sounding

Has Pitch Variations

Has a Normal Rate

Varies in Volume

Has Distinct Articulation

Sounds Like I am Smiling

Has Ample Force

Stresses Proper Accents

Undesirable Traits: MyVoice… Is Nasal Sounding

Sounds Throaty

Is Raspy Sometimes Squeaks

Is Monotone

Is Too Soft

Is Too Loud

Has Too Many Pauses

Does Not Convey aSmile



6 Cardinal Rules of Customer

Service

Avoid Using Company Jargon, slang.

Be Friendly Before You Know Who It Is.

People before paperwork! “Please… Thank you… You’re

Welcome”

Control the Conversation withoutRushing the Caller.

Don’t be too busy to be nice!



5 Forbidden Phrases

“I don’t know.”

“Let me check into this and find out for you.”

“Just a second.”

“It may take me a few minutes to get that information. Are

you able to hold while I check on that?”

“No” at the start of a sentence.

Eliminate it at the start of a sentence.

“We can’t do that.”

“Let me see what we can do.” “You’ll have to …”

“What you will need to do is …”



Statements That Give the

Wrong Impression

“I’m sorry, but John is still at lunch.”

“I can’t find your policy in our system.”

“I’m not sure why you are calling us. You need to callthe claims office.”

“I think she is still on a break. I’ll have her call you.”

“She is in the middle of a big customer problem.Would you like to leave a message?”

“He is at the doctor’s office.”

“She went home early.”

“I’m sorry, but Gene hasn’t come to work yet.”

“Our claims department takes forever to answer thephone.”



Managing Customer

Perceptions “I’m sorry I didn’t call you back. My supervisor had us in

another meeting that lasted all morning.”

“I hope this will solve your problem.”

“I don’t understand why … department didn’t help you?”

“Claims has had a lot of problems lately. I’ll just call overthere and get this straightened out for you.”

“Cathy is in a meeting (or on the phone). Why don’t youcall back later, maybe in an hour?”

“I’m sorry it took so long. Now what was it that you

wanted?” “I’m sorry you were on hold so long. We have a problem

with our telephone system and I didn’t even know youwere on hold.”

“We are short staffed today and I have 24 cases tohandle.”



Controlling the Conversation

Identify the problem quickly – Use probingquestions and problem solving skills

If caller is rambling, wait for a pause, theninterrupt politely and ask for specific question

Move to the actions being taken throughbridging statements

Give concise and clear response to caller’squestions or needs

Recap action plan as needed for clarity

Close the call – Control conversation to the endof the call



Causes of extended hold/talk time

Asking for unnecessary information Caller or the TAC is chatty

TAC does not know information or procedures requiredand needs to look it up while caller is on hold

TAC provides more information than requested inresponding to the client (raising further questions orconfusing caller)

TAC is unsure of the correct response and doesn’t giveconcise answers, prompting caller to ask further

questions Not identifying the core issue/question and spending

time answering something unnecessarily

Not in control of the conversation & allowing for periodsof silence & long pauses



7 Steps to an Effective Call Use Proper Greeting w/helpful tone

Listen actively until you hear the core issue

Re-state to clarify what you believe to be the coreissue. If problem not identified, ask probing questions(who, what, where, when..)

Use Bridging Statements Empathetic phrase to express understanding

Action statement “Here is what I can do for you.”

Identify Solution, Explain Instructions Etc.

Review Action Items to ensure Understanding Close Call - use statements such as:

“Is there anything else I can do for you?”

“Do you have any further questions?”

“When would be the best time for us to call you back?”

and….“Thank you for calling.”



Steps to Effective Listening

Identify the Core Issue or Need

Ask Open-ended Questions to Learn

Caller’s Needs & Perceptions

Reflect Back to Caller in Your Own Words

What You Believe to Be the Problem

(Repeat Until Clearly Understood) before

moving forward with an answer or asolution.



Effective Listening

Use “Bridging Statements” Between theProblem and the Solution

Show Empathy for Their Situation

Express Willingness to Help Find aSolution – “What I am going to do is …” or,“I will be glad to…” or, “I can call ourclaims, travel dept. etc. to find out…”

Replace the word “but” with the word“and”…



Closing the Call

Control the call up to the point that you hang upthe phone

Review actions to be taken with the caller,including timelines to ensure understanding

Ask if there is anything else you can do for thecaller

Thank them for calling or thank them for theirtime (outbound call)

Don’t wait in silence until the caller says theyhave no other questions – stay in control of thecall

Avoid the “dangling ok” at the end of the call



Dealing with Difficult Callers

When and how to say “No” effectively whenthe client insists on arrangements, which arenot medically necessary, such as an upgradeduring an evacuation

Client is demanding something not coveredunder the policy

Caller demands information immediately,where TAC needs time to locate the details

and call client back Caller does not agree with the evacuation

arrangements, such as need for escort etc.



Identifying the Policy/

Open a Case First - listen and acknowledge client’s

situation/problem, using appropriate empathystatement and reassuring tone of voice. Client shouldfeel that he/she has reached someone, who will find

a solution to their problem. Explain that you service many different policies and

want to ensure that you are providing correctinformation related to their policy.

Explain that you are now going to open a case andwill need to ask them several questions to help useffectively manage their case.



Placing the Caller on Hold

Always ask if the caller would mind if you place themon hold.

Always explain what you are going to do while theyare on hold.

Never leave them on hold longer than 1 minutewithout thanking them for their patience and askingthem if they would mind holding for a moment longer.

Avoid being too casual, - “Hold on a second.” or“Hold please.”

Better to say, “May I put you on hold for a momentwhile I access your policy information or case file?”

Thank the caller for holding and state that you havefound the needed information.



Effective “Hold” Techniques

Caller: “I need to find out if my policy willcover me, in the event I have to canceldue to illness in the family.”

TAC: “I will be be glad to help you. MayI put you on hold while I access yourpolicy information? Thank you.”

After returning to the call: “Thank youfor holding.”



Elements of an Effective

Assistance Call

Was the greeting clear andup-beat and your tone ofvoice helpful?

Did you quickly identify thecore problem & verify

understanding? Did you use appropriate

bridging statements to driveto a solution?

Did you provide concise &

complete responses &explanations?

If call was not regarding acase assigned to you, didyou offer to help?

When asking multiplequestions, did you explainwhy you are asking?

Did you use proper “hold”techniques?

Did you set up clear/concisefollow up arrangements andexpectations?

Did you close the calleffectively by thanking callerfor calling and asking if theyyou help with anything else?

Did you control the call to theend?

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Customer Service Excelence

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