Eliminate any disturbing background noise if possible.
Open the call with a standard professional greeting depending on the time of the day. Mention your first name, organization and purpose of the call clearly. Its a good idea to rehearse saying the persons name se!eral times before the phone call "especially if it is a difficult name#. $his will help with any pronunciation problems and also personalize the call. %sk if it is good time for you to be calling when you reach someone. If not ask when can you reach them again. &oing the calling &o not keep repeating the candidates name during the con!ersation but stick to the rule of saying the listeners name three times during an ' to () minutes con!ersation. *ea!e brief, clear messages on answering systems, gi!ing your name, reason for the call and contact information. If you want to make that person call you back than make the message you lea!e a bit interesting. %llow the other party plenty of time to speak and use prompt words such as +,I -ee+. and +,/eally+. "in a sincere tone, of course#. $his shows them that you are truly interested in what they ha!e to say. %nd lets face it, who wouldnt rather speak about themsel!es than listen to another person0 1oncluding the calling 1onclude the inter!iew with a positi!e note e!en if the inter!iewer is not interested in what you are saying "hard luck for this time sir, I will get back to you when I find something suitable for you#. If the people you ha!e called needs to get back to you with information gi!e him2her a !ariety of options3e3mail, fa4, !oicemail etc. the ob5ecti!e is to make it easy for them to get back to you. 6ollow up Make sure you call back whene!er you promised you would. 7ut don+8t be persistent to the point of being desperate. $imely follow ups will show that you are sincere and committed to the task. /ecei!ing a calling 9ick up the phone before the third ring. %!oid making the candidate wait still you are figuring out who is has gi!en a call to him. Instead tell him !ery politely your name and the name of the organization and that you will call him back after you ha!e figured out who has called him and for what purpose. 9lease note that. /emember that you may be the first and only contact a person may ha!e with your organization, and that first impression will stay with the caller long after the call is completed. :eep a paper and pen handy to take down notes. ;ou can e!en keep a glass of water by the phone. -mile when you talk to people on the phone3it will show up in your !oice. /emember< enthusiasm is infectious. $hink you are calling a friend. *et your !oice be natural, calm, rela4ed and easy3going. =reet appropriately3&o not say +,=ood Morning+. in the afternoon. /emember it is the caller who will end the con!ersation. 9ut off making business calls when youre too distracted or tired to gi!e it your all. If you think you are tired then rela4 for > minutes, take a walk, drink water, breath deep for some time. ;ou ha!e e4actly one opportunity to make a great first impression and you will not make it if you are not prepared. ;ou need to be full of positi!e energy about what you are doing2asking otherwise your !oice will sound dull with no power to persuade or mo!e the listener into action. $he telephone is part of customer ser!ice. It is the a!enue through which many of our customers get their first impressions of our business. $elephone eti?uette is so critical because satisfying customers o!er the phone is often more challenging than ser!ing face to face. E!ery customer calling your organization should recei!e a positi!e and seamless ser!ice that is professional, efficient and responsi!e. 1ustomers who are handled well will notice the good ser!ice, bring more business and hopefully build a long term relationship with you. 1ustomers who are not handled well damage your reputation and take their business to the competition. 7asic needs of the customer on the phone @$o be recognized and remembered @$o feel !alued @$o feel appreciated @$o feel respected @$o feel understood @$o feel comfortable about a want or need Opening of the call @9ick up the call in not more than two rings @=reet @-elf Introduction @Offer assistance @*isten carefully @Ase callers name B=ood Morning, $his is *isa on the line, Cow may I assist you today0D 9utting customer on hold @-eek 9ermission @=i!e /eason @=et the customers response @/e!ert In time @$hank E 1onclude BMr. Mehta, may I put on hold as I need to check the status with our repair di!ision0D B$hank you for staying on line, I would re?uire few more minutes to get you the information. -o, would you prefer to stay on hold or a callback from our side0D B$hank you for staying on line, I appreciate your patienceD $ransferring the call F Gs Ghy0 Ghere0 Ghom0 @-eek 9ermission @=i!e /eason @=i!e the details of the customer to whom line is being transferred @Inform the customer about the person to whom line is being transferred BMay I put on hold while I transfer your call to our manager0D BIm transferring your call to our manager, Miss -eema -ehgalD B-eema, I ha!e Mr. Mehta on line who has following complaintD If the caller does not wish to be transferred, offer to take a message and assure the caller2customer that you will personally see that the right person gets the message. %fter you hang up, M%:E -A/E $C%$ ;OA &E*IHE/ $CE ME--%=E to the proper person. 1all 1losure @-ummarize @Information to be gi!en @6urther assistance @1losing -cript B-ummaryII Is there anything else I can help you with0 $his was *isa on the line and thank you for calling 7right pointJ Ca!e a pleasant day.D Most 6re?uent 1aller 1omplaints /emember that presentation is e!erything. $reat callers as you would hope they would treat you. $he way you present yourself on the phone can lea!e lasting impressions of you and your department. @$he telephone rings for a long time before it is answered @$hey place me on hold for sometimes, it seems, hours @$he line is busy for hours it seems @$hey are !ery rude and get offensi!e when asked their full name or sometimes 5ust wonKt gi!e it @$hey let me talk on and on only to realize that theyKre not the person I should be talking to @If I call the wrong department for help, they donKt gi!e me suggestions to where I should be calling, they 5ust say, KI donKt know, not our departmentD @$hey donKt clearly listen to my needs before they transfer me to the wrong person @-ometimes they disconnect me while transferring my call @$hey told me to call back, but ne!er ga!e me a name or number or di!ision to ask for @$he person says, KGaitK, and then talks to other co3workers without putting me on hold so that I canKt hear their small talk @$hey answer with an aggra!ated !oice, as if I disturbed them by calling Cow to Candle the 1omplaint 1all Ghen you recei!e a complaint call, remember to lend an E%/ 33 @Empathize with the caller @%pologize and acknowledge the problem @%ccept /esponsibility %nd in your responses, a!oid these forbidden phrases< @LI donKt know.L It sounds as if youKre closing the door on the caller or that youKre not sure whatKs going on in your own office. 7etter to say< L$hatKs a good ?uestion. *et me check and find out.L @LGe canKt do that.L $his sentence is e4tremely negati!e. 7e positi!e. $ry this< L$hatKs a tough one. *etKs see what we can do.L @B;oull ha!e to...L sounds accusatory. $ry instead< LCereKs how we can help you.L @LMo,L when it begins any sentence. It sounds as though youKre not willing to help. ;ou may not be able to do one thing, but you can do something. LGe arenKt able to do that, but we can....L"7ecause thereKs always something you can do.# =uidelines for Candling 1omplaints @&ont take it personally< $o the ma4imum e4tent possible, do not take problems and complaints personally @Me!er %ct on a 1omplaint Githout Cearing "%t *east# $wo -ides to the -tory< Most complaints and problems stem from different perceptions of subsets of the same facts. %rm yourself with as complete a sense of the situation as you can get before you commit to a course of action @Ghat BE!erybody :nows, Mobody :nows.D $his is a corollary to the preceding precept. If someone tells you about a problem and asserts that Be!erybody knowsD that it is happening, this is a good time to start asking how the person reporting it comes to know about it, and also for dates, times, places and the names of other people who ha!e rele!ant information. It is remarkable how many widely known BtruthsD ha!e no factual basis @Ghen in &oubt, *ea!e it Out If the sentence about to come out of your mouth begins BI know you wont like hearing this, but...D or if your better 5udgment is telling you not to say something, dont say it. Emphasize facts and decisions, ask ?uiet ?uestions, and a!oid e4planations of moti!es @Me!er %ttribute to Malice that Ghich Incompetence Gill E4plain Ge are far too fast to attribute bad moti!es to others when, most of the time, bad things happen through inattention, inaction, or miscommunication @-ay Ghat ;oull &o and &o Ghat ;ou -ayN -et the $ime 6rame Once you!e decided upon a course of action, e!en if its 5ust to talk to !arious people to gather information, follow through on it @In the %bsence of 6acts, 9eople Make $hem Ap Ghat they imagine is usually worse than the reality. &ont lea!e people who are distraught or worried hanging for long periods of time. "$he definition of a BlongD period of time will !ary proportionately with how upset the person is.# @:eep Motes ;ou do not ha!e to transcribe meetings word3by3word, but ha!e some reasonably orderly system for noting the date, who was present and the gist of meetings that in!ol!e complaints. @$rust ;our Instincts If you feel an4ious or fearful when dealing with a situation, trust your instincts and call upon someone else for help. Cow to be effecti!e on the phone /emembering these points will help you to be sharp and professional in the way that you talk o!er the phone. @Ca!e an %im Ghen making an outgoing call. %lways know what you want to discuss. @$ailor your style to that of the person you are talking to 7usy people often prefer a clean cut, direct approach with a bare minimum of social chat. Others may prefer a more sociable approach. $ailor your approach to their style "unless they are miserable or rudeJ# @=i!e concise answers to ?uestions *ong rambling answers are unprofessional, dull and confusing. @If you dont know an answer, say so If someone relies on you when you are guessing, and your guess is wrong, then they will ne!er trust you again. If you do not know something, say you will get back to them with a firm answer. @-ummarize %t the end of the call, summarize the points made. $his ensures that both people and you agree on what has been said, and know what actions will be taken. @&ont talk to anyone else when on the phone $his makes you organization look small. 9ut the other person on hold, then talk. /emember @$elephone techni?ues %nswer promptly Identify yourself Identify the caller @Me!er, Me!er BGhats your name0D B6rom where0D BGhat do you want0D @Instead BMay I ask whos callingD BMay I ha!e your name please0D @*isten %ttenti!ely B1ould you spell your name please0D or BI didnt catch your last point O would you mind repeating it. It sounds important.D @7e 1ourteous &ont keep the caller waiting. $ry to keep any e!idence of hurry, worry, boredom, or annoyance out of your !oice. @Mind your *anguage /emember to use those magic words O B9lease, May I and $hank ;ouD %!oid the use of slang or of e4pressions that may be seen as o!er familiar. 6or e4ampleD ;eah, Ok, &ont be funny, /ightD @Making Motes Ensure that you ha!e a telephone pad handyN in fact make it an unbroken rule to use it consistently. @&ont -ay BMot on her seatDN B&ont know where she isDN dont know when hell come backDN BMot come in yetD