Attorney Michael de Broglio on: South Africa, Law, Politics, Attorneys, Sport, Photography, Technology, Gadgets, Media, Crime, Road Accidents Fund,
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I recently did a customer service survey for an international airline. It had all the usual questions, and I don’t fill in these surveys unless they are very short, but it had one critical question. It is a question that everybody should ask of themselves and the service they give and that is they asked me if “Would you hire the person who you spoke to on the phone if you owned a customer service company?” I found the customer service company part quite interesting because I would imagine any company where people have to take calls from the public has to be a customer service company – whether they are doctors, engineers or the like.
The bottom line is, if somebody would not want to hire you, based on the way you dealt with them on a phone call, you probably should not be talking to customers in the first place. That question is so much more important than the usual questions as to whether or not you were satisfied with the outcome of the call, etc. Other questions they had to ask included whether I agreed that the person I spoke to understood the reason for my call and showed that he/she cared and valued my time.
Posted by Michael de Broglio on Wednesday 07-Feb-18
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Comments
Cornelie said:
on Wednesday 28-Feb-18 01:51 PM
Sometimes I would really not hire the person on the other line you can hardly hear what they say some talk so fast some seems like they still fast asleep maybe 20% of the time i will hire the person, then you think how did they get the job in the first place or is it a thing of now you have the job now you can talk in your sleep.
Prishani said:
on Tuesday 27-Feb-18 05:21 PM
I believe that customer service is a very important skill that can mostly be learnt through experience, I think it is sometimes the best way to learn how to deal with a particular type of client. Feedback is also very important because then you learn on what skills you can improve on.
Dune said:
on Tuesday 20-Feb-18 08:31 AM
It is definitely an interesting question, and I should remember it when I speak to some clients phoning in with new inquiries. It is a challenge most days, but it is something to always think about when speaking to potential new client over the phone and to our current clients.
Thabitha said:
on Monday 19-Feb-18 08:51 AM
Some I will never hire because some of the sales consultants are so rude as if you asked them to phone you.
Ashleigh said:
on Friday 16-Feb-18 09:04 AM
Customer care, something that is really lacked nowadays. So when you do find it eventually, it seems to just make your day. I don't know how many times I have been thanked by clients for just being so assisting, helpful and actually caring. Even when Client's are difficult, you should still end the conversation of telling them to have a lovely day or just ending the call with some positive note as you never know what their day entailed and that might just put a smile on their face for that second or even have made their day better.
Henrietta said:
on Thursday 15-Feb-18 09:38 AM
One thing I always try to remind myself when I speak to someone is that it could be me in that position and how will I feel. Same like these sales people always trying to sell you stuff I get extremely annoyed with them but at the end they just doing a job like the rest of us. I think it's a great question for a survey, it makes one think twice before being rude. The closes question to this one I came to when I did a survey was “would you recommend us to friends and family”.
Sarah said:
on Thursday 15-Feb-18 08:23 AM
The telephone is often your first point of personal contact with a potential employer, so it’s important to make the interaction a good one. They will get an immediate impression from your telephone manner and tone of voice, and this could make the difference .
Michelle D said:
on Tuesday 13-Feb-18 08:24 AM
It is important when dealing with customers or clients to be decent over the phone. It may be the hundredth call you're making in your day but to the customer it could be the only call they have gotten. Making people feel valued is the key to customer service and maintaining good relationships. These aspects are intrinsic to maintaining a successful business.
Megan said:
on Monday 12-Feb-18 08:40 AM
If their customer service is bad as a whole you would question the company based on their ethics. What was the criteria these employees needed to get this position and were they honest about their experience with customers? Probably not.
Liz said:
on Monday 12-Feb-18 08:08 AM
This is very true and you only come across great customer service in very few companies. I recently had to call apple regarding my iPad and I must say it was the greatest customer service experience I've ever had, the person I spoke to was friendly, efficient and cared about the outcome of the matter and not only the handling of my call.
Jadine E said:
on Monday 12-Feb-18 07:47 AM
It is always nice to talk to a customer service agent who is enthusiastic and sounds happy to be making the call not dreading talking to you or interacting over the phone.
Michelle said:
on Monday 12-Feb-18 07:18 AM
When I receive calls from customer service companies I will like to hear that the person on the other side are a happy and energetic person, otherwise they will lose my interest immediately and I will make my choice not to listen further. But 90% of sales consultants over the phone is not very friendly and sounds like they hate their job. Which is also understanding because people get irritated to receive calls like this and I believe the consultant do a lot of calls a day.
Joyce said:
on Friday 09-Feb-18 04:56 PM
I think the question is to be remembered always, especially when deal with public calls, (to keep more calm when speak to difficult customers), customer is always right.
Sharne said:
on Friday 09-Feb-18 08:30 AM
Its definitely a question to keep in mind. If I had to talk to someone who's rude over the phone I would not think any good about the company or service they provide.
Zindy said:
on Friday 09-Feb-18 08:14 AM
This is very interesting and actually very important. If I have a bad experience on the phone when I need assistance with something I go out of my way to make sure the manager or supervisor is aware how there staff treat customers. If no one complains how will they ever know.
Jessica Apfel said:
on Thursday 08-Feb-18 01:52 PM
That is such an interesting question to keep in the back of your mind when dealing with difficult clients. It is imperative to remain as diplomatic as possible when dealing with disgruntled clients.
Melissa said:
on Thursday 08-Feb-18 11:33 AM
I will not hire someone that's rude on the phone, I will rather hire someone that's happy and cheerful. I will also hire someone that actually knows what they are talking about and if they are well spoken
Jadine Richards said:
on Thursday 08-Feb-18 10:58 AM
It is of the utmost importance to be completely professional over the phone because in such instances you do not have your appearance or overall demeanor to assist with the impression that you leave on a person. Although, this is easier said than done especially in a situation where either party is frustrated. Keeping calm is sometimes hard to do but is critical when dealing with a phone call.
Bianca N said:
on Thursday 08-Feb-18 09:59 AM
That is an excellent question to ask yourself and to remind yourself to be at your most polite when speaking to clients. We sometimes are so used to speaking over the phone til our jaws hurt that we forget that for some people it is their first time on the phone with us, and the impression we give them now will stay with them whenever they hear our company name. So although we have been talking on the phone all day, every client deserves to be treated as if they are the first to call us. It will leave a good impression
Angelique Jurgens said:
on Thursday 08-Feb-18 09:42 AM
If only government institutions such as hospitals, home affairs, licence departments or the like were trained in this manner. Companies should also not have too little people who deal with clients as it results in an overloaded "call centre" where one is taking one call after the other because that is a recipe for a disaster. Naturally one would be irritated. (Unless one agreed to be a call centre agent). So it definitely works both ways but great idea.
Mathilda Du Preez said:
on Wednesday 07-Feb-18 03:31 PM
Interesting and definitely something to think about ,I think if it’s your job to talk to clients you should always be friendly and help them where you can, you are delivering a service and even if the client is rude and impatient keep your cool and take it . You should always think of the company you work for and if your Boss should hear your conversation with a client will he approve?
Daniella said:
on Wednesday 07-Feb-18 03:22 PM
I think that is an awesome idea! The last thing I would want is to call a customer care line and have an irritated, rude person on the line. However I do understand that people have bad days etc but if you can't not take your terrible mood out on the client you shouldn't be working in customer care.
Clare said:
on Wednesday 07-Feb-18 02:35 PM
I think that is Depending if a person sound rude over the phone then I wouldn't hire that person as I think that if you for example are tele sales person you should sound happy and exciting if you don't you wont make sales because people will think you are being silly to have such a negative attitude.
Alexis said:
on Wednesday 07-Feb-18 02:24 PM
That is something and a very good idea. I do understand that you may be having a bad day or something - however it is your job to still make sure the client is helped and is happy with the help received....
Nina said:
on Wednesday 07-Feb-18 02:21 PM
Definitely something to keep in mind when you speak to clients. Although we deal with difficult customers/clients sometimes, and it is hard to be friendly or respectfull, it is important to remeber that your job could potentially be on the line.
fikile said:
on Wednesday 07-Feb-18 10:42 AM
In this case, it depends on how that person can respond to me, if that person is well spoken then I can hire them, but if they can't speak very well with me then it only means that the person will not be able to speak to my clients or stuff members, "am not judging but being honest", not only thinking about my self but also thinking about the company, clients and all the stuff members working in the company, cause we hire people that can help the company grow and help put the company in the face of the world and more.
Bianca R said:
on Wednesday 07-Feb-18 10:41 AM
I have never thought about that and it has never crossed my mind as to whether I would, that is probably a really accurate way of rating the service you are given. I got a call the other day from Makro's dispatch department, I could literally hear the guy chewing bubblegum as he was speaking to me. That sound was so incredibly off-putting that I dropped the call. When he called back, I asked him if he had finished eating? I would say with complete certainty that I would not hire him.
Johannesburg based attorney specializing in personal injury matters including Road Accident Fund claims and medical negligence matters. My interests include golf, reading and the internet and the way it is constantly developing. I have a passion for life and a desire for less stress!
