GHOST CALLS, PRANK CALLS AND MOANERS

Ghost calls, prank calls and moaners have become a regular part of a call center rep's shift. No shift is complete without these types of calls, especially ghost calls.

If you're with an inbound sales account, ghost calls can really hurt your stats as these ghost calls also count as part of all calls you received on the shift. Yeah you can notate all you want that you received a ghost call or a prank call but, based on experience, those notations won't do you no good. Ghost calls, moaners and prank calls will still be counted against you.

On the other hand, if you are with an inbound customer service or tech support, ghost calls may prove to be heaven sent as these types of calls give you an opportunity to breath and relax a little, especially when it's queing. You know you can have a stress-free minute or two just repeatedly delivering your ghost call or prank call spiel before you let the call go, so maximize! Oh come on! Anybody who says they release ghost calls right away is either a liar or a newbie.

I bet you there were even moaners that made you giggle while you're listening and even went to the extent of waiting for a sup to take the call or give you the green light to release the call. Some reps will take every available opportunity to "rest a while" which is perfectly understandable especially on toxic days. Just make sure QA doesn't tag you with "Lingering on a Call".

Rule of thumb: release ghost calls, prank calls and moaners within 2 minutes after delivering the prescribed spiels 3 times (NOT 30 TIMES!). Notate and if possible, have the sup counter notate as well.

Anyway, have a great shift this Halloween! I would love to hear from you. Feel free to REACT or COMMENT. See you next post.

ANEURYSM AND NIGHT SHIFTS

This article on ANEURYSM and its relation to chronic night shift workers is purely for information purposes ONLY and should not be taken as a medical diagnosis. It is BEST to seek professional medical intervention if you suspect you may have SYMPTOMS of ANEURYSM or any other health issues associated with chronic night shifts.

We were all taken by surprise when news that actress Miss Isabel Granada had collapsed after suffering a ruptured brain aneurysm. And we ask ourselves how a young, healthy, lively Isabel Granada can have brain aneurysm.

Here's a scary fact: ANEURYSM is asymptomatic (exhibits no symptoms) until it ruptures. And a ruptured aneurysm according to global statistics is 40% fatal and 66% who survive a brain aneurysm will have a permanent neurological disorder. Anybody above 40 years of age can have aneurysm. Aneurysm is more prevalent among women. In short, aneurysm is a ticking time bomb. Scary huh?

Although the correlation between ANEURYSM and chronic NIGHT SHIFT is still being debated in the medical community, what is clear is there are factors that can multiply the ill effects of chronic NIGHT SHIFTS and sleep deprivation. Among these factors are:

• Age
• Weight
• Gender
• Diet
• Stress
• Anxiety
• Depression
• Junk foods
• Alcohol
• Caffeine
• Smoking
• Drugs

There are even findings that rotating shifts and even our normal sleep hours on rest days can prove more harmful than good mainly because our circadian or internal clock finds it difficult to adapt to constantly changing sleep schedules. It's like being constantly jet lagged. It's probably healthier to follow the same sleep schedules even on RDs. Bummer.

Some healthy advise: eat healthy, cut down on junk food, alcohol and nicotine (yeah right!), exercise, regular medical check-ups (your health benefits should cover you), meditation (that includes praying and yoga), cut down on coffee (OUCH!), trick your circadian clock by hanging heavy curtains to block daylight, let your household know you're trying to sleep, and maybe even ask your noisy neighbors to turn down the Videoke (or just shoot them if they don't comply 😋).

Aneurysm is serious... dead serious. Pardon the pun. Your night shift job is already stressful enough on your health as it is. Don't make it any more stressful.

Stay healthy.

TEN CLICHES CUSTOMERS HATE TO HEAR

According to an ARTICLE  from HelpScout.net, 7 out of 10 Americans said they would be willing to spend more with companies they believe provide excellent customer service and as much as 91% of unhappy customers will not willingly do business with a company that provides bad customer service. That being said, here are 10 cliches your customers hate to hear:

1.   "I would be more than    happy to help you"... Your customers have probably heard that a hundred times every time they call customer service. Just being happy would be fine. You don't have to be "more than happy". I mean seriously, what does being "more than happy" really mean? Be realistic. Stop patronizing your customers. Do you think your customers care if you're really happy while you're on the phone with them? Your customers would prefer you make THEM happy by genuinely helping them. It may be better to just say you can DEFINITELY help them.

2.   "I can see where you're coming from but"... this is just sugar coating for "No, I can't help you." If your  site's policy prevents you from providing what the customer is asking for, then offer them other suitable options that you can provide at your level. If your customer refuses, then it is the customer who actually said no to the solution you tried providing them. You've done your job. Escalate if needed.

3.   "I'm sorry... I apologise"...
Not unless it WAS actually your fault, stop being sorry for something you did not do. I know Training101 said you should EMPATHIZE but if you're using the same empathy statement on each and every call, you start sounding mechanical and insincere. There is nothing worse than an insincere apology. Do yourself a favor: get a pen and paper and try writing down two or three empathy statements that you can try on your calls. Get your QA's approval if needed. Or better yet, since those QA guys seem like they know EVERYTHING, ask them to come up with new ways to express sincere empathy.

4.   "Would you mind repeating that please."... YES! Of course they would mind. Nobody likes repeating themselves, especially Americans. Asking your customers to repeat what they just said makes your customers feel that either you were not giving them your full attention or that you are incompetent or both. Practice active listening on ALL your calls.

5.   "Can I put you on hold?"... Believe me, nobody wants to be put on hold. Consider this: your customer probably had been on the phone talking to the automated system for several minutes before you picked up. The last thing they would want is to be on hold and listen to that damn automated system again. Let's be honest, most of the time we put our customers on hold even for no reason just to catch our breath or even go on quick bio breaks. Been there. Done that. And then your customer drops the call and another call comes in while you're away and you get slapped with Call Avoidance. This has happened many times you know that and it never ends well. AVOID UNNECESSARY HOLDS. If you really need to, advise your customer the reason why you need to place them on hold and set their expectation how long they will be on hold. The longer your customer is on hold, the more frustrated they get, the lower your CSAT. That's how the math goes.

6.   "Your call is important... Please stay on the line."...
If my call is really that important, then how come I've been on the phone for the past fifteen freaking minutes talking to a machine? DUH... Personally, I hang up after 3 minutes. I may have lost 3 minutes BUT the company just lost one sale.

7.   "Uh-huh... Uh-huh..."
Avoid using fillers that don't make sense just to kill dead air. Saying a bunch of "uh-huhs" makes your customer feel that you are either bored listening to them or you have nothing intelligent to say. Be articulate. Be creative. Listen for anything in the background or look into account details that you can use for small talk. But be mindful of your handle time.

8.   "... unfortunately..."
After all had been said and done, it still boils down to "Sorry Mac, can't help you!" And this happens all the time. Customer calls in with a request that you know you cannot resolve. There's really nothing you can do even if you genuinely wanted to help. And your customer probably knows that too but she's being very nice and humble and begging for you to help her. Calls like this, I strongly suggest do not prolong your customer's agony. It's difficult enough for them to "beg" for you to help them. Turning them down only makes it more painful. Politely set their expectation as early as possible that their request is something you cannot help them with. Don't let them go through the pain of pleading and being told no. Offer alternate solutions if suitable but please do not wait until your customer is practically begging before you say no.

9.   "As I mentioned earlier..."
What? You think I'm stupid? You think I didn't understand you first time you mentioned that?... This is exactly what your customer will feel if you ever make the mistake of saying this cliche so please DON'T.

10. "How are you today?"...
I was perfectly fine until my WiFi stopped and I had to  wait on the phone for 10 minutes just to call you guys! How do you think I am?
Please, please, please... Think of other questions. Better yet, don't ask unnecessary questions. And don't ask them about the weather either unless it's part of your troubleshooting. A lot of customers don't appreciate being asked personal questions by a stranger from halfway across the globe. Yeah, I know you mean well trying to strike a friendly conversation but you need to first "feel" your customer if they feel like talking. Much better to keep the chatter on a professional level.

There's probably a dozen more cliches you'd best avoid but I really don't want to take more of your time. These will do for now. For any comments or violent objections, shoot Daddy Jim an email.

Later!

SOFT SKILLS: THINK BEFORE YOU SPEAK

In the call center business, we only have 3 tools we can use to create a positive impression on a customer's mind:

• the tone of our voice,
• the way we speak, and
• the words we use.

That being said, it really doesn't help even if you speak impeccable English in a clear baritone voice but completely tactless and insensitive with your words. We need to be constantly aware of the words we choose in conveying our message. We need to be sensitive to how a customer might feel with what we say. In a nutshell, we need to THINK BEFORE WE SPEAK.

Often, I tell my team to imagine they have a filter installed between their brain and their mouth. This filter determines whether it's fine to say what they have in mind OR if there is a much better way to say what they need to say. It's a good thing our brain can process information a thousand times faster than we can talk. Can you imagine the chaos if it was the other way around?

Develop the habit of STOP, THINK then SPEAK. Filter your words. Find better ways to say what you have to say. Be sensitive. Put yourself in your customer's place and imagine how you would feel if someone tells you what you are about to tell your customer.

In some ways, we are like hostage negotiators. We need to carefully choose our words to defuse the situation. Otherwise, the situation could escalate and end up bad. Think before you speak.

Until next post, more power!

RELATED ARTICLE: Soft Skill: Turn Irate Customers into Friends

THE GOOD SOLDIER

The Good Soldier

I still clearly remember these words as if they were uttered just yesterday: "Do EVERYTHING you can. You have MY TACIT APPROVAL."

Somehow, there was something about "TACIT APPROVAL" that didn't sit well with me. But being the good soldier that I am, I blindly followed the order and relayed to my team the mission to do EVERYTHING to make the customers happy and "fish" for that elusive CSAT. I must confess we had to resort to some "unconventional tactics" just to ensure the customer ends the call on a happy note. If 'tis true that the end justifies the means, then I feel justified. I'm not particularly proud of what the team had to do but at least we felt justified.

One little twist in this story of the good soldier is in what I had to do to follow orders while, at the same time, protect my team. Feeling really uneasy with that "TACIT APPROVAL" hanging over my head, I made it a point to cover for my team and made sure every "out of the box" solution my team offered to resolve customer issues had my imprimatur and clearly notated. I also backed those notes with my own notes.

One funny thing when your site becomes #1 is you suddenly appear on the auditors' radar. And I was totally anticipating that. I was hoping our managers can justify our performance but somehow that damn "TACIT APPROVAL" just kept haunting me. Well, at least I know I got my men covered. But who's covering me?

Damn, I hate it when I'm right. Guess what? When things got hot, our great general showed his yellow streak and disavowed a handful of sups and agents who were just following orders and now were betrayed and suffering the consequences of being good soldiers.

Bulls**t! Good people were put in a bad spot simply for following orders. The site lost a lot of good people that month, myself included. And dozens more subsequently left the account after realizing what happened. But our great general managed to hang on to his post... for a while. I heard karma eventually caught up with him.

As supervisors, we are usually caught between following orders and protecting our team. If the order is legit and adheres to site policy, then no problem. But if you know the order is questionable and you only have "TACIT APPROVAL" to cover your behind, better think twice. But whatever you do, DO NOT PUT YOUR AGENTS' CAREER ON THE LINE! You have to take the bullet for your team if things go south.

CONFESSION #2: BITTERNESS AND POLITICS ON THE PRODUCTION FLOOR

Can I be bitter on this post for once?

Since we are discussing soft skills, let me just stress that sucking up to your boss is not considered a soft skill.

While sucking up may help some people move up the proverbial corporate ladder, please ensure they don't move up at the expense of others.

Work on the production floor is already difficult and stressful as it is. Adding politics and factional bickering only adds to the stress.

Teamwork is founded on mutual respect and trust. Back stabbing has no place in a team. The day we allow divisiveness to spread unchecked on the floor is the day we start saying goodbye to our account. And I hate being proven right.

Forgive me if this post sounded bitter but I know that you know I speak the truth.

And yes, I am speaking from personal experience.