Don’t Do These Things When You’re On the Phone

While talking on the telephone may seem like something everyone knows how to do, you’d be surprised at the number of faux pas that can happen every day, even in customer service.

Here are the top three habits to avoid while talking on the phone to your customers, clients and co-workers.

Eating, drinking, or chewing gum 

If you think you can get away with taking lunch at your desk and still take calls effectively, think again. No matter how quiet you think you are, the person on the other end of the line is going to hear you. Chewing noises are a definite no-no when it comes to answering the phone, so save your food and drink for times when you’re away from your desk.

Attempting to multitask which impacts your focus

While some multitasking is required for telephone customer service jobs, you need to be careful not to try and do too much. If your attention isn’t fully on your caller, you risk coming across as aloof or even uncaring, and that’s bad for business. Instead, be an active listener who asks thoughtful questions and makes notes, if necessary. If you need to investigate something, ask if you can place the caller on hold or call them back rather than trying to do it while they’re talking to you. That way, you can give both tasks your full attention.

Sounding like you are reading from a script

Your business may require you to give a standard greeting, but you can vary your tone enough that it doesn’t sound robotic. Make an effort to sound like a friendly, interested human being or your customer will feel like they’re talking to a robot. Try to put a little enthusiasm in your voice, if appropriate, so that your caller will feel like you’re happy to hear from them. This will make the call more pleasant for both of you.

Many people entering the customer service workforce aren’t used to talking on the phone with customers. There’s no shame in learning the proper way to handle incoming phone calls, especially if you’ve only worked in customer service a short while.

If you’d like more information on how to provide great telephone customer service, or if you’d like to know whether the services of a telephone call centre could help you, visit Answer 365 today.