Index
Acknowledge words or statements usage, 54
American with Disabilities Act (ADA), 102
Angry/emotional customers, 110-111
Appearance, personal, 17-18
Arguments with customers avoidance, 53-54
Articulation, 32
Attitudes. See Projecting positive service image
Autodialers, 157
Automatic call distribution (ACD) systems, 8, 58, 61
Automatic number identification (ANI), 58-59, 60
Beliefs definition, 80-81
Billing support, 7
Brevity, 64
Business acumen, 6
Call center
competencies required for, 5-6
definition, 1-2
functions of, 4
job titles, typical, 4-5
number of, 3
representative competencies, 5-6
roles and responsibilities of, 1-12
services, typical, 7-8
staffing, 4-5
technology, typical, 8-9
trends affecting, 2-4
Call telephony integration (CTI), 59
Calls management software, 59
Caring for customers, 46-47
Cold calls timing, 66
Collections, 7
Communicating positively with yourself and others, 22-23
Communicating with others, 27-40
customer encounters preparation, 36
environment, 29
exercise for measuring, 28
fax, 68-69
Internet/e-mail, 70-71
interpersonal communication importance, 27-28
interpersonal communication skills, 30-36
making customer feel welcome, 37
negative messages, 23
nonverbal and vocal cues and trust, 78
paraphrase customer’s messages, 37
rapport building with customers, 38
recap of, 39
review questions for, 40
simple language usage, 38
strategies, 36-39
style, 17
taking ownership of customer situation, 38
through technology, 62-71
tone, 17
two-way communication model, 28-30
verbal content, 35-36
verbal skills, 31-35
Competencies of call center representative, 5-6
Complaining customers, 109-110, 143
Complaint resolution, 7
Complying with the law, 153-159
Federal Communication Commission’s 900-Number Rule, 155
Federal Trade Commission’s Mail or Telephone Merchandise Trade Regulation Rule, 155
Federal Trade Commission’s Telemarketing Sales Rule, 155-156
recap of, 158
regulating entities, 155
regulations need, 153-154
regulatory guidelines, 155-157
as resource, 97
review questions for, 159
Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 191 (TCPA), 156-157
Conflict resolution, 6
Controlling your stress level. See Stress level, controlling your
Customer contact centers. See Call centers
Customer encounters preparation, 36
Customer service representatives (CSRs). See also Call centers
definition, xxi-xxii
factors leading to dissatisfaction, 144-145
Customers
analyzing problems or issues of, 92-93
angry/emotional, 110-111
argument avoidance with, 53-54
building rapport with, 38
encounters preparation, 36
with disabilities, 102-106
factors that can lead to dissatisfaction by, 146
feeling of welcome for, 37
identifying problems or issues of, 91, 92
indecisive, 108-109
language differences, 106-107
meeting expectations of, 148-150
noncomplaining, 77
paraphrasing message of, 37, 53
recognizing your, 13-14
as resource, 97
taking ownership for situation of, 38
talkative, 107-108
Customers with disabilities, 102-106
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), 102
hearing impairments, 103-104
referring to, 102-103
speaking impairments, 105-106
telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD), 60
teletypewriter (TTY), 60
Decision making. See Problem solving and decision making
Disabilities. See Customers with disabilities
Disorganization as time robber, 118
Dissatisfaction
due to customer factors, 146
due to CSR factors, 144-145
due to organizational factors, 145-146
Diversity managing, 6
Document/order processing, 7
E-mail, 59
communicating effectively with, 70-71
management/response systems, 8-9
replying to, 79
Emotional/angry customers, 110-111
Empathy, 45-46
Enthusiasm, display of, 17
Enunciation, 32
Environmental strategies and stress, 134-135
Erlang and his Erlang C formula, A.K., 2
Ethical behavior role, 85
External customers, 14
communicating effectively with, 68-69
complaint resolution by, 7
graphics and, 69
Facts and figures usage, 84-85
Federal Communication Commission’s 900-Number Rule, 155
Federal Trade Commission’s Mail or Telephone Merchandise Trade Regulation Rule, 155
Federal Trade Commission’s Telemarketing Sales Rule, 155-156
heeding, 61
tips for providing, 45
Frequently asked questions (FAQs) system, 7
Goals
setting personal, 20
setting realistic, 135-136
Handling difficult customer situations, 101-113
angry/emotional customers, 110-111
complaining customers, 109-110
customers with disabilities, 102-106
indecisive customers, 108-109
language differences, 106-017
opportunities for service excellence, 101
recap of, 112
review questions for, 113
talkative customers, 107-108
Hearing impaired customer, 103-104
Hearing versus listening, 44
Help desk/technical support, 8
Image. See Projecting positive service image
Indecisive customers, 108-109
Inflection of your voice, 32
Information overload, 51
Information-sharing networks creation, 20
Inquiry service, 7
Interactive Voice Response (IVR), 7, 9, 59, 60, 131
Interactive Web chat, 9
Internal customers, 14
Internet Callback systems, 9, 59
Internet telephony, 59
Interpersonal communication, 6
importance of, 27-28
skills, 30-36
Interruptions and customers, 50, 65
Jargon, 52
Job titles of call center employees, 4-5
Knowledge and skills, 17
Language differences, 106-107
Law compliance. See Complying with the law
Listening skills enhancement, 41-56
acknowledgment words or
statements usage, 54
actively listen, 64
argument avoidance with customers, 53-54
caring, 46-47
characteristics of effective listening, 45-49
emotions, 52
empathy, 45-46
feedback providing tips, 45
hearing versus listening, 44
importance of, 41-43
information overload, 51
interruptions, 50
listening process, 44-45
noisy environments, 51
notetaking, accurate, 54
open-mindedness, 49
paraphrase what customers said, 53
patience, 47-48
percentage of what you actually hear, 42
pitfalls, 49-53
preconceived ideas, 50
process of listening, 44-45
pseudo-listening, 49
questions, ask appropriate, 54
recap of, 55
responsiveness, 48
review questions for, 56
self-assessment exercise, 43
semantics, 52
strategies, 53-54
trust building strategies, 81-82
Managing your time rather than letting it manage you, 6, 115-125
recap of, 124
review questions for, 125
workload, 121-123
Measuring productivity and performance, 61-62
Media blending, 59-60
Mistakes, recovery from. See Recovering from mistakes (yours and your customer’s)
Multitask need, 6, 115-116, 117
Negative messages, 23
Negotiating effectively, 6
Noisy environments, 29, 30, 51
Notetaking, accurate, 54
Online Information Fulfillment systems, 9, 59, 131
Open-mindedness, 49
Order/document processing, 7
Organizational factors that can lead to dissatisfaction, 145-146
Organizing information and data, 6
Outbound (predictive) dialing system, 60
Over-achieving, 118
Paraphrasing what customer said, 37, 53
Patience, 47-48
Peer coaching, 6
Personal appearance, 17-18
Pitch of your voice, 31
Planning poorly by others as time robber, 119
Preconceived ideas, 50
Preparing to deliver quality service, 13-25
communicating positively with yourself and others, 22-23
external customers, 14
internal customers, 14
positive image strategies, 16-18
projecting positive image, 15-22
recap of, 24
recognizing your customers, 13-14
review questions for, 25
self-empowerment, 18-22
Prioritize tasks, 121-122
Problem solving and decision making, 6, 89-100
alternatives for, 93-94
analyze problem or issue, 92-93
definition of problem solving, 91
evaluate alternatives, 94
factors in decision making, 95-96
identify alternatives, 93
identify problem or issue, 91, 92
identifying resources, 97-98
importance of sound decision making, 95-96
make a decision, 94-95
model, problem-solving, 91-95
recap of, 99
review questions for, 100
role in problem solving, your, 89-91
skills development exercise, 90-91
techniques to gain insight for, 90
Procrastination as time robber, 118
Productivity and performance measuring, 61-62
Professionalism, 16
Projecting positive service image, 15-22
communication style, 17
create information-sharing networks, 20
display of enthusiasm, 17
knowledge and skills, 17
personal appearance, 17-18
personal goals setting, 20
positive self-esteem building, 20-22
professionalism, 16
respect for others, 17
self-empowerment, 18-22
strategies, 16-18
time allocation, 17
vocal cues, 31-32
work to build trust, 18-19
Pseudo-listening, 49
Quality service delivery. See Preparing to deliver quality service
Questioning skills, 33-35
asking appropriate questions, 54
close-end questions, 33-34
exercise for creation of open-ended questions, 34-35
for identifying customer
negative leading questions, 35
open-ended questions, 33, 34-35, 92
Rate of speech, 32
Recognizing your customers, 13-14
Recovering from mistakes (yours and your customer’s), 141-152
causes of service breakdown, common, 143-147
dissatisfaction due to CSR factors, 144-145
dissatisfaction due to customer factors, 146
dissatisfaction due to organizational factors, 145-146
expectations of customer, meeting, 148-150
need for service recovery, 141-143
noncomplaints from customers reasons, 142
recap of, 151
recovering from service breakdowns, 147-150
review questions for, 152
Regulating entities, 155
Regulations, need for, 153-154
Resources, identifying, 97-98
Respect for others, 17
Responsiveness, 48
Retaliation avoidance, 135
Roles and responsibilities of call center staff, 1-12. See also Call center
Self-discipline lack, 118
Self-empowerment strategies, 18-22
information-sharing networks creation, 20
personal goals setting, 20
self-esteem building, 20-22
trust building, 18-19
Self-esteem building, 20-22
Semantics, 52
causes, 143-147
recovery from, 147-150
Service levels measurement, 61
Service recovery need, 141-143
Services of call centers, typical, 7-8
Slang, 64
Software
call managements, 59
workforce management, 61
Spam, 70
Speakerphones usage, 65
Speaking impaired customers, 105-106
Speech. See Verbal skills
Staffing of call centers, 4-5
Stress level, controlling your, 6, 127-139
brain and stress, 130
causes, 131
cost of stress to organizations, 127
definition of stress, 128
distress, 128-129
environment strategies, 134-135
eustress, 129
fight or flight syndrome, 129-131
identify stressors, 135
impact of stress, 127-128
indicators of stress, long-term, 132-133
look of stress, 128-129
personal strategies, 135-137
reactions to stress, immediate, 132
recap of, 138
recognizing negative stress symptoms, 132-133
review questions for, 139
strategies, 133-137
technology and, 131
workaholic test, 137
Talk time measurement, 61
Talkative customers, 107-108
Tasks
prioritizing, 121-122
reducing repetitive types, 135
Teaming with others, 6
Technical literacy, 6
Technical support/help desk, 8
Technology failure as time robber, 120
Technology usage effectively, 6, 57-73
automatic call distribution (ACD) systems, 8, 58
automatic number identification (AM), 58-59
call center technology, 8-9, 57-61
call management software, 59
call telephony integration (CTI), 59
communicating through, 62-71
e-mail management/response systems, 8-9
Interactive Voice Response (IVR) systems, 9, 59
interactive Web chat, 9
Internet Callback systems, 9, 59
Internet telephony, 59
measuring productivity and performance, 61-62
media blending, 59-60
online information fulfillment systems, 9, 59
outbound (predictive) dialing system, 60
recap of, 72
review questions for, 73
screen “pop ups,” 60
telephone, 62-69
teletypewriter or text telephone (TTY), 60, 104
video, 60
voice mail, 9
voice recognition, 60-61
voice response unit (VRU), 59
workforce management systems (WFMS), 61
Telemarketing/teleservices, 7-8
Telephone, communicating effectively with, 62-68
acknowledging customer messages, 65
brevity, 64
greeting, 67
guidelines, general, 64-65
with hearing impaired customer, 103, 104
incoming calls, 67-68
interrupting customer, 65
language clarity, 64
leaving voice mail messages, 68
listen actively, 64
outgoing calls, 66
outgoing voice mail messages, 66-67
pausing, 65
responding to messages in timely fashion, 65
slang, 64
speakerphones usage, 65
technology quiz for, 63
vocal cues, 64
Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 (TCPA), 156-157
Teletypewriter or text telephone (TTY), 60, 104
Time allocation, 17
Time management. See Managing your time rather than letting it manage you
external, 119-121
Tone of your voice, 17
Trends affecting call centers, 2-4
Trust building with others, 75-87
basis of trust, 75-76
definition of trust, 75-77
ethical behavior role, 85
exercise for, 19
facts and figures usage, 84-85
impact of values and beliefs on trust, 79-81
importance of trust, 78-79
listen to customer, 81-82
nonverbal and vocal cues, 78
recap of, 86
remain unbiased, 83
review questions for, 87
sincerity, 82
strategies, 81-85
truthfulness, 83-85
work to, 18-19
Two-way communication model, 28-30
Values definition, 80
Verbal content, 35-36
Verbal skills, 31-35
checking your speech exercise, 32
closed-end questions, 33-34
enunciation, 32
inflection, 32
open-ended questions, 33, 34-35
questioning skills, 33-35
rate of speech, 32
pitch, 31
volume, 32
Video, 60
Visitors as time robber, 120
Vocabulary options, 35
Voice mail, 9
leaving messages, 68
outgoing messages, 66-67
responding to, 65
Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), 59
Voice recognition, 60-61
Voice Response Unit (VRU), 59, 131
Volume of your voice, 32
Workaholic avoidance, 136-137
Workforce Management Systems (WFMS), 61
Workload management, 121-123
Workspace improving to reduce stress, 134