PCMS Contact Centre Blog http://www.pcmscontactcentre.com/blog PCMS Contact Centre Blog Wed, 01 Feb 2012 17:16:19 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 en hourly 1 5 things you should not say to a customer http://www.pcmscontactcentre.com/blog/2012/02/5-things-you-should-not-say-to-a-customer/ http://www.pcmscontactcentre.com/blog/2012/02/5-things-you-should-not-say-to-a-customer/#comments Wed, 01 Feb 2012 17:16:19 +0000 richardsonm http://www.pcmscontactcentre.com/blog/?p=298 Imagine the scene,  it’s Wednesday afternoon and you are on the phones, a customer query comes in and you answer the query honestly and professionally, yet the customer is unhappy and you are not sure why.   Here are some of the things you may have said that might aggravate the matter:

  1. “Sorry I cannot help you”
    Put yourself in the customer’s shoes, they may have been passed around and told this all day and they may be losing their patience.  If you think about most the queries you receive in customer services, although you may not be able to resolve the query yourself, I bet you know someone who can help the customer.   If you know someone who can help then give the customer their contact details and explain how this person maybe be able to help them. Better yet, transfer them yourself  and give them your name as a point of contact.  So, instead of saying ‘I can’t help you’ say ‘These are the contact details of the person who can help you and if you need any other help here are my contact details.’ Although you haven’t resolved the customer’s query you have helped them get a step closer to resolving it.
  2. “Don’t blame me”
    You need to understand that taking calls in a call centre is a relatively anonymous job, a customer generally isn’t calling to shout at you they are calling to vent about an issue they are having.   If a customer shouts, generally (depending on how you have handled the call) a customer is shouting at the company or the issue. The best action to take when a customer is venting like this is to let them say what they need to say, don’t interrupt.  Once they have finished, clarify what you believe the issue to be, apologise that they are in this situation then explain the actions you will take to resolve the matter.
  3. “Sorry but it is company policy to …..”
    Reciting company policy will not help resolve a customer’s issue; this is just another way of saying ‘sorry I can’t help you’.  Instead of focussing on what you can’t do for your customers, focus on what you can do. Present customers with options of what they can do in their situation and then let the customer control how to resolve the issue.
  4. “Hold On”
    Just putting a customer on hold can be annoying. Customers respond better to explanations of how you are trying to resolve their query, how long it will take and result they can expect from it. Putting people on hold is the same, explain to the customer why you are putting them on hold and how long they can expect to be on hold or offer a call back at a time convenient to the customer.
  5. “I don’t know” These words should not be in a contact centre agent’s vocabulary. If you don’t know the answer to a question, find out the answer from a team leader or handbook or find out where the customer can find the answer. This saves the customer a lot of time and guess work on their behalf, they will be grateful for the help.

Remember, you can always help a customer in some way, you may not resolve their issue but you can put them on the path to a resolution. Don’t take calls personally remember that the customer is not angry at you but at the situation, I know it’s hard but try not to get emotional!

Carly Smith

New Business Specialist

]]> http://www.pcmscontactcentre.com/blog/2012/02/5-things-you-should-not-say-to-a-customer/feed/ 0 What sort of personality traits do you need to succeed in a customer contact centre environment? http://www.pcmscontactcentre.com/blog/2012/01/what-sort-of-personality-traits-do-you-need-to-succeed-in-a-customer-contact-centre-environment/ http://www.pcmscontactcentre.com/blog/2012/01/what-sort-of-personality-traits-do-you-need-to-succeed-in-a-customer-contact-centre-environment/#comments Fri, 27 Jan 2012 17:18:55 +0000 richardsonm http://www.pcmscontactcentre.com/blog/?p=295
  • Tenacity – sometimes the sale will elude you all day or the customer query isn’t as straight forward as you first thought.  Customer contact centre agents need tenacity to keep going until they get the sale or keep looking until they find a way of resolving the customer query.
  • Positivity – if you are being negative then answering many calls everyday potentially about the same thing is just going to lead to complaints.  You need to be upbeat and positive at all times.  In the customer call centre environment there is no where to hide if you are having a bad day.
  • People skills – It sounds obvious, but if you don’t really like talking to people then you aren’t going to enjoy working in the customer contact centre environment.
  • Understanding technology – unless you are working in technical support nobody is going to expect you to be a technical wizz. Still in almost every customer contact centre you will be expected to use a CRM system of some kind to access customer information, you will at least need to be confident you can use a computer with the right training.
  • Accuracy – customer data in the life line to any customer contact centre, please see my previous blogs for reference.  Data accuracy is vital to any business so your employer will need to know you are able to input customer requests, orders and queries accurately into their systems.

    • Heidi Coles

    Business Development Executive

    ]]>     http://www.pcmscontactcentre.com/blog/2012/01/what-sort-of-personality-traits-do-you-need-to-succeed-in-a-customer-contact-centre-environment/feed/ 0     5 things you don’t hear customer contact centre outbound agents say http://www.pcmscontactcentre.com/blog/2012/01/5-things-you-don%e2%80%99t-hear-customer-contact-centre-outbound-agents-say/ http://www.pcmscontactcentre.com/blog/2012/01/5-things-you-don%e2%80%99t-hear-customer-contact-centre-outbound-agents-say/#comments Tue, 24 Jan 2012 17:19:51 +0000 richardsonm http://www.pcmscontactcentre.com/blog/?p=292 Customer contact centre outbound agents are a chatty bunch by nature but here are five things you will never hear them say;

    1.       ” I don’t like talking to new people ” – in my experience customer contact centre outbound agents love to talk to people, it’s what they get paid to do!   If they didn’t like talking to people how can they be expected to engage with customers and prospects throughout the day?

    2.      ” I give up easily” – if your customer contact centre  agents are saying this then you do have problems, like the last point customer contact centre  agents like to keep your prospects talking for long enough to establish why they are saying no.  If they give up at the first hurdle their outbound sales career isn’t going to last long.

    3.       “I tell customers what they want, what they need doesn’t matter” – I admit I fudged this one a little as you do hear this phrase in the industry, it’s one of the things which gives telesales a bad reputation.  What I should have said is ‘you won’t hear our telesales agents saying this’.  Why?  Because we have worked hard to create an environment of needs based selling, all of our agents spend time talking to customers to understand what their needs are, then they recommend products or services which fit those needs.

    4.       “My job is boring” – we keep our agents motivated and connected with products and services while offering career development.  Done right outbound calling is anything but boring.

    5.      ” Telemarketers are all the same” – we recognise that the people we sell to are all different – ages, sex, background, nationality which is why we employ a wide range of agents from a wide range of backgrounds to engage with your customers.

    PCMS offer a wide range of services including telesales, telemarketing, customer satisfaction surveys and customer helplines.

    ]]>     http://www.pcmscontactcentre.com/blog/2012/01/5-things-you-don%e2%80%99t-hear-customer-contact-centre-outbound-agents-say/feed/ 0     January’s Thanks http://www.pcmscontactcentre.com/blog/2012/01/januarys-thanks/ http://www.pcmscontactcentre.com/blog/2012/01/januarys-thanks/#comments Fri, 20 Jan 2012 16:53:22 +0000 richardsonm http://www.pcmscontactcentre.com/blog/?p=289 Thanks from the PCMS Customer Contact Centre Management Team this month go to Anna Dzierwa;

    Anna’s Team Leader said ‘We have just completed one of our busiest times of year, Anna was a great help throughout this period and ran some excellent training events.’  Thanks from all of the customer contact centre management team Anna.

    ]]>     http://www.pcmscontactcentre.com/blog/2012/01/januarys-thanks/feed/ 0     5 Tips to give your customers more than they expected http://www.pcmscontactcentre.com/blog/2012/01/5-tips-to-give-your-customers-more-than-they-expected/ http://www.pcmscontactcentre.com/blog/2012/01/5-tips-to-give-your-customers-more-than-they-expected/#comments Tue, 17 Jan 2012 10:28:10 +0000 richardsonm http://www.pcmscontactcentre.com/blog/?p=286
  • Data. When a customer calls with a query, cleanse the data you have about them to ensure that the address, email address and phone number are correct. Having incorrect information about your customers can cost time and money for both parties.
  • Aim for 1st call resolution. This saves your customers and your agents time, instead of agents saying they do not know the answer to a query train them to find the answer. The more often a customer has to call the more frustrated they will become, making their experience with your customer service a bad one.
  • Manage customer expectation. Give them a time frame in which they can expect an answer, up date or resolution to their query and stick to it. If you cannot stick to the timeframe you have offered, contact the customer and tell them why and when they can expect it to happen.
  • Communicate. This returns to the point of number 3. Keep in contact with your customer and keep them up to date with progress.
  • Is the customer happy? Ask them. Don’t assume the customer will be happy with the answer, resolution or plan to resolve their query. Use the information you gather, here at PCMS if an agent gets positive feedback we ask them to make a note of what was said and which agent it was said to and then we put the comment on our wall of honour. If we get negative feedback, we use this to improve our service.

    • Carly Smith

    New Business Specialist

    ]]>     http://www.pcmscontactcentre.com/blog/2012/01/5-tips-to-give-your-customers-more-than-they-expected/feed/ 0     How not to conduct a customer service call – 5 horror stories from experience http://www.pcmscontactcentre.com/blog/2012/01/how-not-to-conduct-a-customer-service-call-%e2%80%93-5-horror-stories-from-experience/ http://www.pcmscontactcentre.com/blog/2012/01/how-not-to-conduct-a-customer-service-call-%e2%80%93-5-horror-stories-from-experience/#comments Tue, 10 Jan 2012 16:54:36 +0000 richardsonm http://www.pcmscontactcentre.com/blog/?p=283 While being on the receiving end of poor customer services is unpleasant for everyone, in the customer contact centre industry you can’t help comparing the poor service with the excellent service PCMS provide their customers.  Here are five horror stories PCMS customer contact centre staff have experienced when dealing with other customer service departments;

    1.        The call you shouldn’t have received – a company knocked on my door asking if I was interested in having some work done to my house.  I did need some rendering work and the lady I met was lovely so I agreed I could be called within the following few days.  The call came the following week just at the moment I was trying to put my son to bed, I asked them to call back on Thursday, three days later, to which they agreed.  The following evening my husband said he’d had a call and asked them to call back later, I was a touch irritated as I had asked them to wait which they had agreed to.  When they called again I explained I was unhappy they had called before the requested time, the response I received stunned me.  The woman on the line became very rude and started to shout saying she had already spoken to my husband who said she should call back at this time.  I tried to explain that the first call should not have been made but she wouldn’t listen.  I ended the call when after a full five minutes of me saying ‘put me through to a supervisor,’ over and over again she was still shouting at me.  In the end I put the phone down.

    Lesson learnt – I always double check the agreed time for calling back a prospect and ask when the best time to talk is.

    2.       One agent said ‘I had a call from a market research company, because I work in the industry I always answer their questions.  The chap said it should only take five minutes, I was on the way out but thought I could spare a few minutes.  The call went on and on, there were loads of questions.  I must have been still answering questions ten minutes later when I said I had to go, he didn’t want to let me go so I had to be sharp with him which I felt bad about.  The next evening he called when I was eating dinner, I told him this thinking that would be it.  He called again half an hour later while I was still busy and half an hour again after that.  I thought he would take the hint but he called me again the next evening, I ended up making up answers to his survey just to get rid of him.’

    Lesson learnt – ‘I try to be as accurate as possible when telling a customer how long something will take and try to keep them as informed as possible during the process.’

    3.        One of our Business Development Assistants said ‘I was trying to call a helpline with a query.  I couldn’t get through to them at all.  I tried calling at different times of the day but still couldn’t get through.  My problem was becoming more urgent and I was worried the deadline would pass.  Eventually I went on Twitter and posted my problem there.  I got a response within twenty minutes.’

    Lesson Learnt – ‘While Twitter was very useful, it gave me a better understanding of why service level agreements are so important in a customer contact centre.’

    4.       One PCMS customer contact centre team leader said ‘My freezer broke down so I called this company who sent an engineer to look at it.  He admitted he couldn’t find what was wrong with it and suggested he order a part and come back.  Two weeks later I hadn’t heard anything so I rang and asked what was going on.  The person I spoke to said the engineer had put on the notes that the freezer was fixed and the call had been closed.  I had to argue for ages to say this wasn’t true.  It took weeks to get a refund from them and I had to make calls every day to ask what was happening.’

    Lesson learnt – ‘It was nice to be reminded of how good we are at PCMS.  We don’t expect our callers to have to ring back every time they want an update, we’re really proactive about answering their questions as soon as possible and keeping them informed throughout the process.’

    5.       Finally there is a store I visit frequently, the staff always say hello and take the time to ask me about my day, the weather and so on.  They make an effort to make idle chit chat which passes the time as they complete my transactions.  It’s nice and adds a personal feel to each visit.  There is another store I try not to visit unless I have to where the staff seem to make a point of serving me without making any eye contact or acknowledging me.

    Lesson learnt – At PCMS we constantly promote the personal touch, such as using the caller’s name and asking them about their day, it takes very little time and makes the experience better for everyone involved.

    Heidi Coles

    Business Development Executive

    ]]>     http://www.pcmscontactcentre.com/blog/2012/01/how-not-to-conduct-a-customer-service-call-%e2%80%93-5-horror-stories-from-experience/feed/ 0     5 Steps To Stop The January Blues In Your Customer Contact Centre http://www.pcmscontactcentre.com/blog/2012/01/5-steps-to-stop-the-january-blues-in-your-customer-contact-centre/ http://www.pcmscontactcentre.com/blog/2012/01/5-steps-to-stop-the-january-blues-in-your-customer-contact-centre/#comments Wed, 04 Jan 2012 10:49:49 +0000 richardsonm http://www.pcmscontactcentre.com/blog/?p=279 The New Year will signal a new start for a number of customer contact centre agents but like many people around the country a touch of the January blues can set in.  Here are five tips to prevent the January Blues in your customer contact centre;

    1.        Review and prepare – use the start of the year to complete any outstanding 121’s or appraisals.  Most customer contact centre agents will have had at least one or two Bank Holidays to relax over the Christmas period, this gives them the chance to reflect more objectively on the previous year’s performance.  Use the successes of the previous year to drive the performance of this year.  Customer contact centre agents are likely to have New Year’s Resolutions on their minds so cash in on this and focus on key performance objectives over the next 12 months.

    2.       Training – start the New Year as you mean to go on and give your customer contact centre agents additional training.  Often in a busy customer contact centre environment the focus becomes on products and processes but it is the soft skills a customer contact centre cgent delivers which take the customer experience from good to great.  By training and coaching your customer contact centre agents on using a customer’s name during a call, thanking them for their business and needs based selling agents will have a better understanding of the customer experience and subsequently increase customer satisfaction.

    3.       Keep them fresh – when agents have been working in a customer contact centre for a while they become rusty which can lead to a poor customer experience.  Mix things up for them, teach them a new skill, involve them in training new starters or set new challenges.

    4.       Holidays – while the summer still feels a long way off it is always the key time of year where holiday requests come in.  Encourage agents to book their holidays early if they can to give them the best chance of securing key dates.  Booking holidays early gives you better chance of managing dates and gives the agents something to look forward to.

    5.       Events – organising a night out or team lunch on payday gives the agents a chance to relax and chat informally.  Having something to look forward to can be great for agents motivation.

    Happy New Year from everyone at the PCMS Contact Centre!

    Heidi Coles

    Business Development Executive

    ]]>     http://www.pcmscontactcentre.com/blog/2012/01/5-steps-to-stop-the-january-blues-in-your-customer-contact-centre/feed/ 0     The 12 Days of a Contact Centre Christmas http://www.pcmscontactcentre.com/blog/2011/12/the-12-days-of-a-contact-centre-christmas/ http://www.pcmscontactcentre.com/blog/2011/12/the-12-days-of-a-contact-centre-christmas/#comments Mon, 19 Dec 2011 12:18:40 +0000 richardsonm http://www.pcmscontactcentre.com/blog/?p=275 On the 1st day of Christmas Customer Contact Centre sent to me…. first call resolution

    On the 2nd day of Christmas Customer Contact Centre sent to me…. 121 coaching for all of my team

    On the 3rd day of Christmas Customer Contact Centre sent to me…3 new telemarketing appointments

    On the 4th day of Christmas Customer Contact Centre sent to me…. all Christmas holiday requests agreed and managed

    On the 5th day of Christmas Customer Contact Centre sent to me…. all agent rotas for January

    On the 6th day of Christmas Customer Contact Centre sent to me…. the industry standard of 80% of all calls offered answered within 20 seconds

    On the 7th day of Christmas Customer Contact Centre sent to me…. the industry standard of no more than 5% of all calls received abandoned

    On the 8th day of Christmas Customer Contact Centre sent to me…. emails answered within 24 hours

    On the 9th day of Christmas Customer Contact Centre sent to me…. a splendid PCMS Christmas Party

    On the 10th day of Christmas Customer Contact Centre sent to me….  a nice Secret Santa prezzie

    On the 11th day of Christmas Customer Contact Centre sent to me… a session on objection handling

    On the 12th day of Christmas Customer Contact Centre sent to me…. thanks to all of our customers


    Wishing you a very Merry Christmas from all at the PCMS Customer Contact Centre!!


    ]]>     http://www.pcmscontactcentre.com/blog/2011/12/the-12-days-of-a-contact-centre-christmas/feed/ 0     Helping the community with Coventry Open Christmas http://www.pcmscontactcentre.com/blog/2011/12/270/ http://www.pcmscontactcentre.com/blog/2011/12/270/#comments Tue, 13 Dec 2011 11:15:42 +0000 richardsonm http://www.pcmscontactcentre.com/blog/?p=270 PCMS Customer Contact Centre are giving back to charity this Christmas assisting the Grab and Go Charity based in Coventry with their Coventry Open Christmas appeal.  Agents from the PCMS Customer Contact Centre are volunteering at the charity this Christmas Eve and Christmas Day handing out boxed parcels of food, bedding and clothes.  The PCMS Customer Contact Centre agents and team leaders have volunteered their own time to the cause.

    PCMS telemarketing agent Carly Smith said ‘I am involved with a number of charities outside of work.  When I saw Grab and Go needed volunteers I was keen to help out.  I mentioned it to some of the other agents and was delighted at how many came forward offering their support.  At such a busy time of year I am touched at how many people have given up their free time to support Grab and Go.’

    The PCMS Customer Contact Centre is now selling raffle tickets for a range of prizes to raise funds for the charity and accepting donations of clothing, bedding, toiletries and food.  Lists have been issued around the company for key items the charity needs.

    Heather Ramon, customer contact centre operations manager said ‘I wanted to help out but prior commitments mean I am struggling for time, I am pleased with the list of key items which have been displayed around the building, I hadn’t realised the charity would need packs of new underwear but it makes sense this would be a key need.  By having the list I can donate some much needed items and know they will go to good use over Christmas.  I am incredibly proud of the efforts of the Customer Contact Centre, it reflects what a massive team spirit we have.’

    PCMS Customer Contact Centre Management Team would like to thank all of the agents for giving up their time to such a worthy cause.  Well done guys!

    Heidi Coles

    Business Development Executive

    ]]>     http://www.pcmscontactcentre.com/blog/2011/12/270/feed/ 0     Make a date with data http://www.pcmscontactcentre.com/blog/2011/12/make-a-date-with-data/ http://www.pcmscontactcentre.com/blog/2011/12/make-a-date-with-data/#comments Mon, 05 Dec 2011 16:51:52 +0000 richardsonm http://www.pcmscontactcentre.com/blog/?p=266 You might have heard Christmas is coming soon, but what does that mean for a customer contact centre offering telemarketing / telesales?

    Well, the results can be mixed, if your customer contact centre is offering telesales then there is every chance that sales will go through the roof if you are selling consumer products.  Telemarketing is a different beast, when appointment booking I’ve had some real gems booked in ready for the New Year, remember not everyone will be on holiday.  Where possible every Customer Contact Centre needs to think about the best use of their agents’ time.  This might mean letting more agents have holiday during this period if appropriate, I like to use the period between Christmas and New Year to prepare to hit the ground running when normal services resume.  Here are my 5 tips for making the most of the quiet period;

    1.        Holidays – as I have said before, and mentioned in previous blogs, when telemarketing agents are making call after call and only hearing ‘she / he is on holiday until 4th January,’ their motivation drops and they stop expecting any success.  If you can, let a few more agents than usual have time off so they are ready for when targets are back from annual leave.

    2.       Look for the diamonds – every year without fail the majority of agents working during that period will find a diamond in the mix.  Months of searching and repeated calling will result in a Director’s PA being on holiday and the call going straight through or a much sought after prospect having a free diary during that time for a key sales appointment.  This happens every year, don’t forget this time can be a goldmine!

    3.       Training – while the agents have time to think and thoughts turn to success for 2012 use the time to train telemarketing agents.  Telemarketing agents can practice new techniques, update call flows and go back through product knowledge to keep themselves fresh for 2012.

    4.       Make a date with data – the success of any telemarketing contract is driven by the quality of the data.  While things are quiet use this time to revisit your data making sure contacts are up to date, best telephone numbers are held and email addresses are correct.  Time invested in telemarketing foundations will be reaped in the New Year.

    Jo Bell, Commercial Director at Mortascreen, provided some eye opening statistics in the October issue of Promotional Marketing Magazine; “It is a staggering fact that data decays at an alarming rate if you consider 7,000 people moving home and 1,500 people passing away every day.  Data is often overlooked as a company asset….”

    5.       Plan for success – as a manager use the time to your best advantage by planning for 2012 if you haven’t already done so.  Look for the best time for promotions, consider when extra holiday requests will come in, think about the impact of the Olympics and other sporting events on resources, look for new opportunities and think about how you can develop you team to continue the success you have built up so far.

    Heidi Coles

    Business Development Executive

    ]]>     http://www.pcmscontactcentre.com/blog/2011/12/make-a-date-with-data/feed/ 0