Call Center Tips for Beginners
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Let’s be honest: working as a Customer Service representative can be a real challenge, especially if you are just starting your first job in this area. But what can you do to make it less stressful? Here are our 10 Call Center tips for beginners:
1- Take notes
One of the most important call center tips is to always takes notes while on a call. This is a great exercise for becoming an active listener, as it helps you focus on the conversation as you make sure that you are not missing out on anything that the other side is saying. It also helps you collect all the details and ensure that you are not forgetting anything. Just remember to not write down sensitive information or cardholder data on a piece of paper, which can be a dangerous practice according to the industry payment standard PCI-DSS.
If your company has a call recording service integrated into their Call Center infrastructure, notes might not be necessary as all your calls will be recorded, stored, and accessible for reproduction at any time. However, if you aren’t recording calls yet, you might want to check our cloud-based call recording solution Recordia.
2- Confidence
As you’ve probably heard it many times, confidence is key – and this applies to practically everything. Try to sound confident and relaxed, and don’t let the other side know that you are a beginner, as they might start to doubt your abilities to solve their issue – even if you are perfectly capable.
3- It’s OK to not know something
Many customer representatives are afraid to confess when an issue is out of their control, and will try to give inefficient answers just for the sake of giving an answer. Whether you are a beginner or not, it is OK to encounter a problem or a question that you are not capable of responding.
Try to be resolutive, but don’t panic if something is out of your control – instead, let the customer know that you will try to find the best solution for his issue, and you will call him back as soon as possible.
4- Analyze
Just like anything else, customer support takes practice, and you will get better as you deal with hundreds of different people and experiences. These experiences are an excellent source of information as they help you improve your skills and provide better service. Especially if you have all these conversations recorded and stored securely for reproduction.
One of the most effective call center tips is to use these recordings to analyze your skills and identify weaknesses – you never know how good or bad you’re performing until you see yourself from an outside perspective.
5- Address your customer by name
Addressing your customers by their name is a great way to provide better experience and make them feel understood. To do it properly, listen to your customer as he will let you know how he likes to be addressed.
For example, if the customer presents herself as “This is Jane Smith”, you can either politely ask her “May I call you Jane?”, or directly call her Ms. Smith.
6- Be patient
Among the most important call center tips for beginners is to be patient. Instead of hurrying up to give an answer as soon as the customer finishes his first sentence, try to be an active listener. Do not start explaining yourself before making sure that the customer is done describing his issue, as it will look unprofessional and he might get even more frustrated.
During the call, remain patient, listen actively, and ask questions until the issue is fully described before responding. If you don’t hear all the necessary details, you might not be able to provide the most adequate solution for you customer’s problem.
7- Transferring the call
Getting transferred might be a frustrating experience for customers, as it sometimes looks that employees are shifting them from one department to another because they prefer passing the responsibility to someone else.
To transfer the call adequately, one of our top call center tips is to follow these steps: first, explain the reason behind the transfer and to whom you are passing on the customer. Second, ask them if they don’t mind being transferred. Third, ensure that the person who should pick up the phone is available, and explain them the nature of the call along with the name of the person on the other side.
By following these steps, you will not only show that you are a real professional, but the user will also feel less frustrated when dealing with customer service.
8– Exchange experiences with colleagues
Exchanging your customer experience with your colleagues is a great way to discuss different perspectives and see if you could have resolved an issue in a more efficient way – especially if you are a beginner.
Even if you aren’t a beginner, getting to know your product takes time, and colleagues that are more experienced than you can give you great advice. In addition, customer representatives experience conversations with customers differently, and everyone can learn a lot from each other.
9- Positive attitude
Keeping a positive attitude is extremely important for a successfully resolved problem and a satisfied customer. At times, it can be truly challenging, but maintaining composure reflects confidence and reassures the user that you are capable of finding a solution.
10- Organization
Customer service requires a lot of organization, and agents need to be well-prepared in order to deliver quality service in the least amount possible. Take your time to explore all the tools, platforms, and systems that your company has set up, and practice different situations to learn how to switch easily between databases. You need to be able to navigate quickly between different windows in a CRM database, so make sure to organize your resources in the most efficient way possible.