By Chad Everaert
The Caller Experience can be described as the treatment that a customer receives during a call to your business, and the feeling that they are left with after the close of the transaction. For many businesses, caller experience is a distant, foreign concept often left to be managed by lower-level employees who don’t particularly understand the concept, much less want the responsibility. The reality is, that in many cases, business owners and upper management personnel are too tied up with business development and executive responsibilities to consider the importance of the caller experience.
Let me ask you a question:
As a business owner, how would you feel to learn that your peers dread interacting with you, or feel that you do not treat them with courtesy or respect? Probably not too great, I would imagine. The same should be said for how customers feel about your business. Nobody cares more about your company than you do, so it’s natural that you should hold it to a higher standard than even your most prized employees. Your business is a reflection of the hard work you’ve put into it and the ethics that have helped you achieve your success. It behooves you to ensure that both you and your business receive proper representation.
How do you measure up?
Take a minute and try the following little exercise: Pick up your cellphone or outside line and call your business from the perspective of a customer. If you are unable to do this without an employee recognizing your voice, ask a trusted friend to make the call on speakerphone and listen along. Pay careful attention to these 3 areas of the caller experience as they can have a profound impact on not only the first impression your callers receive, but also whether they are likely to return to you for future business and refer you to others.
- You reached actual person. Were they polite and courteous? Did you feel welcomed and appreciated? Did they have the information required to properly direct your call? If not, did they transfer you to someone for further assistance?
- You reached an automated system. Did it quickly provide you a means to reach the department or person you were looking for? Was there a company directory offered and, if so, was the staff listing up-to-date and accurate to your knowledge? Was every department accessible? After making your selections, were you properly connected to the extensions that you chose? If you did not reach the person you were looking for, were you given the option to leave a message or return to the operator?
- Were you placed on-hold or into a call queue? Was there any form of music or message to entertain or inform you while you were waiting? Did the music/messaging/voice fit the tone and demographic of your business? How long was your wait time?
How can you improve?
No two people will react to the same situation alike, therefore the caller experience is something that can’t be perfected. The goal is care, courtesy and respect for your customer’s time. When you build your caller experience around these principles, your customers will feel it and people will always remember how you made them feel.
