Yes, I give my full name, and am then asked, "And what can I do for you, Mr. Horley?"
>>> Ask them how they'd like to be addressed, if they don't say: I'm dealing with a finance company at present, and asked the rep I speak to to call me by my first name, since we speak fairly regularly.
>>> Don't use call-closers, unless it's a very quick, and spontaneous-sounding response like "Thanks very much for your call, Mr Squidgebottom.", or "Thanks very much for calling - don't forget to call us back if there's any other help you need." All that "And thank you for choosing Ripoff & Penury for your mortgage solutions, Leroy" sounds not only phoney, but distances whatever rapport you've just felt you've got going between yourself and the customer.
>>> I've been calling the Pension Service a fair bit recently, and they always greet nicely with "Good morning/afternoon, this is Dara speaking, I hope you haven't been kept waiting too long..." Actually, I've never been kept waiting so far, but if your response time is likely to be more than ten seconds, then it might be an idea to add a courtesy like that. It recognizes that callers may have been held up a while before they get through.
>>> If your response time is notably crap (assuming you have a way to monitor how quickly calls get answered - that could be useful), then perhaps the auto-voice, instead of saying 'your call is important to us' (yeah, so important you don't hire enough staff to answer your bloody phones!), should invite callers to leave their name and number, and ASSURE them, and keep the promise, too, that they'll have a member of staff call THEM back within the next 15 minutes. Better still, don't have a crappy system like NTL's helpline, which has taken up to TWO HOURS to become available!
>>> Don't have too many options to choose from with the initial call. Have a max of four, then a max of four on each of those. If you can't break your business down into 20 categories, maybe it's time to break the business up into different areas, with different phone numbers. Swamping callers who are probably leading busy, stressful lives with too many 'call this, call that, now press 4, now press 5, press hash, press star...' then get a robot telling them all the operators are busy but their call is important, and being forced to listen for 20 minutes to a James Last medley, is enough to send anyone round with an AK-47.
>>> If your customers feel the need for a wee, human, chat, don't have your operators deny them. Sometimes it's stressful or difficult enough for some people to try to tie their own shoelaces, let alone arrange a mortgage. If they want to tell your op they've just finished an exam, or their Mum died, or the cat's sick, make sure the op is willing to give them a few minutes' space - after all, your customers are buying into probably DECADES of their lives with your company. The least you can give them is the sense that you're as human as they are.
>>> Little thoughts that count: if your company can afford it, of course. You've got all of your clients' data on file now. So, is there any problem to the company sending them out a little card on their birthday, wishing them a happy one? Especially if the birthdays are significant, like retirement age, when, of course, you'll want to sell them some other products like pre-paid funeral deals! :lol How about 10% off all other finance deals your mortgaged clients take out with you, if you do house/contents/car insurance, for instance? Or a special thank-you when they sign up initially, say, their first year's contents insurance free with you?
>>> That'll be £500, thanks.
