Unit 2 Telephone Skills PDF

UNIT 2: TELEPHONE SKILLS In today’s lesson you should be able to: 1. Distinguish between good and bad telephone etiquette. 2. Use appropriate phrases to make and receive telephone calls. 3. U...

UNIT 2: TELEPHONE SKILLS In today’s lesson you should be able to: 1. Distinguish between good and bad telephone etiquette. 2. Use appropriate phrases to make and receive telephone calls. 3. Use appropriate phrases to take and leave messages.  4. Use appropriate expressions to handle difficult calls. TELEPHONE ETTIQUE What is telephone etiquette? Being respectful to the person you are talking to. Showing consideration for the other person's limitations. Allowing that person time to speak. Communicating clearly. Why do we need telephone etiquette? During a phone call, the following aspects cannot be seen by the person , at the other end of the line: 1. Facial Expressions 2. Gestures 3. Eye Contact 4. Reaction to the conversation  PHONE GREETING Instead of Saying Try Saying Good morning, thank you for calling the office of the Director of Supply Chain Management, Logistics and Everything Else, in the Transportation and International Operations, Chris Concise speaking. Consolidation Department. My name is Steve Embellishment, how may I help you. **Adding phrases such as “good morning”, “how may I help you” are ok so long as you sound like you mean it. IN-CALL SKILLS 5 Forbidden Phrases  1. I don’t know. 2. I/We can’t do that. 3. You have to. 4. Just a second. 5. No Instead of Saying Try Saying I don’t know. That’s a good question; let me find out for you. I / we can’t do that. Here’s what we can do / Here’s how we can help / Here’s what needs to be done / I need to… Just a second. Give an honest answer about how long it will take you to complete whatever you are doing AND tell them what you are doing. Use the hold button.  No. Try to find a way to state the situation positively. Customers are not always right but they are always the customers. They hate to hear no, as they expect their situation will be resolved to their advantage. If you can’t do what they are asking, be sure to tell them what you can do. TAKING MESSAGE When taking a message for someone else, be sure you get the following information recorded: The caller’s name and company/department The correct spelling of the caller’s name, date and time of the call Complete telephone number Brief explanation for call Be sure to verify this information with the caller to make sure you have taken the message correctly and give him/her the opportunity  to check what they told you. Staff opinion VOICE MAIL Voice mail message should be short and to the point. State your department State your name A clear instruction as to what information you need from the caller such as: Name and phone number Best time for you to return the call Brief summary of the reason for calling  Staff’s opinion Why is it important to have a good telephone etiquette? You are presenting a professional image, both in person and on the telephone. Taking care of your customers over the telephone. Make them feel well-informed and appreciated. MODAL VERBS  BEING POLITE Who’s speaking? May I know who’s speaking? Who do you want to speak to? Who would you like to speak to? I want to speak to En. Bahrom. I’d like to speak to En. Bahrom. Pass me to Mr. Fong. Could you pass me to Mr.Fong, please? Ask Mr.Goh to call me back. Could you ask Mr.Goh to return my call? He’s not in. I’m afraid he’s not in. You want him to call you back? Would you like him to call you back/return your call? We want to book the seminar room. We would like to book the seminar room. How much is the tour package to Hawaii? Could you tell me how much the tour package to Hawaii is? I want 10 cartons of paper. I’d like to order 10 cartons of paper. Receiving Telephone Calls The SPP Way  HANDLING DIFFICULT CALLS Handling Difficult Calls Be part of the solution, not part of the problem. The first area is to allow the customer to vent their feelings. Do not interrupt a customer and ask them to “calm down” when they may have been trying to solve this problem for days! Handling Difficult Calls  Handling difficult calls Pause - Allows the customer to express themselves and vent their emotion. Acknowledge - This is our chance to show empathy and to demonstrate that we are taking the customer seriously. Clarify - We need to understand the detail to make sure that we fully understand the issues. - We need to do this with tact and patience. - It is also worth explaining to the customer why you need to ask these extra questions. Respond - Having diffused the emotion, taken the issue seriously and understood the detail, now we are ready to respond. - Our response needs to be positive and appropriate. We also need to ensure that we are not over promising. - If you say you’re going to do something ensure you do it-or you will have a really difficult customer to deal with. Handling Difficult Calls 1. Listen to the entire story first When you do get a difficult caller on the phone, ask the customer how you can help them. Then, sit back and listen, really listen.  When a customer is explaining a problem, don’t interrupt them at all. Don’t cut them off. Don’t even cut in to ask for clarification. As they talk, have a pen and paper or computer tab handy. This way, you can jot down any details and potential questions you’d like to ask for clarification reasons after they’re finished. Not only will listening to the whole story first give you a better idea of the issue or question they’re calling about, but it will also help the customer feel better. There are few things more frustrating to an angry caller than not being heard. Let them talk while you actively listen and take notes. Handling Difficult Calls 2. Apologize After they’ve explained the problem, before anything else  happens, apologize. This is key, especially if the customer is angry. Even if he or she is as cool as a clam, it is still worth your time to apologize for any problem or inconvenience. If the problem was originally their fault, blaming them is only going to worsen their mood, so give a sincere apology, not a generic one. That way, they’ll feel like they have an ally, not an enemy. Assure him or her that you’re going to assist them and together you will work to solve the issue at hand. Handling Difficult Calls 3. Make sure you understand Now that you’ve apologized, it’s time to look again at  those notes you were taking. Knowing and understanding the details before you begin to try to solve the issue will almost always actually save time down the road. Plus, it will let the caller know that you hear them, are actively thinking about their problem and are doing what you can to assist them. Handling Difficult Calls 4. Try to solve the issue If you know the solution, fantastic! Dive right in. If you’re unsure, don’t make any promises that you can’t keep. “I’d love to help you with this issue” isn’t quite the same as saying, “I’ll send you a new one by tomorrow” if  it can’t be done. If you don’t know the answer If you actually need to transfer the call Handling Difficult Calls 5. Compensate the customer for their trouble If you have a particularly difficult caller on the phone, you may have to give them particularly special treatment. Not all companies are able to offer discounts or freebies to disgruntled customers, but many do. If you have a problematic customer who refuses to relax, you may have to throw them a freebie as a last resort. This is sure to calm them down because everyone loves free stuff. Even though it may seem like a loss of money upfront, paying to keep a customer loyal will likely pay for itself in the long run by cutting back on marketing costs. A new customer costs six or seven times more to market to than a returning one. Plus, it’ll save on the bottom line. Increasing customer retention by just two percent decreases overall costs by an average of 10 percent.  Important to remember! Above all, stay friendly, keep your cool and move things along as efficiently as possible. Stay sympathetic and positive and always apologize for their inconvenience. Take a deep breath and, most importantly of all, be as helpful as possible but never take an difficult caller personally. Instead of Saying Try Saying Hold on. Will you hold while I… (and wait for the answer) Who is this? May I have your name please? or Who is calling, please? or May I ask who’s calling? We can’t do that. I believe we can offer (alternative)...will that work for you? I can take a message. I’ll be happy to take a message and be sure it gets to (the correct person) right away. So and so is responsible for that. I’m sorry you’re having this problem, what can I do to help? Like I told you before… I’m really sorry you’re having this problem; let’s find a way to resolve this issue. No one here would have promised you anything like that. out how we can resolve this. If I understand you correctly, you were promised (??); let’s figure If you would just listen. I understand you are upset, I apologize for the trouble you’re having with this. Sentences starting with you. Sentences starting with I. TELEPHONING PHRASES  Cut off Hang on Call Back Put through Break up Get Through Hang up Pick up Speak  up Hold on Answering a call Could you connect me to (Name of company). May I help extension 2527, please? you? (Name of company). Can I help Identifying the caller you? Could I have your name, Who’s speaking? please? Who’s calling, please? May I know who’s Asking to speak to someone speaking? May I know Could I speak to (name)? Is whose calling? This is (your (name) there, please? Could name). you put me through to Encik Malik, please? Giving a reason for the  call I’m calling about… What is it in connection with? I’m phoning to…. What is it regarding? Saying the person is/isn’t free Who shall I say is calling? I’m sorry, but I’m afraid she’s not Transferring the call here today. Hold on, please, while I connect Can I take a message? you. Leaving a message Please hold. I’ll transfer your Can/could I leave a message? call. Can/Could you ask him/her to I’ll pass your call now. call me back? Finishing Asking information regarding the call I’ll give him/her the message. Thanks for your help/for calling. Could you tell me what it’s about? Speak to you later/tomorrow. Requesting Can I book/ order? Asking for repetition and spelling Can you repeat that? Can you Responding say that again? Can you speak Yes, of course. more slowly? Can you spell Sure. that? Difficult Calls Yes, we do. I’m sorry, but we don’t … I’m sorry for this trouble. Asking for information Please tell me more about … I can Can you give me…? understand why you’d be upset. This is important — to both you and me. Can you tell me…? Let’s work together to find a Can you confirm…? solution. Here’s what I’m going to do for you. What can we do to resolve this now? I want to take care of this I’m more than happy to help you with for you immediately. this. I hear what you’re saying, and I know You have a right to be upset. how to help. If I were in your shoes, I’d feel the same way. Do you think this solution would work for You’re right, and we need to do you? something about this immediately. What I’ll do right now is … Then I can Thank you … (for bringing this to my … As an immediate solution, I’d like to attention, being straight with me / for suggest … your patience with us / your continued What would you consider a fair and business). reasonable solution? GROUP READING 1- Read the telephone conversation  2- Identify the phrases useful for your own daily usage 3- Highlight the vocabulary that you don’t understand Check your understanding 1. Give examples of a good telephone etiquette. 2. Give examples of a bad telephone etiquette. 3. What would you say when you want to leave a message? 4. What would you say when a customer is upset to you on the phone?  ROLE PLAY 1. In groups 2. Come up with a telephone conversation Task In groups of 3-4 people, role play a scene at the hospital where you handle a telephone call from the beginning till the end. There would be telephone operators and customers and a difficult situation. Show the viewers how you handle the situations. The length of the video should be around 2-3 minutes. Upload the video in GC once you have completed the task. Task Scenario that could be included. 1. The person on the other end left you a long message. 2. You get a person who dialed a wrong number. 3. You have been redirected by the operator many times. 4. The person on the other end could not hear you. 5. The person on the other end cannot understand your accent. 6. The person on the other end is rude to you.