Phone etiquette is one of the most important pillars of customer service. Even though you aren’t face-to-face with customers, it’s just as important, or even more critical, since they can’t see your face and get a true picture of your tone and what you’re trying to say.
Business owners and employees must all be on the same page when handling the company’s calls to ensure all customers get the service they deserve.
Why is Phone Etiquette Important?
Phone calls are often customers' first impression of you and how you communicate with ongoing customers. Good phone etiquette can make or break customer satisfaction, determining if your customers remain loyal or refer you to others.
4 Tips for Proper Phone Etiquette
Create consistency
Create a script so that everyone who answers your phone uses the same language and tone and provides the same level of professionalism. You don’t want to confuse customers when they call or have them hoping a particular person doesn’t answer the phone. Everyone in your company should treat your customers the same.
Avoid interruptions
It’s important to teach all employees to let customers vent. Don’t interrupt them to give your opinion or to react to what they’re saying. Let customers feel heard. This also allows you to get the entire story to understand the next steps. Offering a solution before you know the big picture could be a big mistake.
Provide a solution
Always keep customers informed on how you’ll solve their problems. Provide them with a timeline and step-by-step with what they’ll do. This gives customers a frame of reference when learning what to expect. This also puts customers’ minds at ease, letting them know that you have this handled and will do what it takes to make things right.
Take notes
While taking notes isn’t a part of your phone etiquette, it can be. When you take proper notes, you’ll have your story straight should you need to relay it to another employee or give someone a message. In addition, you won’t forget important details, and you’ll be able to solve the problem the best if you can’t do it immediately on the phone.
Final Thoughts
It can feel overwhelming when providing proper customer service on all phone calls, especially if you’re a busy business owner. Trying to keep track of everything, monitor your employees, and ensure all phone calls are handled well is a big job.
If handling phone calls is too much or you’re letting calls go to voicemail, consider hiring a virtual receptionist to help you with those calls. Voicemail is one of the biggest phone etiquette mistakes any business owner can make, but when you hire a company like Easybee, you don’t have to worry about those mistakes and can make the most of your business. feel free to contact us through our website here.
You can also look into giving Easybee a try for free by using our 2-week free trial.
