the underwraps of having good customer care skills

call center agents are expected to be individuals who take in the vital customer care knack. it is an asset in the field of contact centers. the company’s sales and productivity can be achieved through first-rate customer relations.

3 things which help agents keep their job:

*an outgoing and friendly personality. this is hard to show because the clients are being serviced over the phone. the voice, the choice of terminology and the manner of saying the words play an important role here.

*a people-oriented attitude. this makes everything possible for the agent to deal with customers making them feel as the most important people in their existence.

*an ample knowledge of phone etiquette. learn to listen carefully and never butt in while customers are talking. whatever they are saying, let them finish first. always acknowledge and let them feel you are more than willing to assist and help them the best possible way you can.

five years and still counting

Call centers still carry on to be the fundamental success of customer relations industry. Employers always look for agents with the indispensable skills and qualities.

February 27, 2011 marks my fifth year as a call center agent. YES..! I have been playing in the field for exactly five years .. still living a sleep deprived and  a caffeine fueled life. A call center agent job is not that easy. To stay in the game one should understand customer differences. Must have good communication skills and English language proficiency furthermore computer literacy.

sleepy agent

one of the calls that i had which i secretly wished wouldn't be monitored was unfortunately randomly picked. it wasn't really a bad call. i was able to service the call , addressed the concern of the cardmember and was even able to put add ons (some important details like giving out available credit/cash without being asked.)the call actually lasted for about 3-4 minutes. HOWEVER, all throughout the call, my voice sounded so sleepy, as if i wasn't in the mood to work, sounded like i was too lazy to assist the customersand i was obviouslyu in a hurry.. if it wasn't for my tone & mood, i should have gotten a rating of 2, which is considerably high. BUT because of the way i talked, i only got a rate of 3. it's lesson learned. the secret is to always have a friendly and enthusiastic tone. damn..that was close!

wow philippines

filipinos in the US are aware that several call center companies are based in the Philippines. my caller a while ago was a filipina. the first thing she asked was my location, and my nationality. i admitted to be a filipino like her. when she learned about this, she started speaking our own language and requested me to do the same . i can't. even if i want to.so, we discussed her issues however she used filipino/tagalog language while i reply in english. it was fun, she was relieved that it wasn't hard on her part to inquire and know more about her account details. the call lasted for about 10 minutes which is considered as long call. the heck, it's ok. at least i was able to make one of our kababayans happy. she even joked.. "dumudugo kasi ilong ko pag nag-english ako" ...we had a good laugh. i was tempted to speak the way she does, but i controlled myself. afraid the call might be monitored and be part of my scorecard..no way! hence, the call ended the way i started it.. english all the way...cmon!

i apologize

i wasn't able to assist my client.. the issue was so simple. he just wanted to know the balance information on his account... account balance, minimum payemnt due, payment due date, available credit, available cash. SO SIMPLE. there were no fraud issues. no suspicious activities. no block on the account. it was a second call made by the CM. he only called back to know and take note of the balance info.. I apologized because, my system was down at that moment. it would have been a good call.. but i wasn't able to do anything. i opted to transfer the call to the other agent. oh, i feel so bad. to hell with the system.

love/hate

my caller hates my company. she hates the service. she hates us all the more when she can't use her credit card. she screamed at me! she cursed me! she hates me!. she doesn't want to listen to me. she doesn't understand me. she hates me to the max...!
HOWEVER. she got tired of shouting and started to shut up and gave me time to talk.
i found out she was just trying to use the card for cash advance at an ATM machine and was unable to get the money she wanted.
i told her the reason was because of the wrong PIN (personal identification number) she used...
total silence. i removed the security hold on the account and informed her, the card is good to go..
THEN, she said sorry. she apologized. she didn't mean it when she said she hates me & my company. she admitted she was wrong.
SO, she started saying she loves the customer experience she had with me. she promised to be more careful the next time she uses her card. the call ended with her saying... " i love the way you assisted me and also the way you addressed my concern..i love you sweetheart.." CMON..!

duh..??

one of the calls i received about 6 hours ago was a funny one. my caller complained because she was trying to make a purchase at different merchants but were unable to. YES! none of the transactions has gone through. after she verified all the necessary info on the account, and after telling me that all the activities made on account were legit, i told her it's ok to use the card. she can actually bring out her credit card and swipe it,use it anytime she wants. GUESS WHAT? .. my caller actually was doing a shopping spree and she actually didn't bring the plastic with her. the credit card was not in her possession, she left it in her house, and still insists to use it. DUH...? i'm just a CCA and not a miracle worker.. i advised her to go home and get her card... what can i say?? another DUH...?!!