Oct 08, 2015 Robert Kaiser Marketing, Business, CustomerService
Despite reams and reams of writing, conferencing and discussion group activity on the subjects of customer relations and communication, it is frightening (to say the least) to experience the way in which critical customer contact interface situations are dealt with by some companies. Here we are not talking about wannabes, small or medium companies, but big corporations, with so-called blue chip status.
What makes matters worse, is that areas where many businesses fall flat are not the advanced customer contact challenges, but basic and easy to fix matters - reception, telephonic reception and operations.
While there are many companies who take the customer contact points seriously, there are probably just as many who have not yet woken up to the critical importance of ensuring that reception and communication operations are functioning properly. Such businesses appear not to realise the extent of the immense damage that is being inflicted on their image, their brands and the way in which they are alienating existing customers and losing the opportunity of gaining new ones.
Where are the major pitfalls in the primary interface contact functions? Let’s look at the telephone reception function, where many sins are committed:
Untrained /Poorly trained and uninformed receptionists and the manner in which incoming calls are dealt with.
Having operators who have not had proper training about the company they work for, who works there and who does what, can cause huge damage to a company’s image and efficiency. Add to this someone who cannot take proper messages, cannot spell names and record telephone numbers and you have a recipe for loss of business and reputational damage.
I won’t even mention rude receptionists who sound as if they are doing the caller a favour by just answering the phone and want to get rid of the caller as soon as possible. It is amazing how accurately one can read attitude by talking to someone on the phone.
The automated answering system.
This is a feature that can assist prompt call answering, but woe betides the company who uses this as a means of replacing a live human being. Most of us have been victims of this system, telling you in a heavy American drawl or amateur Seffrican accent how important your call is to the company, and then to press 1 for accounts, 2 for sales, 3 for service enquiries and if none of the above, to hold for the operator, who eventually answers and either does not know how to direct your call or just tries to get rid of you as soon as possible. Worse still, while you are holding, you may be entertained by either tinny elevator music or a menu of the products and services offered by the company. In the latter case, some companies forget to update their jingle and promote products, services and events that are out of date or in the past. This is sinful neglect!
Following through on calls.
A person calls and asks to speak to someone by name, and you get patched through to the appropriate extension. If the person does not answer the phone, you may be fortunate to get directed to a voicemail function for the person (the chances are that this message will not be returned, but non-return of messages is an entirely different source of business sin on its own). Where there is no voicemail function, the call will go on ringing until the call cuts. The caller is back to square one. It is not often that one will come across a receptionist who will come back to you to say that there is no reply and offer to take a message for the relevant person.
These few examples of incompetence at the telephonic reception function in businesses are an indication of how companies are at serious risk of projecting a negative and incompetent image to the outside world. It is an outright shame if one considers what businesses spend on advertising, promotions and marketing - all of this effort being placed at risk by a poorly functioning and incompetent telephone reception department.
Sight should never be lost of the fact that a caller has chosen to call the company and is doing so at his/her cost. It is a direct approach and a call could be the start of a multi- million deal.
Managers who neglect to ensure that this important function is continuously managed and audited, do so at their peril. Modern business is fast, unforgiving and second chances are rare…
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