Getting good service from a large company can be an exasperating and exhausting experience, especially when trying to reach a live person on the phone. Getting through today’s “modern” phone trees and multitude of prompts can drive any normal person to insanity. And good luck finding someone, when you finally get through, who is willing to listen to your problem before being cut off mid-sentence and told you have reached the wrong department and need to be transferred. And then you get disconnected after already having waited 30 minutes to reach a live person in the first place. And don’t get me started on Chat, online dispute centers, and interactive help pages, or any other ubiquitous technology that is supposed to make our lives easier—BUT DOESN’T. A colleague shared the following story that will pleasantly surprise you.
Real World Story: “I’ve been in the process this year of building up my credit rating, so from time to time, I check my credit history on the three major credit rating agencies. And because I started a new job in the last six months, have been paying half a mortgage for the past three months, and opened a rather large loan account in the last month, I wanted to see how my credit history was shaping up. Everything looked good on two of the three credit agencies, except for TransUnion. Although the agency showed my new address, it didn’t show it as my current address. It showed as my past residence. It also did not show my current employer and job title.
“So off I went to the TransUnion website to see if I could update these pieces of information myself. I logged into my account and headed to the dispute resolution center. However, it didn’t take long to be stopped dead in my tracks. The information I entered kept getting rejected. ‘This information is not valid. This information is not valid. Again and again, the same bright red rejection statement kept popping up. So off to the phone I went!
“I dialed the number, made my choice from the menu of options, and then expected to begin a very long wait before I would reach a live person. So, I wasn’t disappointed when I heard the dreaded recording: We apologize for the wait, but we are experiencing an unusually high volume of calls at this time. After only 20 seconds, however, I heard, ‘Thank you for calling TransUnion, my name is Divya. How may I help you?’ I had reached a live person in less than 30 seconds! Wow!
“Divya was professional and friendly. She asked how I pronounced my last name and used it throughout our phone call. I gave her the information I needed changed, and she thanked me for the info and asked if I was okay waiting a few minutes while she updated everything. Every 30 seconds or so, she came back on the line and said she was waiting for a confirmation number and if I was okay continuing to wait on the line. She was obviously coordinating with another department, so I didn’t mind holding and preferred it to being transferred to another agent and/or department. The entire experience was very pleasant.
Unfortunately, after receiving an email confirmation letting me know my information had been updated successfully, I discovered that my job title had been entered incorrectly. Instead of “Tech Writer,” Divya had entered “Tech Rider.” Fortunately, when I called back, the process was as fast, easy, and pleasant as the first time. In fact, the second agent and I had a good giggle over the mistaken word. However, she did apologized for the mistake, and said it was probably because “writer” and “rider” both sound the same. And they do. And while some of the TransUnion technology gets an F-rating from me, the people at TransUnion get an A+ in customer service.”
Strategies that Turn it Around:
- Ask for your customer’s name. If you don’t know a customer’s name, ask for it. And then use it throughout your transaction. If a name is tricky, ask the customer how to pronounce it and then write it down phonetically, so you can refer to it. TIP: Younger customers will want you to use their first name while older customers are more comfortable being called by their last name. When in doubt, simply ask your customer for his or her preference.
- Ask to put a customer on hold. Don’t ever put a customer on hold without letting them know first. And never tell them you are putting them on hold, instead ask them if you may put them on hold. The difference is huge! And if a task is taking longer than expected, keep coming back on the line to inform customers you are still working on a resolution.
- Don’t transfer customers if you can. The best customer service agents are the ones who have extensive cross training. They can handle more tasks on their own without having to transfer customers to another department, risking the dreaded phone call hang up!
- Write it down. When in doubt, write it down! When you don’t fully understand a word or name, write it down and repeat it back to the customer. This will help avoid embarrassing—or even funny situations—that may be upsetting to some customers.
Remember: As I’ve said countless times throughout the years, customer service is about people helping people. And the more people in service know about their companies’ products and services, the more helpful they are to customers. Invest in training and retaining good people and supplement with technology, not the other way around!
How does your organization ensure that customers reach a knowledgeable live person as fast as possible?