Making call center phone calls short and sweet

. . . unlike this post.

Since I accepted this call center job over a year ago I have acquired a knack for dealing quickly and efficiently with people over the phone. I have since accepted a position with another department in the company, one which sadly no longer entails dealing with bewildered chaps on the phone, but for the sake of my fellow compatriots and cube-mates I want to leave with a few hints and tips for efficiently but politely wrapping up a call. For those readers who are not my compatriots and cube-mates, I invite you to have a candid glimpse into the wonderful world of call centers so that perhaps you too can use this information to your advantage. I'll try and avoid specialized vocabulary and company jargon.

When a consumer calls in, simply say Thank you for calling XYZ, this is so-and-so. How may I help you?

Sometimes we're tempted to begin the conversation by asking the consumer for his consumer number. In theory this would be acceptable because in theory people don't call our line unless they have already received their reports in the mail. That theory also assumes people will love calling up a robot, one that seldom understands the spoken word no less, to leave their personal information including their prized Social Security number.

Most people who call in have not yet received their reports in the mail and therefore do not have a consumer number. Of those few consumers who have received their reports in the mail, a very select minutia actually even realize what a consumer number is or where to locate it on their paperwork. Undoubtedly these few savvy consumers will NOT call on your shift. Therefore when you begin the conversation with the request for a consumer number, you are asking the caller for something they likely don't have and don't understand. Doing so will simply aggrevate the caller and thus prolong your time on the phone with them.

Every second you spend aggravating the caller is an additional thirty seconds they will want to stay on your phone asking you to solve a problem you cannot solve. Since you are not permitted to prematurely disconnect the call, you will be making your job harder by starting the conversation any other way than simply asking how you can be of service.

Surprisingly, another way to shorten the time on the phone with someone is remaining silent while they tell you their tales of woe. It doesn't matter that they are the third person within the hour who has told you the same tale of woe. They each think their problem is unique, and frankly to them it is. Here is a deep dark secret that most people do not understand or appreciate:

At least 90% of people who call don't want you to do anything other than LISTEN to their problem. Therapy is a costly luxury, one which the everyday Joe can't afford. Therefore that same everyday Joe calls the first 1-800 number he can find. If that 1-800 number is yours, rejoice in knowing that all you need do is surf the internet, check your email, or read something on cocktailswithkevin.com while this guy boohoos about whatever it is he wants to complain about. Nine times out of ten you can let him go on for thirty seconds and follow up with I understand exactly and I appreciate you calling XYZ; If there's anything further we can do to assist you, please don't hesitate to call back.

This accomplishes several things in a matter of seconds. Many people who call in will assume you're trying to hurry them off your phone so you don't have to talk to them anymore. If you assure them they're welcome to call back, that fear is alleviated. If you've done a good job letting them vent, trust me, they won't call back, and even if they do it's not likely you're going to be the one to intercept the call.

Also if you use an assuring, comforting and closing tone, they will naturally feel obligated to take you up on your invitation to end the conversation. By closing tone I mean that same voice you use on the phone with a tertiary relative when you've shared all you wanted to share and therefore start saying things like Well, I'm glad you called or Well, I better get these kids to bed or Well, my prostate's acting up again. If you use this same friendly but conclusive tone when you've done all you can do for a caller AND YOU SOUND SINCERE, that caller will most often be content to hang up happy. If on the other hand you deliver this line sounding like you're not interested and can't wait for him to hang up, I guarantee you, he will prolong your time on the phone simply because he thinks he's never going to have a live person on the phone again.

Taking control of the call is another important part of working in a call center. So many times we add significant amounts of time to our phone calls simply because we allow the caller to take control of the conversation, many times without even realizing it until it's too late. Some callers actively try and bulldoze their way into the driver's seat through intimidation and others will just usurp control once they sense insecurity or they think they're not going to get the answer they want.

Regardless of how uncomfortable a consumer makes you feel on the phone, make sure you come across as knowing what you're talking about (even if you don't.) In spite of how little you may feel you know, because let's face it -- there's actually a lot to keep up with in this business -- you know more than the caller does. Use that knowledge to your advantage. Be polite but be assertive. As long as you sound like you know what you're talking about, the caller will trust you and let you take control.

Most everyone who calls this department needs one of two things. They either need us to order their reports so that they can file a dispute once they receive them or they need to file their dispute now that they've received the report. You likely can decypher which of these two things they need within the first few seconds of their phone call. People who need their reports ordered will often start the phone call with one of the following phrases:

• I just go off the phone with my insurance company . . .
• I need to order an XYZ report . . .
• My insurance agent said something's showing up on my record . . .
• You people are reporting some erroneous information about me (oh how people love the word erroneous)
• Let me ask you something. Who is XYZ?

On the other hand people who say these things likely have already received their reports and just need a dispute filed:

• I just got something from you people in the mail . . .
• I called last week and spoke with some lady. I don't remember her name.
• Hi so-and-so, my consumer number is . . .
• What do you need from me off of this report?
• I called last week for an XYZ report and instead I got an ABC report . . .

A primary key to getting people on your phone and quickly off is figuring out which of these two things they need and guiding the rest of the conversation in the direction you need to get that task accomplished. In spite of how hard the caller might try to get you off track by filling your ears with their irrevelant backstory, stay focused. A seasoned veteran will likely tell you most of what these people say has absolutely nothing to do with your job description with the exception of you having to be polite and trying to extrapolate any splinter of information you'll actually need.

If the caller needs his reports ordered, politely take the first opportunity you have to interrupt and ask for his last name. If on the other hand he needs a dispute filed, politely take the first opportunity you have to ask for the date of the claim that's showing up incorrectly. In either case, be ready once they answer to quickly BUT NOT RUDELY ask for your next piece of needed information. You being concise and polite is key to them trusting that you know what you're doing.

The moment you insert a pregnant pause they will assume you either don't know how to help them, don't want to help them or worse yet, you want them to start telling you their tales of woe. Save this pregnant pause for when you are actually ordering the reports or filing the dispute. This way you're getting something done while they think you're listening to them tell you about a deer coming out of nowhere or how bitter their divorce was or that they think because QRS insurance company wants to charge them extra money for their auto policy someone must have stolen their identity. Oh, how they love to think their identity's been stolen.

Once you've done what you need to do, stay focused on your goal. If at all possible give simple noncommital responses to their rambling such as In that case let me go ahead and get your reports ordered and mailed out to you so that we can get that disputed. If you're filing the dispute, you might follow up with something like I'm glad you brought that to my attention so I can go ahead and dispute this with the insurance company. You'll get that reponse in 30 business days. In either case start using that polite but conclusive tone so that they get the message that you've done everything you can. Otherwise you'll have to sit through more about the deer, the divorce or the stolen identity.

Most people who call us are polite. Some are confused, others frustrated and still a select few are angry. For the most part, even the angry ones are polite if you come across as polite on the phone to them. On rare occasions however you get the people who are just plain beligerent or worse yet lonely. These are the Chatty Cathys and Chatty Charlies. Dealing with them successfully takes practice, but here are a couple of tips:

• Don't get caught up in their game of 20 questions. If their questions have nothing to do with your goal or your job description be prepared to give very short, preferably one-word, answers or no answers at all.
• Don't be afraid to use silence to your advantage. A savvy Chatty Cathy will intentionally use silence with the hopes that you will feel intimidated and fill the conversational void with your nervous mumblings. Don't give them the satisfaction. Instead let silence prevail. You remaining silent or inserting a hefty pause before answering them sends the message that you're not quaking in your boots the way they hope. Their pride will dwindle and they will eventually hang up.
• Do not under any circumstances let your tone convey that you are irritated with them. They are trying to get under your skin. If you give them any hint that they are succeeding, they will keep going. There is no reason they should get to you anyway. They are only a voice on the phone.

Regarding insurance scoring . . . this is something I could write endlessly on and we all know there many different types of insurance scoring. Using a consumer's credit report to try and determine how likely they are to file a claim or how many claims they're likely to file is something many people find difficult to understand. Many times those who understand it, don't like that their insurance company is doing it or don't think they should. Here's a quick breakdown of what insurance scoring is:

An insurance company looks at a consumer's credit report. Then they look at the credit reports of those people whose credit reports look like the consumer's (similar types of accounts, similar usage of accounts, similar number of accounts, etc.) The insurance company looks at the number of claims those other people file, assumes that the consumer will file a similar number (or dollar amount worth) of claims. And then the insurance company rates them accordingly.

This is difficult for people to understand because everyone assumes the only thing their credit report is used for is to determine whether or not they pay their bills. Furthermore they associate their credit score with their integrity. People would rather you say horrible things about their mother and then spit on them than say their credit report wasn't good enough. Throw in the fact that some insurance companies tell 99% of their insureds their credit report was the reason they didn't get the best rate and you can see where a lot of their frustrations come from.

I found that telling the consumer their credit score has nothing to do with their insurance company's decision sometimes makes them feel better even if they still don't understand what's going on. At times I even said politely Your insurance company does not care how good your credit score is or that you pay all your bills on time; they are simply trying to assess your risk by looking at various factors on your credit report. Now, after you say this you can rest assured some stoop will answer back "but I pay all my bills on time." Just politely keep repeating what you said.

Insurance score calls do not have to be intimidating or even lengthy for that matter provided you have some well-scripted explanations and polite rebuttals.

Speaking of lengthy, this how-to guide has gotten to be somewhat long, and there's still plenty I could say. Let me finish off with some suggested things you can say in different circumstances to keep things short and sweet.

• What's the date of the claim that's showing up incorrectly?
• I'm going to go ahead and ask the insurance company to correct that. By law theyhave 30 business days to respond and then you'll get a new report in the mail letting you know it's been corrected / taken care of. (Notice this sounds to the consumer like you're going to make it say what they want even though you're really just saying it will be corrected.)
• I notice the claim says the driver was at fault. If you weren't at fault, I'll ask the insurance company to change it. Would you like me to do that?
• ABC insurance company didn't say whether or not you were at fault for the claim and because xyz insurance company doesn't see not at fault, they're assuming it's an at-fault claim. But if you'd like I'll ask ABC if they'll put "not at fault" in there?
• I believe that's got you taken care of, and I appreciate you calling. Is there anything else I can do for you?

Now in closing I'll just say that although many of you cube-mates knew I could be crabby at times, I absolutely loved talking to those consumers on the phone. I really did. Likewise working with all of you was a great pleasure each and every day I sat down in the Tiki cube. When the callers weren' making me smile, all of you made me smile.

If I can ever be of further assistance to any of you, please don't hestate to call back.

I mean . . . let me know.