Customer Service Telephone Etiquette
15th June 2011 - Posted By James Parmee Morris

It is well known that while good customer service will keep customers happy, great customer service will keep customers coming back for more. Equally, bad service levels can result in lower sales, a tarnished reputation and, ultimately, a loss of customers. It is not a stretch to surmise that the survival of a company is, for the most part, in the hands of its customer service staff.

It is, therefore, essential that customer service representatives are of the highest calibre, fully trained and possess the skill set and disposition best suited for their role. Once the right members of staff have been found, it is imperative that they observe customer service telephone etiquette rules at all times.

Whilst standard practices vary from business to business, some of the core principles of customer service telephone etiquette always remain true: smile; be calm; never leave people hanging; and empathise.

As strange as it may seem to anyone who is not familiar with talking to customers on the phone, a basic principle of good customer service telephone etiquette is to smile whilst talking. A representative who is smiling will convey their positive attitude in their tone of voice and seem welcoming and helpful.

Likewise, a customer service representative who remains calm will help to make customers feel relaxed. This can facilitate sales calls or help defuse situations with customers who are irritated, angry or stressed.

No one likes to be put on hold or to be kept waiting and the majority of callers will simply hang up if they hanging on too long. Therefore, keeping waiting times as short as possible is essential when employing good customer service etiquette.

Expressing empathy is a key part of great customer service telephone etiquette as it reassures customers that they are being listened to and being understood. Through the correct use of empathy it is also possible to connect with customers on many different levels.

Beyond standard...

We have established the core principles of good customer service telephone etiquette and it is easy to see that with professional and dedicated staff a company can survive, and even prosper, when these are in place.

However, if you were to raise the stakes, take things up a notch and elevate customer service telephone etiquette to the highest standard it can be, then you would be surprised at what your company can achieve.

At Phone Support Worldwide we believe in the power of excellent customer service telephone etiquette. We have seen first hand how it can improve businesses, drive sales and, above all else, increase customer confidence.

We firmly believe in observing the highest standards of customer service telephone etiquette, and thoroughly train all our representatives to do so. At Phone Support Worldwide we maintain the standards we have set for ourselves – and for your company – by putting new recruits through vetting processes and performing regular quality checks on all our agents.

When you choose to put your company's customer services in the hands our Phone Support Worldwide agents you are guaranteed that they will treat your customers in the way they deserve to be treated. Thanks to our unique training, the agents at Phone Support Worldwide are able to anticipate customers' needs to the extent that they can offer your customers services they may not even have known they wanted - but will be grateful to have had!

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