Retail Associate Training: Telephone Service

When a customer calls, your voice represents the whole business. To the caller, you are the business! How you handle the call can win the customer over for life, or send them in search of another company. The caller needs you to be effective and efficient.
Find out how to best help the caller in the fastest way possible. The caller and her needs are your job. Always remember that a phone call is not an interruption.

First impressions are lasting impressions.
When you meet someone for the first time, you leave an impression - good or bad. When you meet someone on the phone for the first time, you also leave an impression. The impression also tells the customer something about the company you are representing. The person to whom you are speaking cannot see your facial expressions or read your body language.
They rely on what they hear to form an impression about you and your company. Your tone of voice, manners, use of words, and speech patterns all help the caller form an opinion of you and the retail company you work for.

You will want to:
- be polite and pleasant
- use an appropriate volume
- don’t talk too fast
- pause when giving information
- sound interested
- emphasize appropriate words
- speak in a calm voice
- keep your pitch low

Be polite and pleasant.
To be sure that you are being polite and pleasant, listen to your voice as you are speaking. Do you sound friendly? Try smiling when you answer the telephone.

“A smile on your face is a smile in your voice!”

Just because the customer on the telephone can’t see your smile doesn’t mean they can’t hear it!

Use an appropriate volume.
Almost everyone can recall a time when they have spoken to someone on the phone, and actually had to pull the receiver away from their ear to avoid a loud caller’s voice. Sometimes, people across the room can hear the conversation word for word! This is something to remember when using the phone. Speak in a normal tone and in a clear voice. If you suspect that the caller may not be able to hear you, ask if they would like you to speak a little more loudly. For example, “Would you like me to speak up a bit, Mr.Jones?”
Keep in mind the type of phone that is being used. Cell phones and cordless phones sometimes have poor reception.

Use a moderate rate of speed.
If using the phone is a regular part of your day, you may find that you are repeating the same information several times. It almost becomes second nature, and you can do it without really thinking about it. However, we tend to speed up when we are reeling off information we know so well. We must remember that even if this is the tenth caller today who has asked when the store opens and closes, it is the first time the caller is hearing it.

For example, “Weareopenfrom9-5everyweekdayand9-9onSaturdays.” is not helpful or sending a positive image of your company.
Nervousness can also lead to speaking quickly. Some people get nervous and rush through the phone call to get it over with faster. They don’t like talking to strangers. To help make it easier for you, take a deep, calming breath before answering the phone, and then speak at a moderate rate of speed (normal to slow) when talking to the caller.
If you are in the middle of a conversation and you realize that you have been speaking quite quickly, ask the caller if she needs any of the information repeated or clarified, or if she has any questions. Then repeat the information more slowly.
Practice your telephone voice with a friend or coworker. Often we cannot tell how fast or slow we are talking. You want to speak slowly enough so that the caller understands you, but not so slowly that it makes it hard to listen to.

Did you pause when giving information?
If you are giving information that the caller may want to write down, remember to pause after each section. You may want to tell the caller you will be giving a number, address, catalogue number, and name, so the caller can get a pen and paper.
For example, “I have the number you need, Mrs. Smith. If you would like, I could wait while you get a pen and paper to write the information down.” Or
“The name of the person you need to call is Joan Kettle. (pause) K-E-T-T-LE. (pause) Her number is (short pause) area code 489 (pause) 3-5-6 (pause)
3-7-4-2.

Sound interested.
The caller will hear disinterest in your voice. Let the caller know that she and her situation are your first priority.

Watch the inflection in your voice.

Inflection:
- letting your voice rise and fall naturally.
- For example, when you ask a question, your voice rises at the end, “Would you like me to gift wrap that for you?”

Some people have learned a particular speech pattern where their inflection rises at the end of every sentence. A lot of people find this particular speech pattern annoying and difficult to listen to.
If you have this pattern, you may want to practice speaking without it. With some practice, you can learn a new speech pattern.

Accent important words.
Choose important words or phrases to accent. For example, the following paragraph has in bold the words that might best be stressed. “This particular model is very economical. It has a built-in feature that measures and records the water levels needed. It also has a memory sensor that will allow it to repeat these water levels. This saves you both time and money.
This feature is only available with this model. No other company has this new technology.”

Speak in a calm voice.
Remain calm no matter what the situation! If you become upset or anxious and it shows in your voice, no one will be able to understand you, and you will lose the confidence of those around you.

Keep your pitch low.
If you speak in a high-pitched voice, you may want to make an effort to speak in a lower pitch. Lower tones carry much better over the telephone.

How does your telephone voice rate? Find a partner. Take turns reading the following paragraph. Rate yourself, and your partner, as you read.
Script: Hello, this is Stevey from Rose Books calling for Mrs. Martin. Hello, Mrs.
Burton, how are you today?
I’m fine, thank you. I am calling to let you know we just received a shipment of books, and the book, “The Third Wave”, that you ordered is in. Are you still interested in purchasing it?
Wonderful. We will keep it behind the front desk until you are able to stop in to pick it up. Now, Mrs. Burton, I have also received our newest catalogue and I see that one of your favourite authors has just come out with a new book called “Once There Was a King.” If you are interested, it will be in next Thursday.
Yes, I agree Mrs. Burton, the price of hardcover books has risen over the years. I could put your name in our computer system, and call you as soon as it comes out in paperback. Let me just double-check the spelling of your last name...it’s B-u-r-t-o-n?
Wonderful. I will call you as soon as I know the paperback release date. I appreciate your business, Mrs. Burton, and if there is anything else we at Camden Books can do for you, please don’t hesitate to ask. Have a nice day Mrs. Burton. Goodbye.

Telephone Etiquette
Helpful Hints:
- Business calls should be made during business hours. The hours vary depending on the type of business, but generally, you should not call someone before 7 a.m. or after 9:30 p.m. Avoid making calls during mealtimes.
- When placing a call, give your name to the person who answers the phone.
- When you are calling someone who is at work, even if your call is work related, keep your message short and to the point. Respect the fact that their time is valuable and try not to take up large chunks of it every time you call.
- When answering calls, don’t let the phone ring more than 3 times.
- Tell the caller who you are when answering. For example, “Rose Books, Stevey speaking”.
- Avoid distractions. Don’t try to do other things while you are talking to a customer. Just because they can’t see you doesn’t mean that they can’t sense that you are not giving them your full attention.
- Do not eat, drink, or chew gum while talking on the phone. It sounds horrible.
- Speak clearly.
- Be helpful...all the time.
- Say good-bye at the end of a conversation. Avoid bye-bye, or later.
- Let the caller hang up first.

If you have reached a wrong number, it is important to say:
“I’m sorry. I must have called the wrong number.
Sorry to have disturbed you.”

Telephone Anxiety...
This can happen when we feel anxious or nervous about talking on the phone. We don’t want to talk to strangers or customers. We are worried about getting information wrong, or not knowing what to say.
A large number of jobs involve talking on the telephone, so this is something that can stop us from doing jobs that we otherwise would enjoy, or be very good at.

How Can We Overcome Telephone Anxiety?
1. Be prepared! Have a pen and message pad available. Use the commercial message pads that are made for telephone messages. Fill in all the blanks and you will have covered all the important information.
2. Speak slowly and clearly.
3. Practice. Ask a friend to help you. Write down what you need to say.
Knowing what you are going to say takes a lot of pressure off.
4. Imagine you are the customer. Why would you be calling the business?
What might you want or need to know? Take the time to learn important information and names of people in your organization. Have this information on hand. Create a sheet of information that you keep handy.
This may include a price list, your company history, the names and extension numbers for staff; whatever people are asking about.
5. If you are unable to answer a question, take the caller’s name and number, find the information, and call the customer back right away.
Then add this information to the sheet mentioned above. Next time someone needs this information, you will have it.
6. If you will need to transfer calls, find out who does what on your staff and keep this handy. For example, “Jane in accounting can help you with that, Mr. Jones. I’ll transfer your call to her desk. If you’d like to write her extension number in your phone book for future reference, it is extension 4321.”

What To Say...And How To Say It.
Identify yourself.
Whether you are calling someone, or answering incoming calls, give your company name and your name right away.

Why identify yourself?
If you are calling someone, identifying yourself lets them know who you are and what company you are calling from. This helps them to know why you are calling.
Use your first and last name. You are probably not the only “Susan” they know!
If you are answering an incoming call, identifying yourself and your company lets the caller know right away if they have reached the correct number and to whom they are speaking.

Suggestions for Answering the Telephone.
Often, the company you are working for will have a specific way that it will want you to answer the telephone. The following are some examples of ways to answer the phone that are both professional and provide all of the necessary information for the caller:

- “Good morning. Spy Glass Enterprises. Mary Jones speaking.”
- “Spy Glass Enterprises. Mary Jones. How may I direct your call?”

“Good morning. Spy Glass Enterprises. Mary Jones speaking. How may I help you?”

The following are some suggestions for placing a telephone call to a customer:

“Hello. This is Mary Jones from Spy Glass Enterprises. I am calling for Tom Lamb. Is he available?”

- “Good morning. May I speak to Tom Lamb please?”…“Thank you.”…
“Hello, Mr. Lamb. This is Mary Jones from Spy Glass Enterprises.”

While You Were Out: How To Take Phone Messages.

To ________________________

URGENT

Date ________________ Time __________ AM PM

While You Were Out
From _____________________________________ of ________________________________________
Phone ____________________________________
Area Code

Number

Ext.

Fax _______________________________________
Area Code
Number
Ext.

Telephoned

Please Call Again
Came To See You
Wants To See You
Returned Your Call
Will Call Again

Message:
___________________________________________
___________________________________________
___________________________________________
___________________________________________
___________________________________________
___________________________________________
Signed:_____________________________________

When you are taking a message, it is very important to make sure you have all the information. You can buy message pads in most stationery stores.
These pads help you to record all the necessary information. If you have all the areas on the pad filled in, then you have all the information you need.

Message pads come in different styles. Some come in a notebook, so when you write the message it is transferred to the sheet below it. This allows you to keep a record of messages, in case the slip of paper is lost, or you need to flip back several months to find a name or number. This is very handy.

Take A Message, Please.
If answering phones is part of your job, then so is taking messages. There are times when people are away from the office, or simply unable to come to the phone. You will need to take a message.

Taking Messages:
- your first job is to provide complete and accurate information
- your second job is to be certain the message is given to the right person

Most commercial message pads have spaces that include the following information:
- Who is the message for?
Write the name of the person that the message is for on the message itself, so as to avoid confusion or a mix-up.
- Date and time.
Perhaps the message is for a person who will be away for several days.
They need to know when people called them.

- Is the message urgent?
If the message is an emergency or very important you need to check the box marked urgent. Not all message pads have this box. If the message pad you use does not have this box, then write “urgent” in the message area. You may want to write it in large red letters.
- Who is the message from?
Write down the caller’s first and last name. Ask for correct spelling. If the name is unusual, you may want to write down what it sounds like.
For example: Miss Smythe - pronounced Sm-eye-th. Although people with unusual names are used to people saying their name wrong, it is a good opportunity to show them that they are valued customers...and getting their name correct is important to you!
- What company is the caller with?
Write down the name of the business or customer. You may want to include something about the business. For example, Smith & Jackson Inc. does not tell you a lot about what they do. If, during the conversation, they mention that they sell office supplies, you will want to add this to the message. For example, Smith & Jackson - office supplies.
This helps the person who will be returning the call understand what they were calling about.
- Where can the caller be reached?
Ask for the caller’s phone number, fax number if necessary, area code, and extension.

- Action.
Usually on commercial message pads there is a space to check off what happened (telephoned, came to see you, returned your call) and what they want done (please call, wants to see you, will call again).
- What is the message?
Be brief, but make sure you get all the details.
- Sign your name.
The person receiving the message may need to ask you a question about the message.

Out to Lunch.
If you answer the telephone and the call is for someone who hasn’t returned from lunch or is not taking any calls, how do you respond and make a positive and professional impression?

Avoid negative responses.
“Mr. Jones is still out to lunch. I will have him call you as soon as he returns.”
- The use of the word still makes it seem that Mr. Jones has been out to lunch for a long time.
- If for some reason Mr. Jones is unable to return the call until later in the afternoon, the caller is going to think: a) Mr. Jones takes very long lunches. b) Mr. Jones has better things to do than call me. I am not important to him or his company.
“Mr. Jones is not taking any calls this morning.”
- The caller immediately feels that he is not important to Mr. Jones or his company.

Offer alternatives.
“Mr. Jones is in a meeting. Could I take a message or transfer you to another department?”
“Mr. Jones is in a meeting. Mrs. Smith is taking his calls. Would you like me to transfer you to her office?”

What Do I Do Now?
The Dilemma...
“I have a customer in front of me and one on the phone...who do I serve first?”

This is a common problem for anyone who works in customer service. The last thing you want to do is send someone off to another place of business.
How do you keep both people happy?

Things To Consider.
There is no easy answer to this situation. There are so many things to consider:
- what type of business do you work for?
- are there other staff who could answer the phone?
- does the customer seem to be okay with you answering the phone?
- how many interruptions have you had while serving this customer?
Most customer service professionals, as well as your boss, would tell you that you must answer the phone. You never want to miss a chance to bring in another customer.

Because of this, you need to consider the following:
- Before you leave to answer the telephone, politely ask the customer if they mind if you answer the phone. For example say, “I’m sorry. Do you mind if I quickly answer that and take a message?” Most customers will not mind and will, in fact, appreciate your courtesy. Remember to be polite and show respect for the customer.
- When you answer the phone, quickly find out what the caller needs and decide how you will handle the call. If the caller simply needs a question answered, for example, “How late are you open?” you can quickly answer the question and return to the customer in the store. If the caller needs more time or information from you, for example, “Could you tell me the make and model number of the washing machine I looked at last week?” you may want to ask if you could call them back.
- Is it possible to answer the phone, take a message and return the call as soon as possible? For example, “I’m sorry. I am with a customer right now. Your business is important to us, so could I take your name and number and I will call you back?”

- Return to the customer and thank them for waiting. For example say,
“Thank you for waiting. I appreciate it.” Look after your customers’ needs. Do not make them feel rushed now that you have a call to return.
- If you have a call to return, do it as soon as you do not have a customer.