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Honing your vocal skills for better customer communication — Kate Peters, founder of Vocal Impact and author of Can You Hear Me Now? suggests discussing the impact of “vocal fatigue” with frontline reps. This can be a real problem for people who use their voices constantly. Read Peters’ blog post, Help for Tired Voices: The 5 Habits of a Healthy Voice.
March 12, 2020 — Internally you probably use technical jargon when discussing service issues. But to customers those words and phrases may be unclear and off-putting, creating a barrier between you and the customer. The first step to reducing the use of technical jargon is simply to recognize it when you hear it. Next, try…Continue reading
February 27, 2020 — Humor really is the best medicine when it comes to stress management. But there are even more benefits to humor in the service center. Karyn Buxman, a speaker, author, and neurohumorist explains the three functions of humor and how everything from a belly-laugh to a shared smile can improve customer service.…Continue reading
Answers from frontline reps — Coworkers share knowledge. In order to remain relevant in today’s fast-paced and ever-changing world, service centers should strive to foster cultures of continual learning and agility. Here’s how we ensure that everyone is current with their skills. Teams meet weekly to review major and upcoming changes. Team members periodically take initiative…Continue reading
Close the feedback loop — For information on how to engage reps in collecting customer feedback, read the article, Use your frontline reps to gather customer intelligence.
Clear your mind — Erase negative thoughts and reduce stress with simple paper and pencil puzzles. Try these!
February 13, 2020 — With the busy pace in most service centers, it might seem counter-intuitive to recommend that reps make time to pause during the day. But according to Nance Guilmartin, author of The Power of Pause, taking time to pause can help save time in the long run by humanizing customer interactions, reducing automatic…Continue reading
Teresa ClarkSignUpGenius A co-worker explains how Teresa embraces the mission of her company and the goals of her customers: "Teresa goes above and beyond for every user who contacts SignUpGenius for support. She always provides thorough, thoughtful responses to ensure questions are answered in a timely manner on the first interaction. It is important to…Continue reading
January 30, 2020 — As we start the new year, keep in mind the negative impact of IKTA disease. The acronym, which stands for "I Know That Already," was coined by service experts Val and Jeff Gee. IKTA, they say, is a disease that stops us from learning new things, because we truly believe we…Continue reading
January 16, 2020 — Teamwork is one of the most powerful tools for providing high quality customer care. A cohesive team can accomplish much more in terms of innovation, efficiency, and productivity than the sum of the individuals that make up the team. In the January issue of Customer Communicator newsletter, service expert Ron Willingham discusses how…Continue reading
A reminder to pause — Author Nance Guilmartin discusses when, and why, it can be helpful to slow down, take a deep breath, and pause.
Make time to laugh — Humor really is the best medicine when it comes to stress management. View Karyn Buxman’s TEDx Talk on how humor can save the world below.
