CHAT TRANSCRIPT

The Attentive Dialogue

Looking at the same dialogue as above, let’s replace the non-responses with some of the techniques we’ve described:

Customer: “Hi, I’m having trouble getting my reports to print out.”

Analyst: “That’s strange. I’d be glad to help you with that problem, and I need to start with some basics. Can I have your customer number so I can look up your record?”

Customer: “Sure, it’s 123456. I’m wondering – is it me or the computer that is causing the problem?”

Analyst: (chuckling) “Well, I sometimes wonder that same thing about my car in the morning. Could you tell me what module you are looking at?”

Customer: “Well, it’s the A/R module of the financial package. I’m running the aging report and I can see it on the screen, but it won’t print. I’m really beginning to wonder if my computer is jinxed!”

Analyst: “I doubt that the computer is jinxed, because I can see that the printer queue is stalled and it looks like I can start it from here. OK, it’s fixed now. Why don’t you try it while I’m on the phone to make sure it’s working?”

Customer: “OK, well, here goes. Oh my gosh – here comes the report!  Wow, that’s great. You’ve been a terrific help. Thanks.”

Analyst: “My pleasure. Is there anything else I can do to help you today?”

Customer: “No, I’m all set. And thanks again.”

Analyst: “You’re welcome. Please don’t hesitate to call us again. Goodbye.”

This formerly mundane conversation suddenly became an outstanding customer interaction. By using humor, headlining, empathy and filling in silences, the analyst made a connection with the customer. Moreover, the customer responded with gratitude and excitement. That kind of customer response is immensely gratifying. When I was a phone analyst, I looked forward to the customer’s excitement and gratitude at the end of the call. That made my day.

 reference-krconsulting