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Virtual Receptionist Tips: How to Turn a Caller's Frown Upside Down

If you work for an active answering service or answer phones in your job, you will find frustrated callers every now and again. Everyone makes mistakes and often everyone has other things going on in their lives that leave a poor style of their mouths. Though these calls could be tricky, they are able to also be a wonderful opportunity to turn someone's day around. Taking these steps will show your clients that you simply care and you'll simply make them into a loyal customer together with your thoughtfulness:

When talking with an unhappy caller:

1. Allow them to explain and reiterate what you've heard. Sometimes folks simply need to vent. Provide them with a minute to describe their situation and let them know you've understood their issue by repeating what you've heard.

2. Acknowledge their emotion. A supportive "That does sound frustrating" or "I can see where you're coming from" can go quite a distance. But when you don't feel it, don't say it; faking empathy can perform more damage than good.

3. Offer to help. Like a virtual receptionist, you may not have the ability to fit everything in your caller asks (i.e., answer their question in regards to a bill or physically track down an employee). However, almost always there is something you can do! Use helpful phrases like "Let me" or "I could be happy to" and give a healthy dose of reassurance ("Let me take a message for John, our billing specialist. He'll be the best person to speak with regarding your bill. I will make certain he gets the message right away.").

4. Guide your caller. Always end in an issue. Guiding a caller with questions keeps you in charge of the call helping you gather any pertinent information. A quick question is going to do, for example "May I've your phone number?" or "What's the optimum time to reach you?" Basically, anything you need or you think would be useful to obtain issue resolved quickly and with as little additional effort from your caller!

A high level small company answering service employee, it could all come together such as this:

virtual receptionist

Your whole product is down? That is terrible! Allow me to defeat an in depth message for the support team and read it back to ensure things are correct. I'll make sure they understand this immediately therefore we might have you ready to go as soon as possible. What's the best telephone number for any return call?

Bonus tip: Virtual receptionists and in-house receptionists alike might want to range from the caller's frustration within the message, so the other party can prioritize their issue and become ready for the return call. Something similar to, "Sheila seemed frustrated and would really like a phone call as soon as possible" should do the trick!

If phone answering is part of the job and also you receive a message from an upset caller:

1. Ring rather than reply. Even when your client sent an e-mail or created a voicemail, when emotions are involved, a phone call or face-to-face conversation is the best way to go. Conveying a positive tone in an email is a lot harder than with your voice. When talking over the telephone, you're able to add warm and kindness to your voice and diffuse the problem better.

2. Gather your key points. Before you decide to dial their number, stop and consider what you want to touch on. For instance, if pulling up their username and passwords will help the call go smoother, do this before hopping on the phone.

3. Think positive thoughts. Negative thinking won't build your follow-up any easier. Instead, envision your conversation going well, as well as your colleague's concerns being assuaged. It'll calm your nerves and make you sound more confident as you fix their problem!

Whether you are a virtual receptionist or CEO, we recommend trying these pointers when a colleague, customer, or co-worker is frustrated - you'll turn their frown inverted!