Customer service agents usually say a slight variation of the same thing at the beginning of every call. After a while, this can get monotonous for the agent and can result in a less-than-enthusiastic response from the caller.
So how can you improve your call center greetings? Here are some tips to get started.
What to Say to Start the Call
When you start a call, approach it with a professional and enthusiastic tone. This needs to be uniform for every caller—even if they’re the 73rd caller that day, agents need to treat them the same.
The following are some call center greeting phrases you may consider using to start the conversation in a pleasant and approachable manner:
- Thanks for calling [company] customer service. My name is [name], how may I help you today?
- Welcome to [company] customer service. This is [name], how can I help you today?
- Hello! This is [name] with [company] customer service, how can I assist you today?
Feel free to modify these call center greeting scripts to your unique brand voice. As long as the agents give their name and get to the point, you can’t go wrong with an intro.
What Not to Say
In our experience at ClearSource, it’s best to avoid greetings that are overly fun or too lighthearted. When customers are already hot under the collar, they may not take a bubbly greeting as well as you may think.
Still, you don’t want to be without any emotion—that can give off the impression that you couldn’t care less about the caller’s troubles.
3 Tips for Better Call Center Greetings
While many people are focused on what to say, you also need to know how to say it and how to foster a productive conversation. When initiating any customer conversation, be sure to follow these three tips:
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Give Your Undivided Attention
When answering a call, turn away from the computer and remove all other distractions from view. Why? Because callers expect you to drop everything to help them. It’s best to exceed that expectation, not relinquish it.
Plus, people can tell the difference between passive listening (nodding your head while your mind is on other things) and active listening (remaining engaged in the conversation). So if the caller notices the agent is only half-listening, you may inadvertently turn a civil customer into an enraged one.
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Don’t Just Troubleshoot, Ask Questions
Too often, customer service representatives go straight into problem-solving mode—they want to figure out the problem and solve it as fast as possible. On the surface, this seems like the right approach; after all, the customer wouldn’t be calling if they didn’t have a problem.
However, by taking this approach, the service agent runs the risk of dominating the conversation, leaving no room for the customer to voice all of their concerns. So, instead of only troubleshooting, ask questions. Give them every opportunity to say what they need to say. Because until they feel heard, they are not ready to explore a solution.
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Make Statements of Intention
After the initial greeting, agents should tell the customer what kind of experience they want them to have. For example, “I’m going to do everything I can to get this resolved for you,” or “you can count on me to find a solution” can prepare the customer for the remainder of the conversation and help them feel taken care of.
Never assume they know what kind of experience they’re in for. Especially if this is the first time they’ve called for this product, the customer service agent will act as the voice of the brand. It’s better for the agent to outright tell them the experience they want to promote than to hope they catch on.
Learn Customer Service From the Best
Hopefully, these tips have given you some constructive ideas of how to improve your call center greetings and overall communication with customers. If you have any questions about improving the customer service experience you offer, contact ClearSource BPO today.
