What is Your Customer's First Impression?
Mom always said, "you never get a second chance to make a first impression". That's why it's important to Greet customers well and start calls off on the right foot, and that's why most companies think through how they want Customer Service Representatives (CSRs) to answer the phone and then measure that in their Quality Assessment (QA) efforts.
But is the CSR the first impression of your company?
I was on-site with a client the past two days. It's not a huge company, and most calls come through a receptionist at the switchboard. The company spends time, energy and resources measuring and coaching their sales and service reps - but what about the receptionists? If the customer receives a negative impression from the receptionist, he or she is already on edge by the time the CSR picks up the call. The same goes for the IVR or front-end phone menu. If customers are already aggravated by the time the CSR answers, aren't you fighting your own QA efforts?
Providing QA for the company receptionist, carefully researching customer satisfaction with your phone menu, thinking about your customer's first impression when they call - these are critical to making sure that you are not hurting your own internal QA efforts.
Comments