FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Tom Ellis
January 11, 2006 Ellis Communications, Inc.
Phone: (417) 881-5635
Email: tom@elliscomm.com
PHOENIX, Ariz. – All utility company customer service employees should
be good listeners but that isn’t always the case. It is absolutely
critical that they make the most of the key tools of listening.
“Customer service representatives are extremely busy people and
that often gets in the way of their ability to listen closely to
customers,” says David Saxby, president of Phoenix-based Measure-X, a
company that specializes in helping utilities improve their customer
service and sales. “But they simply must take the time to listen.
There are no excuses.”
Saxby offers the following overview of the key elements of good
listening.
Let Your Mouth Do the Listening With Reflective Listening
Reflective listening summarizes what a person has just said and asks
for a response, Saxby says. “For example, if you have an upset
customer and you can mirror his emotion back to him in the form of
questions, you will help relieve his frustration and negative emotion
and the conversation can then become more productive,” Saxby explains.
“Try something like this: ‘If I’m hearing you right, you have tried
budget billing and you don’t think it is helping you enough. Is that
correct?’”
Reflecting back to your customer what you heard or understood and
then asking for their confirmation of such validates their emotion,
helps clarify the problem and provides the groundwork for moving
forward, Saxby notes.
Make Sure Customers Don’t Have to Repeat Themselves
When people think they have not been heard, they tend to repeat the
same thing again and again or communicate with aggression or
frustration, Saxby says.
“Listening to customers and communicating with them ensures that
their point is recognized,” Saxby says. “Both listening and
communicating must happen. This eliminates the repetition, saves time
and allows for productive outcomes.”
The Dos and Don’ts of Listening
Saxby recommends CSRs practice the following during face-to-face
contact with customers:
-- Do make eye contact while you listen.
-- Do lean forward and show interest.
-- Do mirror the other person’s body language.
Saxby suggests CSRs avoid the following, whether the customer
contact is in person or over the telephone.
-- Don’t interrupt.
-- Don’t finish customers’ sentences for them.
-- Don’t multitask while listening.
“Those who master the art of communication are not all that
common,” Saxby says. “Customer service representatives who become good
communicators will keep their utility’s customers happy. Listening is
a key element of stellar communication.”
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Measure-X is a measurement, training and recognition company that specializes
in customer service and sales skills. For more information on Measure-X, call
888-644-5499 or visit its Web site at
www.measure-x.com.
