Keith Shirley

After my uncharacteristically negative comments about Webfusion – I wanted to highlight a shining example of good service that I’ve received.

A customer of mine has been using HelpDeskPilot for quite some time now. The are very happy with it and really missed it when their web server had problems. I was asked to help them restore the backup onto a new server.

The restore procedure and general setup of HelpDeskPilot is actually exceptionally easy. I had some issues with the hosting providers system and I can only say positive things about how helpful and patient the support at Helpdesk have been. They kept in regular contact and I knew they were working to fix it.

When I have problems – that’s what I want – to be able to trust that my supplier is really doing their best to get the problems solved and know that they will keep me updated.

When was the last time you checked the procedures for the answering calls within your business? Have you ever checked? Before this week passes – make sure you do – you’ll be surprised at what you find.

Firstly – you obviously can’t call in yourself. Unless you’re Robin Williams and can do great impressions then you’ll need some help. Start off with checking the easy stuff.

- Prepare in advance – have some scenarios prepared e.g. A customer just looking for some sales information, some more detailed technical support and maybe a customer with a problem. The last one can provide very interesting results if you have a scenario that is technically “not your problem” but as the owner you would like your customers to feel taken care of. An example would be a defect where the item is just out of warranty.Take the opportunity to really test the knowledge of your employees.

- Firstly – How easy is it for your customers to find the phone number? Is it on your web site in a really easy to find place i.e Don ‘t force your customer to fill out web forms.

- Get someone to make the call for you. How long did the phone ring before it was answered? Try it just after the office opens in the morning and just before lunch.

- Was it 100% clear where you were connected to when the phone was answered? Did they give their name and the business name?

- It sounds stupid but did they answer the phone with a smile? Could you tell from their tone of voice that they were happy to help. If you were calling about a problem – did they “take ownership”. in other words – did they convey the attitude that the call was being taken seriously and that a solution would be found.

- If you have a automation system – was your test customer able to find their way through it comfortably? Was a fallback in place in case no options were chosen?

- If you are put on hold – what was the hold music like? Has it been broken for months but nobody knew? Is it the local radio station that currently talking about some off the wall topic? If it’s prerecorded music – is the quality OK?

- As you move on to the detail – make notes there and then about the things that you need to improve. Do your employees need more training? Are you at fault for never actually telling them what you want from them? If they can’t immediatly provide the information do they

• ask you to call back (bad),
• ask if you can wait a few minutes while they get the information (good)
• ask if you would like them to call you back with the info (great). If they really call back then make sure to praise them.

Remember: The whole point of feedback is to be constructive. Help them to understand what was done well and what could be improved on. If you’ve never done training with your employees on how you want customer contact to be dealt with then you can’t expect them to read your mind.

You can also get a professional company to do this for you – they will go into more detail and hopefully have lots of different people calling. I still suggest don’t the first trial run yourself. This week still!

Feel free to add some tips of your own to the comments section or send them directly to me. I’ll update the blog with them.