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Three Qualities to Look for in A Good Answering Service Agent
Thursday, January 24, 2013
Hiring an answering service company is a smart decision for your funeral home business. But, are you ready to start the selection process? Choosing one company to work with will be tough. These companies will try to get your business by making irresistible promises. You should know better than to believe them immediately.
Be Smart When Choosing
An answering service company's lifeblood is their customer service agents. It is the heart and soul of the company which means that clients should only expect the best agents to do the job. The main reason that businesses prefer to outsource answering services is to save money, time and effort. But placing customer's queries and request in the hands of the random customer service agents is risky. This is why you should do your homework in order to make the right decision when hiring an answering service company.
When choosing the answering service company, find out how long the business has been running. This will let you know about their experience in the industry. How many employees do they have? What companies are they working for? Read reviews and feedback about the company to make sure they are doing good business.
Top Qualities of A Customer Service Agent
Have you come up with a selection of companies to choose from? If so, you should move on and find out the skill level and competency of their agents. Here are the three qualities every good answering service agent should possess:
1. Has Great Listening Skills- A good answering service agent should have great listening skills. Angry customers or customers in a hurry do not like repeating themselves. He or she should be able to transcribe information that they receive from callers accurately. Customers can also tell if an agent is truly listening to his or her concerns. Customers want to be heard and understood and a great answering service agent will be able to convey that.
2. Exudes Confidence- A good answering service agent is confident. No one wants to talk to an agent who keeps making the caller wait because she needs to check on something. This can really put your company in a bad light. The agent should know about your business and how to handle your callers. The agent should be confident when speaking with callers. This will give them confidence in your company too. Give your callers the assurance they seek when calling you for queries or concerns.
3. Always Professional- A good answering service agent handles calls professionally even if they are talking to irate callers. In the funeral home business, callers can get pretty emotional. The agent should be prepared to take these calls and gather information even if the caller is crying or angry. Agents should always be composed yet, can empathize with the callers too.
To know if an agent has these important qualities, test her. Give her a call and pretend you are a grieving customer who is in a hurry to hang up the line. Check if the agent can accurately get information and how sympathetic the agent will be.
Be Smart When Choosing
An answering service company's lifeblood is their customer service agents. It is the heart and soul of the company which means that clients should only expect the best agents to do the job. The main reason that businesses prefer to outsource answering services is to save money, time and effort. But placing customer's queries and request in the hands of the random customer service agents is risky. This is why you should do your homework in order to make the right decision when hiring an answering service company.
When choosing the answering service company, find out how long the business has been running. This will let you know about their experience in the industry. How many employees do they have? What companies are they working for? Read reviews and feedback about the company to make sure they are doing good business.
Top Qualities of A Customer Service Agent
Have you come up with a selection of companies to choose from? If so, you should move on and find out the skill level and competency of their agents. Here are the three qualities every good answering service agent should possess:
1. Has Great Listening Skills- A good answering service agent should have great listening skills. Angry customers or customers in a hurry do not like repeating themselves. He or she should be able to transcribe information that they receive from callers accurately. Customers can also tell if an agent is truly listening to his or her concerns. Customers want to be heard and understood and a great answering service agent will be able to convey that.
2. Exudes Confidence- A good answering service agent is confident. No one wants to talk to an agent who keeps making the caller wait because she needs to check on something. This can really put your company in a bad light. The agent should know about your business and how to handle your callers. The agent should be confident when speaking with callers. This will give them confidence in your company too. Give your callers the assurance they seek when calling you for queries or concerns.
3. Always Professional- A good answering service agent handles calls professionally even if they are talking to irate callers. In the funeral home business, callers can get pretty emotional. The agent should be prepared to take these calls and gather information even if the caller is crying or angry. Agents should always be composed yet, can empathize with the callers too.
To know if an agent has these important qualities, test her. Give her a call and pretend you are a grieving customer who is in a hurry to hang up the line. Check if the agent can accurately get information and how sympathetic the agent will be.
About the Author:
Azalea M. Lynn works in the funeral industry as a consultant. She recommends a answering service for funeral homes for funeral directors looking to improve their bottom line. A funeral home answering service can help to reduce cost while improving customer experience.
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