08/11/2016 Here are ten top tips to help you shorten customer support calls without upsetting customers. Reduce ‘chasing’ or repeat calls by making ALL information given to customers under promises in a big way, i.e. If it takes a day, say three or four days. Put a sense of seriousness, commitment and urgency in your voice. Work from a set list of questions to get the key points quickly and early. Ask closed-end qualification questions early in the call. Two-stage the call: Get information in call one, resolve after the call has ended, phone back with the answer. Use prepared concise answers to FAQ’s, keep people on a need to know basis. Speak in sentence fragments of 7-10 words. Practice changing your voice tone – slower, louder and emphasising key words. Use a supported and empathised redirecting statement to turn can’t do into can do’s: e.g. “I am sorry I cannot put you straight through, that is another department, let me give you the number now…do you have a pen?” Interrupt nicely – use their name, apologise, give a reason, ask a question to redirect. Try and get to call them back, it is easier to control and end the call when you have made it. For more information about telephone skills training, please visit: http://www.brilliantcustomerservice.co.uk/advanced-telephone-skills-training/