Business & Finance Business Information

Call Answering And Appointment Setting In Contact Centers

Businesses that hire an answering service want the very best out of the service as the service represents the company or business and helps in creating the impression on the minds of the callers. Companies, big or small, hire phone answering services so that the company is reachable to its customers 24 hours a day and 7 days a week as well as on holidays. From the business perspective, an live answering service has a great role to play in offering good customer service to the customers and also help retain them as customers for a longer period.

The agents working in phone answering services are trained to answer phones of customers immediately without making the customers wait for a very long time. The agents should be able to greet the customers over the phone in the most polite yet professional manner possible. After greeting the customers, the agents at the live answering service should ask the customers how they might help them.

The agents have to talk to the callers and understand the need of the customers. If the customers are not too open about their needs, then the agent offering answering services should be able to engage them in a conversation and then listen to whatever they have to say about their need with the utmost care and concern. The agents must also proceed to fix an appointment with the callers.

When fixing an appointment, the answering services agents should ask for the customer name as well as the contact information. The agents must also question the customer on whether he/she is a new or a returning customer. In case of the new customers, the agents must not forget to ask the mailing address, the telephone number as well as the email address of the agents. Make sure that the information provided by the agents is verified for confirmation.

When booking the appointment, the answering services must ask when the customer would like to schedule an appointment, and the customer must also be notified on the next opening that is available on the scheduler. The process must be continued till a particular date and time for appointment has been settled upon. The agent must now place the customer's name and the phone number on the scheduler. Do not forget to confirm the appointment made by the customer by repeating the time and the date.

After the appointment has been booked successfully, the live answering service agent must make preparations to wrap up the call. For this the guidelines of the script must be followed. The agent must make the efforts to thank the customer for spending their valuable time on the call and also remind them of any cancellation of the policies. The agent must also inform the customer of all the payment methods that are available. In case, the location of the company or business has changed, the information must be made available to the customers. The call must be ended courteously by greeting the customer.


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