5 Bad Phone Habits That Annoy Customers

Making a good impression over the phone is harder than it sounds. There are a number of bad phone habits that get on customers’ nerves and can detract from the purpose of the call. Think back to the times you’ve been on the receiving end of bad phone customer service – sounds of chewing, loud yawning, rudeness, constant interruptions – and how much it annoyed you.

If you think you or your employees might have developed some bad phone habits, check out the list below and read about each habit. Avoiding these bad phone habits can help you make a better impression on your callers and develop new, more effective phone habits.

5 Bad Phone Habits That Annoy Customers

1. Chewing anything – gum, food, etc.

Most people consider the sound of chewing to be gross, so it’s the last thing they’d want to hear while on the phone with customer service. Chewing anything, whether it’s gum or food, is sure to annoy customers and can make it hard for callers to understand you. If you’ve just taken a bite of something and the phone rings, it’s better to quickly chew and let it ring a few more times than to answer it with a full mouth.

2. Sighing, yawning, signs of disinterest

Most of the social cues we take from phone calls are verbal since we can’t see the other party to see their gestures, stances, and facial expressions. If one person is sighing, yawning, or showing signs of disinterest, it conveys to the other that they are bored with the conversation and have already mentally tuned out. Yawning or sighing on the phone with a customer is like saying “I’d rather be doing anything but this.” It definitely doesn’t convey that you’re an attentive, caring, and competent customer service agent. If you can’t suppress a yawn, follow it up with a quick apology and reason – for example, “I’m so sorry! I didn’t get enough sleep last night and I’m feeling it today.”

3. Interrupting or finishing sentences

While it might be considered cute for couples to finish each other’s sentences, it’s one of the most annoying bad phone habits on this list. No one likes to be interrupted or cut off, especially when their reason for calling has to do with business. Even if you feel you can tell where the customer is leading, don’t interrupt or finish the sentence for them. Let them explain it fully to you and then paraphrase what you’ve heard to ensure you have the right understanding (these are principles of active listening).

4. Wrapping up the call too soon

Not feeling heard is one complaint many customers have about dealing with customer service departments. Sometimes, the neutral approach many companies take – staying calm, offering possible solutions, issuing the same responses to every caller – can end before the customer has a chance to get all the answers they were looking for. Don’t get into the habit of sprinting through the call script and wrapping up the call too soon. Before ending a call, be sure to ask if there is anything else you can assist with. Don’t assume the caller will bring it up on their own – some won’t want to bother you after requesting help for a different problem.

5. Calling customer by the wrong name

Finally, one of the most annoying bad phone habits is calling a customer by the wrong name. In order to feel like a valued, respected customer, they can’t be a victim of a case of mistaken identity. If you find yourself calling a customer by the wrong name often, you should consider slowing down in your work and finding methods to memorize names. If it happens once or twice, there’s no harm done as long as you apologize and get the right name for future reference.

Source: https://www.conversational.com/5-bad-phone-habits-that-annoy-customers/

2021 Buyers Guide

Get Listed

Consultancies

 

1.)	Call Center Masters Giving consulting services to call centers https://www.callcentermasters.com/

2.)	CC-CMM Certification Institute CC-CMM Certification https://www.cc-cmm.com/list.php?id=24

3.)

COPC Service Journey Thinking Service Journey Thinking is a comprehensive approach for improving the experience customers have along the service journey. It considers the service journey not only from the customer’s perspective, but it also examines the components that support the experience, including people, technology, processes and policies. By applying Service Journey Thinking, COPC Inc. helps brands promote greater efficiency, improved performance and reduced cost within their operations. For customers, this means reduced effort, improved satisfaction and enhanced loyalty. PH: 1.407.304.9032 https://www.copc.com/what-we-do/customer-experience/service-journeys/

4.)	CTCOMM Genesys PureConnect Call Centers, Contact Centers and Cloud Solutions Consultancies https://www.ctcomm.com.tr

5.)

Customer Support Asia Offshoring Customer Support Asia assures the success of service offshoring initiatives in the Philippines. Our consultancy serves both: - clients that have service partners in the Philippines, and need to implement a major service initiative (performance/CX improvement, service change, site expansion, etc); and - clients that desire to outsource services to the Philippines for the first time, and need expert help to qualify an an "ideal fit" partner, and manage an end-to-end service transition We support both contact center services and "back office" BPO projects, limiting our practice to sites in the Philippines PH: +1 919 446 5114 http://www.customersupportasia.com

6.)

CX Central Contact Centre Specialist Consulting CX Consult provides specialist contact centre consulting with decades of experience across Australia and Asia/Pacific lead by industry expert Justin Tippett. Services include health checks, optimisation, outsourcing (local and offshore), technology upgrades, strategy and more. Whether you have a 5 seat contact centre or a large multi-site operation we'll provide you with expert advice to ensure you can achieve your business objectives. PH: +61 3 9008 7287 https://cxconsult.com.au/

7.)

ERIC YOUNG ASSOCIATES (Tele-Centre Assist Inc.) Contact Center Consulting & Profit Improvement (Lean Six Sigma), Inside Sales, Efficiencies, Call Center Audit, Technology & vendor selection, Telephony, Recruiting, Training, Performance Management, Customer Journey Mapping, Software (CRM) Implementations PH: (416) 498-9440 http://www.ericyoungassociates.com

8.)

Lieber & Associates Contact Center Consulting Lieber & Associates assists organizations with contact center issues.This includes management, processes, training, and technology. The firm's assessments evaluate and make recommendations for 15 call center areas ranging from call seasonalities to staffing to better use of the telephone systems. Contact center technology services range from new technology selection and implementation to problem-solving and optimization to technical trouble-shooting. Senior consultants have more than 20 years of experience each and are leaders in their discipline. Clients span most business sectors. PH: +1-773-325-0608 https://www.lieberandassociates.com/

9.)

Mpathy Plus Mpathy Plus transform service, improve performance and provide operational support. We work in all areas of customer service and contact centres from initial strategy, feasibility studies, business cases, project management through to operational reviews, resource planning etc. We are independent and have vast experience of implementing, managing and changing contact centres and the customer experience. PH: 08450 569800 https://www.mpathyplus.co.uk/

10.)	Outsourcing Solutions Europe Outsourcing Solutions Europe is an advisory firm that helps companies to find the right contact center/BPO partner to serve European customers https://www.outsourcingsolutions-europe.com/

11.)

PCA Advisors Ltd Contact Center Sales - growth and marketing strategies I work with contact centers to position their companies to take advantage of opportunities that exist for them. We also work with their existing sales team to improve their communication and hunting skills. 'Growth' is our greatest ability. PH: 16473286205 https://pcaadvisors.ca/

12.)

Pelorus Associates Marketing Communications Pelorus Associates is a market research and marketing communications company that assists developers of contact center solutions by providing in-depth market research and by authoring white papers, e-books, and blog posts. PH: 434-589-2131 https://www.pelorusreports.com/

13.)

proceo.consulting We can help You boost Your business results by: - Building or developing high performing multi-channel customer care operations - Improving metrics like Customer Satisfaction, Net Promoter Score (NPS), Customer Effort Score (CES), First Contact Resolution (FCR), Customer Retention rate, Inbound conversions - Developing Your teams' skills to excel front and back-office operations and Customer relations - Preparing and executing efficient Voice of the Customer and Customer Advocacy approach - We will help You manage challenges and risks when changes affect people, operations and technology. https://rafaljarosz.pl/proceo/

14.)

Vads PT VADS Indonesia provides consultancies with trainers, modules, a development programs for individuals and/or teams. Types of consultancies provided by PT VADS: Knowledge Process, Transformation Consultancy, Customer Services, Contact Center, Leadership, Interpersonal Development, Motivation, Training for Trainers and Digital Marketing. PH: 0217991445 https://www.vads.co.id/

15.)

SCC Services Group Contact Center Operations Performance Management In today’s competitive business environment, contact center and marketing professionals are constantly challenged to manage a growing business, achieve superior performance levels and at times are asked to support services and products that are becoming more complex. Faced with this reality, the consulting disciplines that SCC Services Group focuses on are operations management and service delivery excellence in the customer service, contact center and brand marketing arenas. Our consulting practice puts emphasis on: - Contact Center Operational Assessments - Human Capital Management - Organizational Structure - Brand Marketing - Strategic Planning - Sales and Customer Care Tra... (read more)In today’s competitive business environment, contact center and marketing professionals are constantly challenged to manage a growing business, achieve superior performance levels and at times are asked to support services and products that are becoming more complex. Faced with this reality, the consulting disciplines that SCC Services Group focuses on are operations management and service delivery excellence in the customer service, contact center and brand marketing arenas. Our consulting practice puts emphasis on: - Contact Center Operational Assessments - Human Capital Management - Organizational Structure - Brand Marketing - Strategic Planning - Sales and Customer Care Training - Technology Selection - Deployment of Technology in Customer Contact Centers. Our client engagements are directed at identifying projects that will have the highest return in terms of profit, productivity, customer and employee satisfaction. In addition to delivering high customer satisfaction, Contact Center management teams are also requested to maintain or reduce operating budgets and get more production from their staffs. To this end contact centers must find ways to become more efficient and flexible then ever before. Based on today’s business requirements and the vast growth in Customer Contact Centers there is demand for expert guidance to assist organizations with the many tactical issues of the day, strategic planning and to act as a resource on current and future projects. If your organization has a need for Contact Center Consulting, Brand Marketing, Human Capital Assessment and Development, Application Development and Integration, Outsourced Services or Sales and Customer Service Training, SCC Services Group brings a unique brand of expertise to the table based on years of “real life” experience and is in position to fill this demand for start-up, growing or under performing operations. PH: 954-444-3668 https://sccservicesgroup.com/

16.)

The Taylor Reach Group Established in 2003, The Taylor Reach Group is an award winning, call, contact centre and customer experience consulting and advisory firm. The company is based in Toronto and has offices in New York, Atlanta, Washington, Ottawa, London, Bangalore, Hong Kong and Beijing. We are vendor agnostic and do not partner with technology or outsource agencies. The only one who pays us are our clients. Each of our consultants possess a minimum of 20 years of ‘hands-on’ call/contact center operational management experience. We do not sell the pyramid, the seasoned experts you deal with through the sales process are the same people who will complete your project. Taylor Reach has worked with contact cen... (read more)Established in 2003, The Taylor Reach Group is an award winning, call, contact centre and customer experience consulting and advisory firm. The company is based in Toronto and has offices in New York, Atlanta, Washington, Ottawa, London, Bangalore, Hong Kong and Beijing. We are vendor agnostic and do not partner with technology or outsource agencies. The only one who pays us are our clients. Each of our consultants possess a minimum of 20 years of ‘hands-on’ call/contact center operational management experience. We do not sell the pyramid, the seasoned experts you deal with through the sales process are the same people who will complete your project. Taylor Reach has worked with contact center and customer service organizations as small as 4 agents and as large as 24,000. We have worked with leading brands, not for profits, governments and advised industry leaders in multiple verticals. Our services include; Customer Experience Assessments and Benchmarking Contact Center Strategic Assessments Contact Center Audits and Benchmarking Training Curriculum Design and Development Technology Selection and Acquisition Operational Model Development Omni-Channel, Multi-Channel Outsourcing/Offshore Suitability Assessments In-Sourcing Assessments Home Agent Assessment Process Improvement Knowledge Management Site Selection Organizational Design & Development Best Practices Whitepapers & Research Projects, More than 15,000 call/contact center agent positions globally employ Taylor Reach designed contact centre operational models; we have the knowledge and experience to help your center management. PH: 8663343739 https://thetaylorreachgroup.com/

17.)

Triad Services Services Triad is a consulting firm with experience in the field of customer relations. He will celebrate his 25th professional anniversary in 2021. His facilitation skills and creativity allow him to work on many transformations related to the operational management challenges of customer contact centers. With the support of his consulting team, he collaborates to many projects in Canada and abroad for public and private sector organizations. More than 275 consulting assignments and 150 benchmarking studies are part of his curriculum. PH: 514-738-2197 Http://www.servicestriad.com

 

View more from Conversational

Recent Blog Posts:

Companies Known for the Worst Customer Service	February 23, 2018 5:00 AM
Glossary of Virtual Receptionist Terms	February 21, 2018 5:00 AM
Leaving a Lasting Impression with Customers	November 29, 2017 5:00 AM
Why You Should Stop Answering Your Business Phone	November 13, 2017 5:00 AM
Customer Service Phone Call vs Email: What’s Preferred?	November 9, 2017 5:00 AM
3 Surprising Things Virtual Assistants Can Do	November 7, 2017 5:00 AM
Boosting Growth with a Virtual Receptionist	May 22, 2017 5:00 AM
How to Create Content That Answers Common Questions	April 26, 2017 5:00 AM
Customers Prefer a Callback to Being Put on Hold	April 24, 2017 5:00 AM
How to Diffuse Conflict with Angry Customers	April 19, 2017 5:00 AM