The Five Guiding Principles for Delivering Exceptional Phone Customer Service

According to Nuance Coomunications Inc. the Five Guiding Principles for Delivering Exceptional Phone Service are:

1. “Tell Me The Truth” – While messages such as “Our options have recently changed” are usually well-intentioned, callers frequently interpret them as euphemistic, intended to keep them at arm’s length.
2. “Speak My Language” – Callers often speak of a maze of options presented to them on the phone, in a way that seldom causes problems in visual media such as Web sites. This principle focuses on the unique challenge of clearly offering choices in just a few memorable words that callers can easily interpret.
3. “Don’t Box Me In” – Callers’ most frequent complaint is that self-service systems seem designed to keep them away from agents, a perhaps unsurprising result of a company’s need to stay competitive by providing a mix of self-service and live support. This principle emphasizes that while it’s fine to promote self-service, companies need to address requests to connect with a human being.
4. “Respect My Time” – Customers call customer service with the goal of resolving a problem or completing a transaction as quickly and efficiently as possible. In visual media, caveats such as “caution, this beverage is hot” and “monthly lease does not include taxes and fees” can be added as fine print that the consumer can gloss over or ignore if they choose. Today’s corporations have not yet evolved efficient ways to provide such information on the phone (e.g., “Lower prices may be available on our Web site”) without the caller feeling as if they’re being lectured or having their time wasted.
5. “Check Your Suggestion Box” – The rise of blogs, YouTube, and other social media have made it easier than ever before for disgruntled customers to share their experiences with an interested public. This has, in several instances, proven disastrous for a company’s image. This principle urges companies to substantially promote the role of consumer feedback into the design of phone systems.