Coaching Agents – McKee Consulting

Every Job Take Ten Minutes

Managers in Contact Centers are overwhelmed, and they know it. They work; from home, while they drive, and while at the actual workplace.
They are on their cell phones doing e-mails, apps, and God only knows what else. They never take 5 minutes to “Be Quiet.” Oh! NO! They are too busy for that. They think every single thing they do is so important and they expect others to work the same way, so how can they take a break?

• They worry about production,
• Abandonment rates,
• Sales, Customer service, Customer Care
• Net Promotor Scores, and
• Customer Retention

They “think” that if they continue to push themselves very hard, without offending anyone, or hurting anyone’s self-esteem, that those who work for them will “Monkey See, Monkey Do,” then they will succeed in being Happy. At least they HOPE they will. If only they could figure out ways to get Sat scores Up and Customer Experience locked in?

“Have a Little Tea with JUDY”:
1. If you can work 10-12 hours a day and take work calls at all hours of the day and night – YOU CAN TAKE 10 minutes twice a day to “STOP thinking, thinking, thinking! AND Be Quiet!”
2. Sit down in your office, unplug the phone. (Oh, NO, MR. BILL!) Listen to the air conditioner hum and breathe in and breathe out while saying these words.
3. Breathe IN…Breathe OUT. Do not add or subtract from those 4 words. If you notice your are thinking just gently go back to Breathe IN…Breathe […]

Every Job Take Ten Minuteswebmaster2021-03-11T22:17:08+00:00

Looking for Love in all the Wrong Places

Call Center Love needed – but don’t look for it where you don’t want to find it – Find it and give it to the agents

Valentine’s Day is just around the corner. We are all looking for love. My thought for this month is, let’s look for love where we WANT to find it. Call Center Agents need love too! It seems the world is bent on finding love in all the wrong places, because they think that if they can only find the problem, they could fix it. This is NOT TRUE. You can always find challenges, but “Where is the love?” Find THAT!

Call Centers have their problems, issues, and challenges. But supervisors don’t need to find them. They aren’t lost. They are still there. Issues constantly come up, and I always feel that the Agent is the one taking the heat! They bear the brunt of every irritated customer, and are taught not to take it personally. RIGHT?

Yesterday, I spoke to an Agent with my cable company; she was delightful! She was helpful, quick, and she cared about what I wanted…my way. The Agent thanked me for my complimentary attitude and said that, she sometimes gets frustrated because the hold times are so long, and when she can finally answer, the customer “yells at me.” She corrected that to say “The customer gives the me a piece of his mind! If you know what I mean.” (This is in case she is heard on the recorded call.)

I […]

Looking for Love in all the Wrong Placeswebmaster2021-03-11T22:17:08+00:00

ASK Maureen – Coaches Corner – Fix Push Back

Coaches Corner – Maureen Tzouris PCA Coach Speaks Volumes

Branding Issues and offer-3 Agents Push Back!

Dear Maureen, Our company recently went through a corporate restructuring and have installed new compliance requirements. We are now requiring all the agents to brand the company at the end of their calls and this is receiving some push back from the agents. Do you have any suggestions? ~We-love-our-brand

Thank you so much for your question! This scenario is actually quite common and is experienced by many managers and coaches. First, I would suggest setting some clear expectations so that all agents understand what is being asked of them. Secondly, I would suggest holding small breakout training sessions to include some suggestions on what and how exactly the agent can say to close every call with the branding, perhaps to include role playing. And, lastly– I would recommend sharing this information from the ‘three party promise’ perspective–this is where the company, the customer, and the agent all WIN!

I would explain that:

1) the company would like to brand the close because they are confident that their customers have all been completely satisfied during the call and want to extend and build upon the good faith practices.

2) The customer or member will feel confident that the agent cares about all of their concerns and questions and was handled professionally! (We’re in this together!)

3). The agent can take pride in themselves because they will sound much more professional, well […]

ASK Maureen – Coaches Corner – Fix Push Backwebmaster2021-03-11T22:17:08+00:00