Knowing the telephone etiquette of business communication with the client helps the operator to be confident and to perfectly cope with a variety of situations that run both in the standard and unplanned scenarios. A call center operator is expected to know the rules so he can use them at every stage of the call. This applies to greeting, saying goodbye, on an incoming call – solving the caller’s question, on an outgoing call – implementation of the set task. Teaching employees to know phone etiquette and controlling the quality of communication is a prerequisite for the successful operation of the company, which provides technical support services outsourcing.

The role of the call center employee becomes crucial in creating a favorable image of the company. Operators should not only effectively solve customers’ problems, but also comply with the rules of communication in the call center.

Evaluation of communication quality criteria

The operator has the following tasks:

• be prepared and show competence in solving any customer request;
• show interest in the problems of the client;
• be polite and conduct a conversation in a professional manner;
• build a relationship of trust with customers to form a positive image of the company;
• communicate correct, relevant information;
• memorize the most important customer information;
• solve the problems of the subscriber from the first call.

You should also use communication skills at all stages of the phone call script, be able to accurately enter statistical data.

How to communicate with the client?

It is necessary to be guided by simple rules that help to develop professionalism in communicating with the client:

1. Answer the phone from the first call.
2. In your greeting, say your name (number) and company name. It is important to speak clearly and understandably, expressing friendliness and interest in tone and manner of communication, so that the person does not have to ask again.
3. Ask in detail about the problem and record the information obtained. You can use leading questions, repetition of key words, or requests to the client to check the results of the conversation.
4. Be able to listen, to wait patiently for the end of the story and not to interrupt the interlocutor. It will help not only to understand the sense of the request, but also to take control of the dialogue. It is necessary to try to determine the latent subtext, the character, the mood, the emotions that the client feels by the intonation of the voice.
5. If the theme of the conversation is unpleasant, it is necessary to keep composure and not to give in to emotions. It is recommended to listen quietly to the opinion of the interlocutor, without expressing your own.
6. Proper speech will help the interlocutor understand the meaning of what is being said more quickly. Avoid abusing terminology that the speaker does not understand. Difficult words should be spelled or spaced out, with annotations. The expression of your own thoughts should be very brief and clear.
7. If it is absolutely necessary, you can tactfully cut the conversation short and politely refuse an intrusive caller.

There are some taboos in the line. During the conversation it is forbidden to eat, drink, talk with strangers, sigh loudly and click on the keyboard, rustle paper. It is forbidden to correct mistakes in the subscriber’s speech. Typical shortcomings of an inexperienced call center operator, including aggressive or insecure behavior, misinformation of the caller, unspecific and evasive questions and answers, become a barrier to increased professionalism and career advancement.