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Apologies to the mods if this is in the wrong place, but it doesn't really deal with SC's in general and this seemed the most logical place to put it.
So far, apprehension aside, I'm liking my new job at the call center, I'm on the account working for a large satellite TV company. The atmosphere is laid back, the sups are all cool and we kid around alot, there's no dress code, and I'm getting paid to sit on my rear end and talk on the phone all day. I'm still in training right now, and the biggest issue I'm having is dead air time. It's not that I don't know what I'm doing, I'm still just a little bit slow about looking up the steps and info that I need to troubleshoot, review bills, etc. We've already been told about how to to 'informed silence', but you can only have so much informed silence before someone starts to wonder if I really haven't disconnected them. No one likes dead air, and it's frowned upon if we put the customer on hold unless we need to speak to a coach about the call, and then we're not supposed to put them on hold until the coach gets there so they can insure we're using the proper procedure for it. And I don't mind. But I've worked customer service for over two years, and I had no problem making small talk with people face to face, but how does one do that over the phone? I'm always afraid that the person will get miffed with me for trying to chat them up.
Any pointers, please?
I really like this job and I'd hate to lose it over something like that, 'cause I really, really don't wanna go back to retail. *shudders*
So far, apprehension aside, I'm liking my new job at the call center, I'm on the account working for a large satellite TV company. The atmosphere is laid back, the sups are all cool and we kid around alot, there's no dress code, and I'm getting paid to sit on my rear end and talk on the phone all day. I'm still in training right now, and the biggest issue I'm having is dead air time. It's not that I don't know what I'm doing, I'm still just a little bit slow about looking up the steps and info that I need to troubleshoot, review bills, etc. We've already been told about how to to 'informed silence', but you can only have so much informed silence before someone starts to wonder if I really haven't disconnected them. No one likes dead air, and it's frowned upon if we put the customer on hold unless we need to speak to a coach about the call, and then we're not supposed to put them on hold until the coach gets there so they can insure we're using the proper procedure for it. And I don't mind. But I've worked customer service for over two years, and I had no problem making small talk with people face to face, but how does one do that over the phone? I'm always afraid that the person will get miffed with me for trying to chat them up.
Any pointers, please?
I really like this job and I'd hate to lose it over something like that, 'cause I really, really don't wanna go back to retail. *shudders*
), chatted about plans for the weekend, asked if the caller's having a busy day (happened a lot with offices), etc. To me, it's about as easy as face-to-face social pleasantries.
I can't wait until the newness and nervousness of this job wears off a bit and I can look at it as just another day. Most of my callers have been pretty nice so far. Oh yeah, except for the very first one that I took. Complete jerk, lol. But I'd prepared myself for the worst and he ended up confusing the sup just as much, before hanging up on her.
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