By Patty Da Silva and Gabrielle Blair

Do you have to answer a lot of calls? Here are a few tips from personal experience that we would like to share with you.

• Try to answer a call as quickly as possible. Callers become distracted and more defensive the longer they wait.
• Smile before you speak. If you smile before you answer the caller will hear it in your voice – you may not feel happy but you will sound more pleasant.
• Listen. Really listen to the caller. We have all called someone and gotten half way through a conversation and realized they weren’t paying any attention. Frustrating!
• Write down key points. Physically writing the information helps you remember it! If you are responsible for solving the callers issue this will give you a reference to look back on.
• Solve and resolve. Are they asking for something you aren’t informed about? Does the caller need to be transferred? Do you need to find information for them? Will they need a call back?

To review: Answer quickly ~ Smile ~ Listen ~ Write ~ Solve

We are on the city’s Customer Service Team this year working toward the city’s goal of excellence in Customer Service! If you have any suggestions for improving communication between departments we would love to hear from you.