The BridgeBlog

While there are numerous keys to success in the fast-paced world of customer support – it seems to me that multitasking should most certainly be at the top of that list. So, here’s an example of why.

After a recent visit to my local Verizon Wireless store, the chance of me ever switching to another carrier is now slim to none. This is not because of the product or coverage or advertising, but because of the level of service I received and observed.

Last week, it was time for a new phone for my son and I, so off to the Verizon store we went.  I had been emailing Kerry, the store manager, so when we arrived I asked for him personally.  He greeted us and listened intently to our needs, then made several recommendations in phones.  He reviewed the features, and then left us alone for a time to consider the options.

His timing was perfect, seemingly always there when we had questions, but never pushy.  He was attending to other customers, but we always felt we had his attention.  However, after we chose our phones … this is where the real magic happened.

During the check-out and activation time, Kerry was multitasking like nothing I’ve ever seen before. He was …

• Instructing us on phone features.
• Activating our phones.
• Ringing up the sale.
• Completing rebate paperwork.
• Answering questions from his employees.
• Giving approvals for discounts.
• He even recognized a client as being USA Military and offered a generous discount.

Kerry handled this situation like a true professional.  He made us feel like we were number one on is priority list, while taking care of 10-15 other issues at the same time.  He was multi-tasking between clients, employees and other duties, but at no time did he make us feel like we were number #2.

We left the store with two new phones, a renewed contract and a very, very good opinion of Verizon Wireless.

In today’s fast paced customer support environments, multi-tasking is most certainly the key to success!

Is your organization armed and ready with the right skills to offer the support your clients deserve?  BridgeFront’s new library of Customer Communication Skills courses will guide your staff – whether they are new to customer support or a veteran – in successfully communicating with customers, patients and even co-workers.

Click here for details on BridgeFront’s customer service and communication skills online course library. Or contact us directly by sending an email to info@bridgefront.com or call 866-447-2211.

Recently I was watching the evening news and was surprised to hear some statistics on cell phone texting.

The average adult sends just 10 text messages per day, but teenagers aged 14-17 send about 3,000 per month. One sixteen-year-old sent about 4,000 per month.

Child Psychologist David Swanson says, “The problem here is they’re missing the verbal training we need later in life, such as a job interview, talking with a friend and consoling friends.”

So, we have a problem…our entire pool of entry-level employees for the next 5 years can’t communicate verbally. And you think customer service is bad now? Just wait. Yet another burden on our companies…that is, teaching entry-level employees how to communicate.

The technologist says that’s easy. Simply put a Teleprompter in front of them and have them read from the screen.

Have you ever talked to someone that’s doing that? Here’s one that I ran into the other day, “Hello, I would be most happy to make your service call a satisfying experience, may I initiate a trouble ticket on your behalf?”

Hey, can I explain my problem before you start reading your screen? Teleprompters do not work.

We need real plans for training our entry-level employees with real education.  It will take time, energy and money.

Best prepare now, there’s an entire generation waiting for you.

For information about Customer Service training, visit www.BridgeFront.com. Or contact us directly by sending an email to info@bridgefront.com or call 866-447-2211.

What makes a customer interaction successful … the first 17 seconds.

I called a wireless phone company yesterday about my cell phone. Seems the phone is eating up battery life in about 8 hours, when it initially took 3-4 days to deplete it. When the support person took the call, they listened briefly, then said … “with the credits I see on your account and a rebate we could get you into a new phone right now for only $19.95, which one would you like?”

Did I ask for a new phone? No. Do I want a new phone? No.

I had asked to get my old one fixed. His response made me mad at him, mad at the company, mad at the phone and certainly mad at the people who drive while talking on their cell phones. Heck, I’m even looking at changing phone companies now.

… a prime example of not connecting to a client in the first 17 seconds of the call.

When it works right

Contrast that with a call where someone immediately hears your issue, empathizes with your problem, and then begins to probe exactly where they should? It doesn’t happen often, but when it does the feeling of good customer service is there, in an instant.

The magic is in the first 17 seconds. During that brief period frontline personnel need to listen to all the clues and then respond. Is the client upset? Are they technical? Is the problem a usage related one? Is the product able to do what they are asking of it? If we can listen for some or all of those clues, then the response will be aimed at the right level.

But if the client is misunderstood, then trouble is about to start.

It is hard … call after call

After your 89th call of the day it is hard to listen to the client with the right perspective. Calls get smeared together, details get lost, and the emotion from one call bleeds into another … try this … put a post-it note on your computer that says … “No matter the call volume, this is THEIR ONLY CALL – make it a good one.”

BridgeFront offers customer service communications training online. Visit our web site for more information. Contact us by sending an email to info@bridgefront.com or call 866.447.2211.

My favorite waiter is Sean Patrick Martin (a strong Irish name if I ever heard one) who works at a wonderful Italian restaurant here in Portland. He is so good, that I will even wait for a table that he is working…I hate to wait for things. What makes him better than the other waiters and waitresses?

Well, there are a number of things. He is there when you need him, gone in a flash, quick with suggestions and supports your discussions…all of which most good waiters do. But what really makes him the best is his behind the scenes control of the support staff – transparent service.

You see, Sean doesn’t do it all.  He directs people to fill water glasses, serve plates, pick up dishes and deliver a little something extra from the waiter. All that service is transparent, unless you look for it. Sean knows that he’s part of a team. Each member has a task and when played in unison it sounds like an orchestra.

Yes, the food is great and the restaurant extremely friendly, but it is the orchestration of services that bring us back time and time again. What Sean Martin does is hard work, but he creates beautiful music.

Does your support team play beautiful music together?

Most likely you have people on the front-lines interacting with your clients or patients. They can’t do everything that’s needed to satisfy all situations, so they escalate or delegate to others. But do those other people know the role they are playing?

Some support might be needed from a technical person, a billing person, or some other staff member. If they fulfill their part of the task, the front-line team member delivers excellent customer service to your client. However, one weak link in the chain and disaster strikes…in that case I hope your front-line team member has taken a course on how to handle the irate client.

Sounds easy, but transparent service is hard to deliver.

It is a team effort – so you need to create that culture. Each member of the team needs to have equal status and recognition. Each individual needs to know what their deliverables are to the effort, as well as what everyone else is responsible for. They need to share in the glory of the happy client and understand the failures as a team.

Most of this starts with training…and ends with training. You need to consider every scenario that could happen; have a plan of action; assign tasks; and then train, train, train. Of course it’s hard and time consuming. But your clients are worth it and if done right they will come back, tell others, and increase your brand equity considerably.

Do it right and you will see the same people back time and time again…thanks Sean.

Olympic Stars – Good Customer Communication Skills?

While thinking about my next post, I was reminded of the Winter Olympics…which is right around the corner. The first person that comes to mind is Bonnie Blair (1). I had the privilege of being a neighbor and a friend to Bonnie and her family…and being part of the “Blair Bunch.”

On several occasions a group of us would head out for dinner or sporting events, with Bonnie leading the charge.  Invariably while at the event, she would be stopped and asked for pictures, autographs and/or introductions.  In watching this unfold time and time again, I asked her if the attention bothered her or became monotonous.

In true Bonnie fashion, she smiled and simply said, “They are the reason that I exist.  They support me, encourage me and give me the focus I need to be the best.”

Let’s take that logic to the workplace.

Do our employees feel that way toward our customers?  Are they willing to accept interruptions and impositions with an attitude like Bonnie’s?  If not, then they certainly don’t understand the power that a personal connection has on our customers.

If our customers take the time to talk to us, we really need to listen.  We need to hear the words, the tone, and intention.  We need to consider the input as gold.  If we use that nugget to improve our companies, we can only win more customers.  However, if we ignore the feedback we will lose one client after another…until, well they are all gone.

It starts at the top.

This attitude does not happen on its own; it has to start from the top.  I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard executives speak poorly about their customer service people.  The worse case was at a Fortune 100 firm (that started in the radio business and whose logo looks like a bat) when an executive told me that their “Field Service personnel were just trained monkeys.”

Are you kidding me? That’s what you feel about your frontline personnel, who work every day face-to-face with your clients? I resigned from that firm shortly there-after.

We need to train and support our frontline personnel better than any other single group in the company. They are the face of our businesses. We need to give them the tools and empowerment they need to present the right image to our clients.  We need to treat them like the gold-handlers they are.

What does the face of your organization look like?

As noted in my last post, BridgeFront just announced its new customer service and communication skills online course library. Learn More >>>

By Kent Lane, 20-year customer service veteran. Please send questions or comments to kentl@bridgefront.com.

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(1)Bonnie Blair – One of the top female skaters of her time, and one of the most decorated female athletes in Olympic history, Blair competed for the United States in four Olympics, and in her Olympic career won five gold medals and one bronze medal.

Okay, so this is my last blog post on the book Brain Rules by John Medina. There is a lot in there and I can’t give you a summary of all the good stuff. Maybe I’ve intrigued you through these snip-its of information that you will read it yourself! Regardless, let’s wrap up this book and look at another “Brain Rule”.  In my last post I shared the “Repeat to Remember” rule. Here is another rule that intrigues me, it is related to our long term memory, “Brain Rule #6: Remember to Repeat.” I am going to keep this one short and sweet – probably because I am on holiday sugar overload! But, this is my take away from this specific rule.

Repeated exposure to information at timed intervals provides the most powerful way to fix memory into the brain. Okay, nothing earth shattering there…sounds like common sense. But, there is some neat science behind it that helps understand why this occurs. As  information is introduced into our brains, electrical representations of the information are built up slowly over many repetitions, and continuous repetitive cycles layer on similar information and adds to your knowledge base. And the more elaborate the re-exposure of the information is, in spaced intervals, it will increase the chances of the information becoming a long-term memory.

In a nutshell, learning occurs best when we incrementally introduce information over time, rather than jam it all in at once. Food for thought as you consider learning activities that you may be creating as an educator or participating in as a student. Not everyone gets it the first time, so remember to repeat!

Happy New Year everyone!

Well, I am back to blogging after an extended absence – sorry for that hiatus! I am returning to a great book I’ve been reading this past year, Brain Rules by John Medina. In my last post I shared the “every brain is wired differently” rule. Here is another rule that intrigues me, it is related to short term memory, “Brain Rule #5: Repeat to Remember.”

Hermann Ebbinghaus, born in 1850, is most famous for determining that people usually forget 90% of what they learn in a class within 30 days. Rather depressing to think about! In addition, his studies also showed that a majority is forgotten within the first few hours after the classroom experience. Over a 30-year period Ebbinghaus discovered additional interesting facts. One is that memories have different life spans – some may be minutes, while others last a lifetime. Is that why I can put my keys down and forget where they are within 5 minutes?

Here’s where Brain Rule #5 comes into play – Ebbinghaus shared with us that we can actually increase the life span of a memory by repeating the information in timed intervals. So, what can learn from this? Spaced learning is better than massed learning. Good to know.

But, we still need to understand a bit more about our memory and how we can increase our chances of learning something versus just simply recalling it later. Medina provides a great example of this in his book. Try and remember your Social Security number. Easy, right? Your brain may have visually queued in on the last time you saw the card or when you wrote it down. Now try to remember how to ride a bike. That’s easy too, right? Not really – you don’t call up a list of each action step, such as where to put your foot, how to angle your back, where your thumb needs to be placed. You recall these memories differently.

Through research, four sequential steps have been identified for the life cycle of declarative memory – your conscious memory: encoding, storing, retrieving, and forgetting. This is not the time or place to go into the detail that Medina provides, but rather let me just summarize the main concepts.

As information comes into your brain it’s stored in different regions, it’s not a one stop shop for all those thoughts. The more elaborate we encode the information that’s coming in, the better the chance our brain has of finding the information in the future. Making something more elaborate often means making it more complicated, which can tax the memory system. This can improve learning: more complexity means greater learning. Finally, another way to improve your memory of information is to reproduce the environment where it first entered your brain.

Summary: information is remembered best when it’s elaborate, meaningful and contextual.

Ways that you can capitalize on this concept:

1)    Incorporate real-world examples as learning points to help “encode” the information.

2)    A compelling introduction to a learning activity can help the learner “retrieve” the information from memory in the future.

3)    Offer learning activities in an environment that is similar to where / when the information may need to be “retrieved” from memory in the future.

Next time, let’s talk about long-term memory and “Brain Rule #6: Remember to Repeat.”

Listen to the podcast version

By Lorraine Schnelle, CPA

Last week, we talked about my handy CCCQ scale and how to decide upon which educational activities to use in your organization. Now let’s talk about “the end game” – making sure you understand the learning objective of your educational activity and how to stay on target. The last thing we want to do is confuse your learners and complicate the learning process. Learning objectives are statements that define what your students will take away, as part of the skill-building experience.

I like to use Bloom’s Taxonomy as a reference tool for creating targeted learning objectives. In 1956, Benjamin Bloom, with a group of educational psychologists, developed a classification of six levels of intellectual behaviors important for learning. Its lowest level, Knowledge, focuses on the simple recognition or recalling of facts or knowledge . Each level increases in complexity, moving from Understanding to Application, Analysis, Synthesis and finally Evaluation – the highest level.  Bloom’s Taxonomy is easily understood and widely used today. Learn more about each level below.

• Knowledge: arrange, define, duplicate, label, list, memorize, name, order, recognize, relate, recall, repeat, reproduce, state

• Understanding: classify, describe, discuss, explain, express, identify, indicate, locate, recognize, report, restate, review, select, translate

• Application: apply, choose, demonstrate, dramatize, employ, illustrate, interpret, operate, practice, schedule, sketch, solve, use, write

• Analysis: analyze, appraise, calculate, categorize, compare, contrast, criticize, differentiate, discriminate, distinguish, examine, experiment, question, test

• Synthesis: arrange, assemble, collect, compose, construct, create, design, develop, formulate, manage, organize, plan, prepare, propose, set up, write

• Evaluation: appraise, argue, assess, attach, choose, compare, defend, estimate, judge, predict, rate, core, select, support, value, evaluate

Start each learning objective with a term from one of the six levels listed above. I recently created a seminar with learning objectives, using Bloom’s Taxonomy, for a group of Patient Access Associates. Here are the learning objectives I created for that activity -

• Define critical key performance indicators (KPIs) and their relationship to Patient Access work processes.

• Discuss advancing computer resources in Patient Access.

• Recognize the key skills required of Patient Access Associates.

So, take the time to create your learning objectives, using Bloom’s Taxonomy, and refer to them throughout the educational activity creation process. These learning objectives will help ensure your activity stays on target and you reach the “end game” – skilled and competent team members.

Listen to the podcast version

By Lorraine Schnelle, CPA

In my last blog post we talked about the learning pyramid, which depicts average retention rates based on the type of learning activity. Today, let’s talk about how you can determine the types of learning activities you’ll need as it relates to a staff member’s educational needs.

CCCQ Scale

Below is my very own handy litmus test, the “Compliance, Complexity, Change and Quality Scale,” or my CCCQ Scale. This test helps me understand the big picture of an educational need. Use this scale to evaluate each educational situation and then read my suggestions at the end of this post, based upon your results.

Compliance: Is this a compliance issue? If it is, draw a line on the Compliance scale. Where you put that line depends on the “risk” that you feel this issue has with regard to the organization. For example, if this is a new compliance issue and it relates to a large number of staff members, place your mark near the “high” end of the scale. However, if it relates to a small number of staff members, then place your mark closer to the center. If it is a compliance issue that is not new, but rather a refresher, place your mark between the low and middle section. If it is not a compliance issue, don’t place a mark on this scale at all.

Change: Is this related to a change in process, procedure, technology, etc.? If it is, put a line on this scale based on the significance/breadth of the change. For example, let’s say you are implementing a document scanning system for the first time in all patient access areas. This involves new technology and process education – this is a significant change so place your mark closer to “high” end of the scale. However, if you are changing the dress code policy, even though that can be controversial and cause issues, mark this change on the “low” end of the scale. Again, if this educational need is not related to a change, don’t place a mark on this scale.

Complexity: What is the level of complexity? Ask yourself these questions to help you determine where to place your mark:

• Is it a new concept or issue?
• Is it a unique industry concept or issue?
• Are there many steps that need to be understood?
• Are there terms and expectations that require explanation?
• Have there been other educational activities on this concept or issue in the past?

These are just a few suggestions. Take some time to ponder and come up with your own questions, and determine where your mark should be on the scale. You should have a mark somewhere on this scale.

Quality: Is it a quality issue? If so, ask yourself “do you have quantifiable information that this is a quality issue?” Notice the word “quantifiable.” You may get verbal feedback from a staff member that there’s a “quality” issue, such as there’s been discrepancies noted in patient addresses. This is not enough to make a mark on this scale. You need to take the time to validate the “quantity” or “volume.” That is what you are going to document on this scale – is it “high,” “low” or somewhere in between?

Results

Now that you have all your “marks” on the CCCQ scale, step back and look at the big picture.

• If you have more marks on the “high” end of the scale, this means you should consider a variety of delivery methods and tools as you create the educational activities to support the end result.
• If your marks are on the “low” end of the scale, most likely -
  • One educational tool will meet the need.
  • A large-scale educational initiative is not required. Rather, additional research is needed to identify the individuals that need the education.

Next week, my blog post will talk about “the end game” – making sure we understand the objective of the educational activity and ensuring we stay on target.

Thanks for stopping by and happy training!