Smiling. It’s a pretty simply concept. We’re all used to it. It’s nothing special, right? Well, just ask any photographer and he/she will tell you that it’s integral to a good day’s work. Getting subjects to showcase their pearly whites in front of a camera is a huge part of any photographer’s job. Smiling also happens to be an integral part of a phone agent’s job. While no cameras may be on someone in this line of work, showcasing pearly whites is every bit as important!
Did you know that a smile can be “heard” through the phone? This wouldn’t be the first time we’ve touched upon this concept – and we doubt it will be the last. And that’s because it’s a concept we live by. In his days as an office manager for a variety of call centre-based organizations, MeloTel’s Founder and CEO, John Meloche would often impart to his team the extreme importance of smiling while on the phone.
“It’s just like a cold, it’s contagious,” John would tell his phone staff. And that’s because smiling while talking changes the tone of one’s speech. A person simply can’t help but brighten up his/her demeanour when a smile is on his/her face. And, as any call centre manager knows, having friendly members of a phone staff is integral to the success of the company. After all, customer service must always be a priority.
How can you help your phone agents to smile more? Never forget the fact that your phone agents are people. They all have feelings. And smiling is made a lot easier when they’re actually happy. Be sure to start each morning with a meeting that involves all of the members of your staff. As far as John was concerned, this was job number one during his office manager days. Each day, his morning meetings would be full of jokes and anecdotes.
Believing that smiles were contagious, John would go to great lengths to ensure that his phone reps were smiling first thing each morning. In fact, it’s something he still does for the MeloTel staff. Of course, you also want to make sure that your office is comprised of individuals who are the smiling type. Be sure to be selective during your hiring process. Placing one’s friendliness at the top of your list of requests is an important part of running a well-liked business.
How will the contagiousness of smiles benefit your company? If your phone agents are smiling during the conversations with your clients, chances are those clients will be smiling too. Happy customers don’t just support the companies that make them happy, they recommend them to others too. And there’s no better type of advertising than word-of-mouth promotion.
At MeloTel, we believe that a phone system is only as good as the phone agent that’s using it. However, there’s no sense in using a phone system that isn’t at the top of its class. MeloTel’s VoIP-based Commercial Phone Services not only come with a long list of incredible features, but also provide FREE phones for the length of time that you are a MeloTel customer. We figure that might make you smile!
For more information, please don’t hesitate to contact us at 1-888-MELOTEL or use the Live Chat feature on our website!