Smiling somehow magically purports the tone of your voice in a positive manner which allows the perception on the other end of the phone to be positive as well. It works. On that note, you don't have to smile constantly, but only when you need that positive vibe. The beginning of the call to start the conversation off right, various points in the middle, and the end of the call to leave the customer with that positive vibe. Between smiles, a conversational tone will show them that you are including them. Working together with the customer ensures the fastest possible solution.
Disclaimer: I'm a big fan of the conversational tone. Other tones like the super duper professional tone gives the air that you are working for them which is good. The dictator tone says your a professional, and you know what you're talking about (But that can easily be substituted with confidence.) The laughing and joking tone gives them an experience. And so on and so forth. But I like conversation and inclusion.
When you're chatting with a friend, you're being conversational. That's the tone that's needed. I remember when I was 14 or so, I had the game Zelda, Ocarina of Time, and there was a couple of rumors floating around the interwebs of hidden cookies / Achievements. One had to do with fishing, and lures. The other one I can't remember. This was before the days of gamefaqs, walkthroughs, and internet support. It was all still in magazines, and books. So what did I do? I called Nintendo, and got bounced around the various queues or people for an hour or so until I ended up calling some guy. I got the impression that he worked in an office, and wasn't customer service or anything like that. But he helped me, and kept me on the phone while he looked through the various manuals of the game. While he did so, he talked to me like a person. One internet rumor confirmed, and instructions on how to get it given, and the other debunked. It was a positive experience.
I know I always say "Talk Slowly", but I don't mean talk like a stoner. I speak pretty fast. What I mean is speak a notch or two slower than the person you're speaking to. The main objective is to be understood the first time, and to never repeat yourself. It gives the person your speaking to time to digest what you're saying as well. The urge to speak slightly faster than who you're talking with in order to hurry them on is a natural instinct. Especially when trying to get the fastest calls possible. But then the job is done sub par, and will usually end up being longer when you have to repeat yourself.
Customer Speak VS Shop Talk
If a plug in is slightly larger with VAC Notifications, it's called a Transformer. Transformers are also in the fuse box, and various other things controlling the amount of electricity for various things. In my office, the plug in is a transformer. When I'm talking to customers, I call it a plug in as it plugs into a power outlet. I call an invoice an invoice, but say billing statement or bill to a customer. There are always hundreds of little things like these in any job. Customer's don't speak shop, nor do they understand the difference between various things shop related. Learning customer speak vs shoptalk, and being conversational when speaking both is definitely a step up.
For example.
"Hi Ma'am, there are some charges that shouldn't be there, and I just need to get an authorization to remove them. Would you mind holding on for a moment? Thanks."
"Hey Rob, the HVAC double billed, and charged the wrong taxes again. Would you mind? Thanks."
"Thank you for holding. OK, so I've removed a double charge that was a computer error. Sorry about that. The taxes you were charged were for Florida, so I've removed those, and charged the tax rate and fees for Kentucky. The difference is ----, and the amount you owe is X. We're fixing that problem now, and it shouldn't be a problem in the future."
And there you have it. Customer Speak vs Shop Talk. Speaking a common language the customer can understand while being efficient when dealing with co-workers.
It's especially important when dealing with contracts, and policies. If you explain a policy in shop talk, that's not going to appease anyone. I don't want to sound demeaning or anything, but it's like explaining something to a child. You just have to speak their language within their vocabulary. Easy Peasy.
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