twelve solutions

Last month we looked at Attitude and its effect on customer service. This month we shift our focus to POSTURE and its effect on our productivity as CSR’s.

A sight we see very often at call centres, and always feel uncomfortable with is agents slouched in their seats and moving around the office in flip flops and generally giving off the impression of “since the customer can’t see me it doesn’t really matter”.

However, one factor we often forget to consider is that our body language can say more than words. Research has shown that over 55% of what we learn from others comes from their body language. It is often not what you articulate but how it is presented. What you wear and how you express yourself has a lot to do with how what you say is received. Your body posture can show if you have an attitude or are overbearing or if you are interested in listening to what the other party has to say.

The following tips apply to our non verbal communication:

Smiling – facial expressions sets a positive tone before you even begin speaking. Nothing beats a smiling and relaxed face welcoming a customer. This can immediately disarm a disgruntled customer. It is rather hard to smile at a customer and have him or her still come at you with a lot of anger.

Your Posture – how you sit or stand affects your vocal cords and ultimately your speech. Customers hear you speak and can decipher if you’re ready to help or not. If you slouch and speak, your voice may sound muffled and the customer may translate that to mean tiredness. Not maintaining good posture and adequate back support can also add strain to muscles and put stress on the spine. All of these can be major contributors to back and neck pain, as well as headaches, fatigue, and possibly even concerns with major organs and breathing.

How you look - personal grooming has a big impact on how you feel, sound and how your customers see or hear you.

So let’s make an effort to dress appropriately, sit or stand upright, speak professionally and really be ready to help.

As we already know, we never have the opportunity to change the customer’s first impression and it may just be the deciding factor between choosing you or your competition.