Supervisor Snacks

When you walk into a room and see the happy face, you just have to smile! Have you ever noticed how good a smile makes you feel?  Whether you are giving a smile or receiving one - that warmth cheers your soul.  Cultivating good working relationships, personal relationships or simply “passing ships” is easier with a smile.  People gravitate to happy people, people who are carefree and who make others feel good too.  If you are having a bad day, smiling for the benefit of those you come in contact with has a tendency to make you feel better, too. Our nearby convenience store changed hands many years ago.  The same man was at the counter nearly every day.  He worked long hours, spoke English with a heavy accent, and – in the beginning – always had a dour expression on his face.  My first reaction was negative, “How unfriendly!” I thought.  But I smiled at him anyway and thanked him for serving me.  The next time I went in was a repeat of the...

  Nearly two decades ago, Marci Hewlett decided she wasn’t willing to allow negativity to rule in her answering service.   She is the person who developed the 5 C’s of citizenship for our industry – of course, it works for any industry!   And it truly does create a more upbeat, positive atmosphere in which to work. Let’s look at what they are and what they mean. No negativity EVER toward A Caller – Callers, especially upset callers, can be tough to handle.  We need to remember we aren’t walking in their shoes. First they called someone they needed to talk with - but got the answering service.  They may have a sick child, an overflowing toilet, or something worse.  They might get testy – but we can’t, and we can’t call them names after we disconnect the call. A Client – Our clients pay well for our service, we are their employees, and when they feel they are not receiving what they’re paying for, they’re going to tell us.  Sometimes they will co...

What is Empathy exactly and why is it important to our positions as agents in an answering service or call center?  Simply put, empathy is the ability to share in another’s emotions, thoughts, or feelings. In many situations it would be synonymous with the word sympathy, in either case for us, showing empathy or sympathy is aligning your words and actions to those of our caller. It means gentling your voice and showing by your tone that you are sad for them when they call about a death in the family.  It means sounding concerned when someone calls the doctor because their child is running a fever.  It means sharing urgency when the call is about water flooding in from a leak in the apartment above.  And it also means sounding happy when someone calls to say that they won’t be in to work because their wife just had a baby. If we had to describe empathy in only one word, it would be CARING. In this business we try to hire people who care about people right from t...

  In the last issue of the Constellation, we discussed saying “I’m sorry” inappropriately, or excessively, when it is not warranted.   In this issue we are going to talk about NOT saying “I’m sorry” when it IS or might be warranted.   We are discussing OUR industry now and saying “I’m sorry” prematurely can be detrimental to our company. The words “I’m sorry” are seen as an admission of guilt.   And knowing whether we did something incorrectly is not something we can know for sure until we are able to research the incident, whatever it is. In OUR industry (and many others) the appropriate thing to say when someone has a complaint is to show empathy and promise to do something about the problem.   We must be careful NOT to admit guilt because once a client or caller hears, “I’m sorry” they are hearing you admit to being the cause of a problem, and that initial feeling is the one that sticks, even if it is later proven that the service handled everything exactly a...

  The White Rabbit rushes through the classic book by C. S, Lewis, Through the Looking Glass, and worries about   being late.   "The hurrier I go the behinder I get", he says, and it has become a well-used lament for generations.   It’s a good reminder that we need to take our time for good results.   This is especially true when taking messages or overseeing employees in our industry. (Or probably any other.) Have you ever noticed that when you are rushing to take a message you seem to jump around unnecessarily in the message template?  Or that when you are talking with a client, you feel pressure to show how efficient you are, and end up leaving some critical piece of information out of your notes?  Or how about when you receive an email from your own supervisor and rush to answer it as though every nanosecond’s delay counted against you? Here is a good adage to remember.  The more critical a message of response is, the longer you should tak...

Do you apologize automatically? Even when it isn’t necessary?  Some of us say, “I’m sorry,” for things we shouldn’t be sorry about.  In our business saying you are sorry can come across as admitting guilt when wrongdoing has not been established. For instance, an angry caller explains that he left a message for George an hour ago, and he has not received a call back. Do you automatically begin by saying, “I’m sorry…”? That caller hears that you’re sorry and automatically believes that the reason George has not called him is because the answering service has done something wrong.  It is far more likely that George simply hasn’t had time to respond.  A study published in The European Journal of Social Psychology found that when people apologize excessively others see them as less competent, and less confident. If you are in a position of responsibility or authority “I’m sorry.” can be detrimental to your reputation, and your self-image. You feel worse about yoursel...

Imagine you are in a meeting.  Now imagine the presenter saying something you don’t quite understand, or that could be taken one of two ways.  Should you Keep quiet - because you don’t want to look dumb. Mumble to someone beside you that you aren’t sure what that means. Ask the presenter to explain that in more depth, or to clarify the statement for you. It’s OK to not understand something and ask for more information. It’s OK to admit you don’t know what a word means or that you need more information or clarification. What’s NOT OK is to act like you understand every word, when you really don’t.  That presentation may well be the foundation for a project or a new policy, and if you don’t speak up, you won’t understand the importance of the announcement.  AND if YOU don’t understand, others may not either. You aren’t expected to know everything, but you may well be expected to ask about what you don’t know so that you can help your company grow and find...