Question

1-Explain the difference between hearing and listening.

2-How can our listening capacity be overburdened, and thus made less effective?

3-What do we mean by the "use of gatekeepers?" Why is this a potential problem in customer service?

4-Describe four positive steps to better listening discussed in the chapter.

5-What are the two most common challenges to telephone use effectiveness that can negate the benefits of such customer communication?

6-What are the three vocal qualities that must be varied to create interest and hold listener attention?

7- What four things can you do to tactfully close a phone conversation?

8-Summarize the advantages to a company of having "call centers" rather than having any employee handle phone calls.

Answer 1

1.Basic differences between hearing and listening.

BASIS FOR COMPARISON	HEARING	LISTENING
Meaning	Hearing refers to one's ability to perceive sounds, by receiving vibrations through ears.	Listening is something done consciously, that involve the analysis and understanding of the sounds you hear.
What is it?	An ability	A skill
Nature	Primary and continuous	Secondary and temporary
Act	Physiological	Psychological
Involves	Receipt of message through ears.	Interpretation of the message received by ears.
Process	Passive bodily process	Active mental process
Occurs at	Subconscious level	Conscious level
Use of senses	Only one	More than one
Reason	We are neither aware nor we have any control over the sounds we hear.	We listen to acquire knowledge and receive information.
Concentration	Not required	Required

2. How can listening capacity be overburdened and thus made less effective

Well, at some point (varies for everyone), ur brain can’t encode any more information without storing the previous ones, and it takes time. So cramming ur brain with information in such a short time doesn’t help. This is when your listening capacity is overburdened, therefore some times sitting in long lectures drain our system and we are not able to grab the information at some point this is when we only hear and don't listen.

3.Gatekeepers and how they can be a potential problem in customer service.

• Gatekeepers are people or policies that act as a go-between, controlling access from one point to another. They may refuse, control, or delay access to services. Alternatively, they may also be used to oversee how work is being done and whether it meets certain standards.
• Gatekeepers are the people who preview incoming information and decide if we need it or not. Gatekeeping can be a problem for service when customer messages are blocked or when the customer must convey messages through several people and those messages get distorted.

4.Four steps to listen better and effectively are-:

Step 1: Ask thought-provoking questions.
Never interrogate your listener or ask leading questions to get the response you think you want. Instead, ask open-ended questions that provide clarity and encourage the other person to share more with you. Your questions should reflect that you care about helping the other person come to a new understanding of the situation or problem facing them.
Thought-provoking questions often start with phrases like:

• What do you think cause
• Why do you think
• How did you feel when
• How would you feel if
• What do you think about it
• What would you do if
• What if you could
• What if you had to

These kinds of questions invite listeners to look at their situation from another point of view, to think about how different circumstances might alter their business or the choices they make, and to consider how the situation is impacting their feelings or personal aspirations.

Step 2: While the other person is responding, give them your full attention.
Part of what sometimes makes it so hard to be present and give people your full attention is that people can actually think about four times faster than they can talk.So while you’re listening to someone else talk, your brain is already working through how it wants to respond. That can make it very difficult to be open and present at the moment. It requires a deliberate focus.

What can you do to not only improve your focus but also show the other person that you’re paying attention?

• Make good eye contact.
• Keep your body language open.
• Clear away distractions, e.g., laptop, phone, coffee.

Not only will doing these things make it easier for you to focus, but they also convey respect and attentiveness to the other person.

Step 3: Show interest in what the other person has said.
First, acknowledge what the other person has said. This doesn’t mean nodding your head, saying uh-huh or “I understand.” It means reflecting back your understanding of their situation or perspective.

Acknowledgment often starts with phrases like:

• If I understand you correctly
• Sounds like
• You’re saying that

Second, show interest in learning more or understanding better. Do this by asking a clarifying question or making a comment that builds on what the other person has said.

Step 4: Link your next question or comment on something you heard them say previously.
Transitions are all about summarizing what you’ve heard and then linking what you’ve heard to your next question or suggested the next step.

5.Twoccommon challenges to telephone use effectiveness that can negate the benefits of customer communication.

Two challenges are:
• Some employees are unaware of basic telephone use professionalism necessary to convey a good business image
• People cannot see the person they are dealing with, thus eliminating visual cues that may clarify

6.Vocal qualities that must be varied to create interest and hold attention.

• The basic vocal variations are rate , volume, pitch, and pronunciation.
• Try to engage the audience by narrating a story through which they can feel connected to you.
• Volume is the perceived loudness of the speaker. Loudness is what the audience actually perceives and it correlates with the physical strength (amplitude).
• When speaking naturally without any amplification, you need to keep in mind the distance to be covered by your voice and adjust sound production accordingly.
• In large rooms or when using videoconferencing equipment, you use a microphone to convert sound into electrical signals for amplification.
• You can vary the rate depending of the emotions you are feeling or the type of message you are communicating. If you are experiencing joy, you will speak at a fast rate compared to a speaker who is expressing surprise who will speak at a much faster rate.
• When speaking you want to speak at a varied rate so that you can emphasize important parts of your message.

7.Tricks to smoothly end a call

Here are five tricks for getting off the phone, politely, professionally and without resorting to faking the bad phone line.

1. Say "Thank You"

Thanking your caller is a great prelude to saying goodbye. It is an effective social queue for closing a conversation. Simple psychology: people like to be validated.

A “thank you closing” allows you to respectfully validate that their time and input, but also indicate that the dialog is now complete.

Find the phrasing that works best for your situation. Here are a few examples:

A Customer, co-worker, your boss:

• “Thank you for taking the time to talk to me. I really appreciate the feedback/input.”
• ”Thank you for following up/the input on this issue, I’ll get back to you as soon as I have an update/more information/etc.”

2. The Follow Up Method: “Let me get back to you…”

There are many situations where the topic of conversation just isn’t going to be resolved in one sitting. Suggesting a resolution or solution and give yourself an escape route so you can solve the problem and perhaps your sanity.

Be direct, let the caller know the action you’re taking and tell them how you intend to follow up with them (i.e. another call, an email, etc). Setting a time/date for follow-up can help transition the conversation to goodbye.

3. Let the Clock Talk

It’s not rude to observe the time. It is a constant in our busy lives to be mindful of the clock ticking away. Politely mention the time already spent on the phone or the impending real lifetime constraint.

“Oh, we’ve been talking 45 minutes already! I really need to get back to work.”

“It’s 4:45. I need to finish this report.”

4. Keep It Short and Sweet

Some callers will not appreciate sugar-coated responses or will only dig if additional information is given. Take the example above,“… I really need to get ready for dinner.” This additional information can be used as a lead into a new discussion if the call isn’t closed quickly enough or the caller is particularly determined.

Sometimes you have to just get to the point without apology or excuses:

“I must run/go/hang up. Great talking to you, goodbye.”

5. Stop the Conversation Before It Starts

If you know you have a long-winded caller on the line and you truly do not have the time or the patience to deal with them in a polite manner: let the call go to voicemail or answering machine. Call them back when you are ready.

If the caller is truly unwelcome and has bypassed your caller-ID: Hang up the phone.

8.Advantages of having "call centers"

a.Improves call quality during peak hours

Having a staff of excellently trained and knowledgeable off-premise call center agents that can handle calls within a moment’s notice can significantly improve service quality during peak hours. Overflow calls can be routed to them, reducing wait times and customer frustration. Additionally, both your in-house agents as well as your outsourced agents won’t feel rushed when talking with customers during peak hours as they know there are plenty of qualified agents to field all of the calls that come in. This will dramatically improve the quality of customer service and decrease wait times during peak hours.

b. Decrease call abandonment

When you contract out your overflow calls to an external service provider, long wait times and high caller abandonment rates will be a thing of the past. Every call will be answered in a timely fashion and your customers will love the expedited service. Never again let a customer slip through the cracks or lose them to long wait times.

c. Increase service levels

If the service level is a metric you are looking to improve, co-sourcing your call center workforce may be the solution you need. When call volume increases and service level is declining, you can outsource the overflow calls to contracted agents. This will decrease wait time and increase service level.

d. Ensure business continuity

Hiring an external service provider to handle calls when your call center software goes down, in the event of a disaster or emergency and your in-house agents can’t make it into the office, when there is a power outage or when your computers go down can be a cost-effective solution to ensure business continuity. Never again lose a call due to factors that are beyond your control or that you didn’t anticipate.

e. Increase customer satisfaction

When you co-source your call center workforce, your agents will be able to more effectively handle peak call volume and can spend more time meeting the customer’s needs. You will also lose fewer customers to call abandonment due to long waiting queues and declining service levels. Shorter wait times and better customer service translates into more satisfied customers.