Creating an exceptional customer experience starts from the first contact your customers have with your dealership. Often, this first contact is an inbound phone call to your agents. To meet and exceed customers’ expectations for exceptional service, you must optimize your phone support for communication that earns your customers’ trust and establishes a relationship that leads to more business. Empower your staff to provide stellar phone support with these tips!

Tips for Stellar Phone Support

1. Smile! Even though the customer can’t see you, smiling shines through the phone in your voice to assure your customer that you’re more than happy and willing to assist them in whatever they may need.
2. Build a rapport by showing genuine interest in the customer’s concern or situation. Ask questions, listen intently, and mirror the customer’s intensity level of frustration or emotion with your intensity level of service to them.
3. Establish a shared goal by expressing empathy to show you’re there with them in finding a solution to their concern or situation in a timely manner.
4. Be honest. Guessing or making up an answer is detrimental to your goal of growing long-lasting relationships with your customers. Transparency will go a long way to ensure exceptional phone support—when you need to redirect them, your customers will appreciate your efforts to find someone who can assist them fully.

Call Scripts for Phone Support

Warm, professional greetings include asking the customer how they prefer to be addressed and making an effort to pronounce their name correctly. Courtesy and enthusiasm are very effective in defusing most heated callers. Here’s a typical greeting:

• Good morning/afternoon/evening, thank you for calling [Dealership Name]. This is [Agent’s Name], how may I be of service to you today?

When a customer needs to be transferred to another department or employee, it’s best practice to avoid a “blind transfer”—transferring the customer without an introduction. Here’s how to handle a transfer that ensures everyone has the information they need to wow the customer:

• [Customer Name], may I place you on hold as I transfer you to [Department/Employee Name]?
• Allow the customer to respond fully.
• And may I get/confirm your phone number in case I lose you, so I may call you back immediately?
• Contact the receiving employee and inform them who you are transferring and why. This allows the receiving employee to provide a stellar customer experience by using the customer’s name and confirming the reason for the call, preventing the customer the added frustration of having to reexplain the reason for their call.
• [Department/Employee Name], I’m transferring [Customer Name]. She/he would like to speak to you regarding [issue/concern]. I will now complete the transfer and [Customer Name] will be on the line.

Often, you’ll need to place the customer on hold. To prevent customers feeling they’ve been forgotten or disconnected, here’s a method to help smooth the process:

• [Customer Name], may I place you on hold?
• Allow the customer to respond fully. Thank you, [Customer Name].
• When you reconnect: [Customer Name]? This is [Agent’s Name], thank you for holding.
• Never allow a call to remain on hold or muted for longer than one minute without reconnecting to inform them of your progress toward their goal.
• [Customer Name]? This is [Agent’s Name], thank you for holding. I’m still working on [issue] and it should be no longer than a few more minutes. Can you continue to hold?
• If the customer refuses: I certainly understand, [Customer Name]. Would it be acceptable to you if I call you back within the next 30 minutes regarding [issue/concern]?

Ending the call warmly and professionally is just as important as the greeting. Leave customers with the impression that your dealership truly cares about their needs and is there to provide the service they deserve. Close out calls with this approach:

• [Customer Name], have I addressed all your questions and needs?
• And do you feel comfortable with what we’ve discussed?
• Is there anything else I may assist you with today?
• [Customer Name], please don’t hesitate to reach out to us at any time if we can be of assistance to you.
• Thank you for calling [Dealership Name] and I hope you have a wonderful day!

Transform your phone agents into prime representatives of your dealership with these tips for stellar phone support and ensure your customers always receive a top-notch experience. For more information, please reach out to your Performance Manager.