End Call

Have you ever been hung up on?  What do you do when a customer hangs up on you?

Being in Customer Service & Sales for the last 10+ years, I’ve had my share of people hanging up on me.  Over time I’ve learned the art of the “Call Back”.  I’ve integrated this into my customer service training after perfecting it on the phones.

Is the customer not getting their way?  Is the conversation too heated?  Is this a way for the customer to show dominance over the phone call?

Most people I’ve talked with assume that at this point, you’ve lost the customer or the ruined any opportunity to salvage the situation.

NOT TRUE!

But you do need to be careful moving forward.  Let me introduce “the Chaser”.  Follow the steps below for the best chance of success:

The Chaser

1. Check your ego at the door

Mahan Khalsa describes this concept very well in Let’s Get Real or Let’s Not Play. “…our ego is focused on gettting our needs met…it interferes with clear, objective thinking…[and] our ego can blur the focus”

More likely than not, our ego is what got us in this situation in the first place.  If not checked at the door, this next conversation will end up worse than before.  We must avoid taking offense to what has been said and the audacity of the hang up.  Only then will this tactic work.  If you are unable to do this, STOP!  Leave this technique to more experienced reps who can control their ego and can realize the benefits of this tactic.

2. Call back within 10-30 seconds

Timing is everything.  When you take a shot & chase it with a better tasting drink, you do it immediately so you can avoid the bad taste.  If you don’t execute this chaser immediately, the customer will lose the taste for the situation and give up, closing all windows of opportunity to save the situation.  This means you need to think fast, check your ego immediately, and be ready to roll with anything.

3. Reset, move toward your goal

Now that the phone is ringing, make sure you’re ready to insert yourself quickly in order to reset the situation and start off on the right foot.  Here are a few ice breakers that have worked well for me:

“Hi ___.  Sorry, I think we were disconnected.  I wanted to make sure we finished resolving this.”

“Hi ___.  We were getting a little heated there.  Lets start over.  {restate the issue}”

“Hi ___.  I didn’t mean for that call to get so crazy.  Let’s get down to brass tax.”

In every situation you are demonstrating confidence in resolving this situation and it sets you up for your resolution pitch.  Time to close the deal.

In my experience, though scary, these call backs usually end up with a much better resolution than a customer leaving on a bad note.  With the proper customer service training, you can execute this to perfection.  At the very least, you are able to ensure they leave the situation with a brighter or more acceptable taste in their mouth.  At the very best, you salvage the relationship and continue serving a loyal customer.