Contact greeting and validation

- We've all had an experience contacting a company for assistance. Where the technician was rude, seemed unwilling to help and had no idea who you were or why you were even calling. How did that make you feel? And how do you feel about that company and their products? Creating a positive experience for our customers is part of our responsibility as service desk technicians. Successful service desks focus on processes and providing a quality customer experience. So let's look at how we can create an experience that makes our customers feel valued and processes that ensure consistency. There are core customer service components that create the foundation for successful customer interaction. These components create and set the tone for the contact. From a process perspective, these components may be carried out differently across various organizations. What we will cover in this chapter, is the importance and purpose of each. The core components we will cover include, the greeting and validation, investigation and diagnosis, resolution, and closure. So let's get started with the first component. The greeting and validation. The greeting and validation step is important because it sets the tone for the entire contact. Think of it this way, it's like the introduction into the service desk, and it sets the stage for a positive interaction. The purpose of the greeting is to gather and validate important customer information. Validating this information is vital to meeting security guidelines, legal or even organizational requirements. The security guidelines that establish the content for the contact greeting can vary across organizations. It could include gathering information such as a customer ID number, a social security number, or an employee ID. You know, it really just depends on the type of contact and the type of center. Creating the right tone for the contact is an important part of setting the stage for success. Our customers want to feel like we are ready and eager and actually willing to assist them. And it's not just about the words that we use, it's also about the tone. Our tone of voice is key to creating a positive interaction. We want to sound positive and upbeat. Not like we are bothered and unwilling to assist. So let's look at examples for how to properly and improperly perform the greeting and validation. - Thank you for contacting ABC service desk, this is Anice, may I have your member ID number please? (keyboard typing) Thank you, how may I assist you today? - In this example, our technician used a happy and helpful tone and expressed an actual willingness to assist the customer. - Help desk. - In this example you can hear a tone that obviously doesn't sound helpful at all. There's no real expression of willingness to assist. Nor does it follow any type of process. The customer does not even know where they've called, and they haven't been asked any questions to validate information. So the greeting and validation step offers us the opportunity to greet the customer and provide the right atmosphere for our customer interaction. It also allows us to verify and validate that important security information. This information allows us to fulfill company, organizational, and legal requirements. Let's start completing our action plan by writing in the greeting and validation for your desk. Now, if your desk currently doesn't have a greeting and validation process, you and your organization can utilize the resources we're learning here to create a greeting and validation that fits. Remember, your greeting should be positive. It should be helpful, it should identify where the customer has called and who is going to help them. By using a consistent greeting, you set the stage for a positive interaction.