CHAPTER 16
ASKING QUESTIONS
Callers don’t know what you need to know until you tell them.
Simple? Maybe. Of the way we communicate day-to-day, 55 percent (the nonverbal part) is missing in telephone conversations. So, you just about have to be Sherlock Holmes to ferret out and follow up on the important clues you do get about what customers want and need, and about the way they feel. It can be a tough job!
In telephone conversations, you will use three types of questions:
- Background questions
- Probing questions
- Confirming questions
Background questions are those that help you direct a caller to the proper person or department, or that allow you to pull up a customer’s profile or account. Probing questions help you delve into a customer problem ...
Get Great Customer Service on the Telephone now with the O’Reilly learning platform.
O’Reilly members experience books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.
