What impact does your frontliner’s telephone etiquette have on your business?

Telephone Etiquette: What impact does your frontliner’s telephone etiquette have on your business?

Business activities are conducted over the telephone daily. Staff members that are assigned to answering the phones need to be courteous, well-mannered and knowledgeable so that they show professionalism. Practices rely so much on phone interactions that business success depends on it. Top quality customer service begins with the first interaction with the customer. If a phone call is the first interaction, this is going to the patient’s first impression of the practice.The responsibility relies on the business owner to ensure that all staff are trained correctly when answering a phone and have useful patient product information. This will enable the frontliner to be engaged with the patient while talking to them.Before answering the phone, all background noise should be removed, this is important as there should be no distractions while communicating with the other person on the line. There should be rules in place for staff members when answering the phone such as no eating while talking to patients. Apart from that, the frontliner should be prepared to take the call, having a pen and paper on hand to note down information.The information which is usually requested should be readily available such as price lists, medical aid data, email addresses and any other details about the products and services the practice offers. When answering the phone, a script should be given to the frontliner this allows the staff member to know exactly what to say when answering the phone, it also creates consistency with other staff members answering the phone. Being prepared adds confidence when taking a call and saves a lot of time.Business activities are conducted over the telephone daily. Staff members that are assigned to answering the phones need to be courteous, well-mannered and knowledgeable so that they show professionalism. Practices rely so much on phone interactions that business success depends on it. Top quality customer service begins with the first interaction with the customer. If a phone call is the first interaction, this is going to the patient’s first impression of the practice.The responsibility relies on the business owner to ensure that all staff are trained correctly when answering a phone and have useful patient product information. This will enable the frontliner to be engaged with the patient while talking to them.

Before answering the phone, all background noise should be removed, this is important as there should be no distractions while communicating with the other person on the line. There should be rules in place for staff members when answering the phone such as no eating while talking to patients. Apart from that, the frontliner should be prepared to take the call, having a pen and paper on hand to note down information. The information which is usually requested should be readily available such as price lists, medical aid data, email addresses and any other details about the products and services the practice offers. When answering the phone, a script should be given to the frontliner this allows the staff member to know exactly what to say when answering the phone, it also creates consistency with other staff members answering the phone. Being prepared adds confidence when taking a call and saves a lot of time.It is essential that the staff are friendly when talking to the caller, the conversation should not feel rushed. The caller should be able to express their ideas and thoughts. A patient who calls in with a complaint should never be interrupted. At times this can be difficult, but staff need to be trained to listen to the whole problem, no matter how long it takes. Listening to the entire story is essential as the patient feels taken care of; improving patient satisfaction.Sometimes staff cannot assist the patient with their query, and the call needs to be transferred. When transferred it is vital to know that the request is directed to the right person and that they have the skills and knowledge to help the patient. If someone must be put on hold, ask for permission first and give him or her option to leave a message, also when taking the caller off hold, thank the caller for their time. Always return calls as promised, if a time frame was given the frontliner must make every attempt to return the phone call as quickly as possible.A call should be answered before the third ring, the caller needs to feel important. At all cost, the tendency of not answering a call should be avoided, this is very rude to patients and business can be turned away to a competitor.Providing customer service over the phone can be very challenging but applying best practices can help provide better service that will benefit the practice. Investing time to train staff proper phone skills is one of the best decisions to make as it will lead to positive patient reviews which ultimately leads to the retention of patients.

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