Barb Roberts is concierge at the Grand America hotel in Salt Lake City, Utah and was recently accepted to as a member of the Les Clef d'Or (pronounced lay-clay-door) International Concierge Society. This honor places her among the best concierges in the world.
As concierge it is her job to serve the guests by finding items needed, make reservations, give ideas to guests, or basically find a solution to unusual problems and requests that guests may have. Her customer service orientation is second to none. She loves the challenges presented and is very, very good at her job.
As call centers we employ customer service agents to basically act as concierge for our customers. But do we instill in our agents the same mission and desire to accept whatever challenge may come next and work hard at solving that problem for the customer?
Too often the contact center job is repetitive and the average agent doesn't see the next caller as another chance to serve, but rather as just another call. Here are some ideas for helping your agents see themselves as concierge for the customer and not just a call center agent:
1. Allow agents to share stories about calls they have taken and how they solved them.
Everyone loves a good story. And believe me, agents have them. Stories about famous customers, or that request that was so bizarre or off the wall. Agents love to brag about what they have done and the unique ways they have solved problems, or unique problems they have solved. Let them share. When given a chance they will try to mimic the great service that others have talked about.
2. Create an elite agent status that is awarded to agents who exemplify the concierge attitude.
When monitoring calls, or reviewing recorded calls, there will occasionally be that one example when an agent was at the top of their game. When you stumble across it, call it out and recognize it. It could be something as simple as a recognition on the bulletin board in the break room or as elaborate as a tangible reward such as a trophy. Either way, when we see elite service, recognize it so that it will be seen and repeated.
3. Teach your agents how to be concierge.
Many agents don't know what their boundaries are when it comes to serving customers. A concierge is good at their job because they act as though they don't have boundaries to service the customer. Of course there are boundaries, but when you sit down and teach your agents what they can't do, then they tend to venture out very little. But when you teach your agents of interesting and creative things that they CAN do to service the customers, you will find that they will do a great job of applying their knowledge and exploring the boundaries of what they can do instead of being scared to go out of bounds.
What do you do in your center to build up a concierge attitude and service your customers better?
