You're listening to Business English Pod, the Business English podcast for professionals on the move.
Hello and welcome back to Business English Pod.
My name's Edwin and I'll be your host for this episode on controlling a telephone call.
The telephone has become an essential part of doing business, and not just for customer service representatives and receptionists.
No matter what type of work you do, chances are you spend a part of every day talking on the phone.
It might be a simple information exchange or a high-stakes negotiation, but even though we all talk on the phone, we don't all do it with the same success.
But there are skills and techniques you can learn to become more effective.
One of the most important telephone skills is controlling the call.
You need to be able to take the conversation where you want it to go.
This can be difficult when the other person has a lot to say, but you can learn to direct the conversation and keep it focused.
In this lesson, we'll hear a conversation between Mary and Oliver.
Oliver works in customer service for an internet service provider and Mary is calling about a problem she's having with her internet connection.
We'll hear Oliver carefully control the conversation and guide it to a logical conclusion.
As you listen, try to answer the following questions.
1.
What is the customer problem?
2.
What information does Oliver want from the customer?
3.
What options does Oliver give the customer?
Hello, customer service.
This is Oliver.
How can I help you today?
Oh, hi.
So, yes, I've been having a lot of problems with my internet lately.
I mean, the connection keeps cutting in and out, and always at the worst time, just when I'm sending an email or uploading something important.
Right, right, I see.
That's not good.
Yeah, tell me about it.
I really thought you guys would be more reliable than my last provider.
I have to say I'm a bit surprised that these problems persist.
I really rely on the internet for my business and this is really starting to.
Yes, I can see why that would be a bother.
But could we just back up for a minute?
I'd like to get some information from you and then see what we can do.
For starters, could you let me have your phone number and the name on the account?
Yes, it's 5956422, Mary Walsh.
OK.
Let me just get into your account here.
You said the internet cuts in and out?
Yes, it happens all the time.
I get a not responding message or it'll say uploading, but nothing will happen.
Drives me nuts.
I know exactly how you feel.
So, we really need to figure out the root of the problem.
I can't see that we've had any service interruptions in your area.
And there's been no other issues reported.
OK, but that doesn't really help me.
No, of course not.
I'm just going through a process of elimination here.
We need to make sure your service gets back to normal and quickly.
Now, I can get a field tech out to your place first thing tomorrow.
Or I can transfer you over to our tech support and they can walk you through some things, in case it's a faulty modem.
OK.
Well, I guess I can start by talking to the tech people.
Super.
Let me just put you through.
Now let's go through the dialogue again and talk about the techniques that Oliver uses to control the call.
We'll start with Mary describing her problem.
Oh, hi.
So yes, I've been having a lot of problems with my internet lately.
I mean, the connection keeps cutting in and out, and always at the worst time, just when I'm sending an email or uploading something important.
Right, right, I see.
That's not good.
Mary begins by stating that she has problems with her internet, which cuts in and out.
In other words, her connection fails from time to time.
She emphasizes the fact that this seems to happen when she's doing something important.
Oliver needs to show that he's listening to the caller.
He does this with expressions like right and I see.
These expressions simply confirm for Mary that Oliver has heard what she's saying.
Let's listen to some more phrases that you can use to show a caller you're listening.
Yes, I see what you're saying.
Okay, I've got you so far.
I see.
And what happened next?
Is that right?
Now, listen as Mary continues.
Yeah, tell me about it.
I really thought you guys would be more reliable than my last provider.
I have to say, I'm a bit surprised that these problems persist.
I really rely on the internet for my business and this is really starting to.
Mary uses the expression tell me about it to agree with Oliver's last statement.
That's not good.
She then continues to express her frustration with her internet problems.
She is surprised that such problems continue or persist.
It sounds as though Mary will continue expressing her frustration.
So Oliver cuts in.
Yes, I can see why that would be a bother.
But could we just back up for a minute?
I'd like to get some information from you and then see what we can do.
For starters, could you let me have your phone number and the name on the account?
Oliver shows understanding and then asks Mary to back up, which means return to an earlier idea.
He wants to focus the conversation rather than just listen to Mary complain.
So he says exactly what he'd like to do, which is get some information and then figure out what can be done.
He uses the expression for starters to introduce the first step in his process, which is getting a name and a phone number.
By focusing the caller in this way, Oliver is controlling the conversation.
How else can we focus the caller on one issue?
Let's go back to your main concern here and deal with that first.
Okay, I'd like to figure out exactly what the problem is before we go on.
Let's just concentrate on price for now.
Then we can talk about the other issues.
Those are all good points, but i want to zoom in on your first idea.
Let's hear what happens next.
Yes, it's 595-6422, Mary Walsh.
OK.
Let me just get into your account here.
You said the internet cuts in and out.
Mary responds by giving Oliver exactly the information he needs to access her account.
But while he calls up her account information on the computer, he doesn't want to let the conversation die.
So he buys time, or keeps things moving, while he does something else.
To do this, he restates Mary's problem as a question.
This is a simple way of confirming that something has already been said.
He doesn't want to introduce a completely new topic.
Just get himself enough time to do what he needs to do on the computer.
In these examples, you can hear how the person is trying to buy some time.
Let me think.
What did you say you've tried already?
I see.
So this is pretty frustrating for everyone, huh?
Any idea why this happened?
Now, let's get back to the dialogue.
Yes, it happens all the time.
I get a not responding message or it'll say uploading, but nothing will happen.
Drives me nuts.
I know exactly how you feel.
So, we really need to figure out the root of the problem.
I can't see that we've had any service interruptions in your area and there's been no other issues reported.
Mary gives a bit more detail about her internet troubles, which drive her nuts.
This is what we say about something that really bothers us.
Mary is clearly frustrated about the issue.
Oliver can't just ignore Mary's feelings.
He needs to pay attention to it before moving the conversation forward.
And the best kind of attention you can give someone is empathy, which means showing that we feel the same thing as the other person.
It is a very effective way of building good rapport with people and it helps transition to a new topic without making the other person feel that we don't understand their problem.
To do this, Oliver says he knows exactly how Mary feels.
Only then does he say that they really need to figure out the root of the problem.
In these examples, you can also hear how the speaker shows empathy before moving on.
I've been in that situation myself.
It's really tough.
Now your next concern is... Yes, I understand what you mean.
So what are we going to do about this?
Oh my gosh, that is troubling.
And if I can just ask you a couple of questions.
I know exactly how frustrating that is.
Now let's have a look at some next steps.
As Oliver is trying to figure out the root of the problem.
He mentions that there have been no other reported problems in Mary's area.
How does Mary respond to this?
OK, but that doesn't really help me.
No, of course not.
I'm just going through a process of elimination here.
We need to make sure your service gets back to normal and quickly.
Now I can get a field tech out to your place first thing tomorrow.
Or I can transfer you over to our tech support and they can walk you through some things, in case it's a faulty modem.
Mary doesn't understand why Oliver is talking about other problems in the area, but he explains that he's going through a process of elimination.
That is, he's trying to figure out what is not the problem, so that he can figure out what is the problem.
Mary seems a bit frustrated, but Oliver maintains control of the call.
His next technique is to present options.
Mary basically has a choice between two possible solutions to her problem.
She can talk to someone in tech support or wait for a visit from a field tech.
Providing options is a useful technique because people like to have choice.
Listen in these examples as a speaker offers a limited number of choices.
Well, there are two things we can do here.
Let me give you a couple of choices.
First, you could return the item.
We can either courier the package over or you can pick it up here.
I see three possible ways we could go here.
One, you could lease the vehicle.
Two, you could... So how does the conversation end?
OK, well, I guess I can start by talking to the tech people.
Super.
Let me just put you through.
Mary takes one of the options offered by Oliver and he says that he'll put her through, which means transfer her call to someone else.
Oliver has successfully controlled the call in a situation that could have been difficult or unpredictable.
Now, let's practice some of the language we've learned today.
Imagine you are talking on the phone with a customer who has a complaint.
You need to respond to the caller using appropriate language from today's lesson.
That means you'll have to show that you're listening.
Focus on the caller, empathize, and give the caller options.
We'll play an example answer after each practice.
Let's start by showing that you're listening to the caller.
Here's the caller.
The images on the document are really blurred.
They're kind of fuzzy around the edges and Okay.
See.
Saying.
Answer.
Okay.
I see what you're saying.
Now focus on the problem.
This is the third time this has happened to us and it's getting expensive.
Answer.
Well, let's talk about the problems with those documents.
Next, empathise with the caller and move the conversation on.
Right.
Well, if those images aren't clear, it's going to make a really bad impression.
I see frustrating.
Try, fix answer.
Yes, I see that must be frustrating.
Now let's try to fix it finally give the caller some options.
I'm not sure what we can do.
Try reprint, find new images.
Well, we can either try to reprint the documents or find new images.
Now, let's practice useful vocabulary and idioms.
You'll hear a series of sentences with a word replaced with a beep.
Repeat the whole sentence, saying the missing word.
For example, if you hear... Well, I have to... This is the best meeting we've had.
You can say... Well, I have to say... This is the best meeting we've had.
We'll play the correct answer after each question.
Let's begin.
Answer.
This rain is really driving me nuts.
We decided on the best solution through a process of Answer.
We decided on the best solution through a process of elimination.
Answer.
Please wait while I put you through to the customer service department.
Tech support tried for hours to get to the root of the Answer.
Tech support tried for hours to get to the root of the problem.
We've reached the end of this episode, the first in our two-part series about controlling a telephone call.
We've learned how to show that you're listening focus the caller and buy time.
We've also heard how to empathize before moving on and present options.
Be sure to listen to the next episode when we'll learn how to control another type of call.
Thanks for listening and see you next time.
