Tanisha Coleman wants customers to hear her smile when she answers the phone.
The Troy, MI, customer care agent responds to dozens of calls each day, including customers inquiring about package deliveries.
“I try to empathize with the customer and tell them I’m a customer of the Postal Service, too. By showing empathy and becoming relatable, I can get the customer to relax,” she says.
USPS wants all employees to follow this approach. By providing customers with excellent experiences, the organization aims to increase loyalty and grow revenue.
To help colleagues who serve customers on the phone, Coleman offers the following tips:
• Listen carefully. Allow the customer to express his or her concern and don’t respond too quickly. Ask questions and repeat the information back to the caller to make sure you heard everything correctly.
• Keep it professional. Let the customer know you will do everything you can to provide a resolution to his or her problem, but never discuss internal issues with him or her.
• Express your appreciation. Thank the caller for bringing the issue to your attention, and tell him or her that USPS appreciates their business. “Customers matter. Let them know it,” Coleman says.
It’s also important to be friendly to each person who contacts USPS by phone.
“Always let a customer hear you smile,” she says.
“Best Practices,” a series on employees who demonstrate on-the-job excellence, appears regularly in Link.