Customer Service Initiative

Reflective Listening - it makes all the difference

19th February, 2009 - Posted by Pam -

Reflective listening makes all the difference for setting the tone of a call.  Take the following as an example:

Example 1

ME:  Hi, my name is Pam and I need to return a product.

AGENT:  Alright, what’s your order number?

Example 2

ME:  Hi, my name is Pam and I need to return a product.

AGENT:  Alright Pam, I can help you with your return.  Let me start by finding your order - may I have your order number please?

Isn’t the second example so much better?  The biggest difference in the second example is the agent reflects back what he/she heard.  As the customer, I know I was heard and I’m confident that my request will be processed and my needs met.   I instantly feel at ease.

When calling for assistance, all customers wonder how the experience is going to be.  And too many times it does not live up to our expectations.  Let’s face it, we really can tell within the first 10 seconds of a call if we have connected with a good representative.  Once we feel we have, we breathe easy and the conversation goes much better.

So, to keep your customers coming back use reflective listening in every conversation you have with them.