CHAPTER 22

ENDING THE ENDLESS CALL

You know who they are. They call on your busiest day, when you’ve got eight calls to return, an important project to complete, and the need to walk out the front door at 5:00 P.M. sharp. They’re the callers who don’t want to end the call. They want to tell you about their lives, their coworkers, their families in minute detail, and to recount the story of their last hospital visit in real time.

Worse—they’re your customers. And you don’t know how to get them off the phone without being rude!

Relax. These customers, and their phone calls, can be managed. One of the following simple techniques should do the trick:

• Set out the ground rules. If you are calling or are taking a call from a known talker, you aren’t being offensive when you take the offensive. Before the conversation begins, set the time parameter. Do it in a way that makes your customer feel important—“Mr. Whitmore, I’m glad I reached you. I’m pushed for time, but I wanted to return my most important calls. Do you have ten minutes so we can discuss the product shipping information you requested? Or is there a better time for me to call?” A statement like this flatters your customer by suggesting that he is a busy and important person. It allows you to work the conversation to a close with a statement like, “Wow, we really got a lot accomplished. But I promised this would only take ten minutes, and we’re at that now. Thank you so much for taking the time now to talk with me.”

• Don’t play the waiting game. Some people are just born talkers. They don’t even mind if you’re not really listening so long as they’re not talking to themselves. So they talk and talk and talk and talk, and you “uh huh” and “oh” and “I see” and hope that eventually they’ll run down and let you off the phone. They won’t. This is a waiting game that you will lose every time.

So why do you keep playing? Most likely you fear that they will take offense if you try to end the conversation. They won’t—if you do it in a courteous and direct manner. (They may even be secretly thankful for the help—some people just don’t know how to end a conversation.) You may have to jump in when they pause for breath, but don’t beat around the bush or drop hints. Just say it—“Gee, Terry, it’s been great talking with you, but I have to sign off for now.”

If your conversation calls for action on your part, you can include that—“Terry, I’m so glad you called. I’m going to let you go so I can look up those files right now and find the information you need. Okay?” What can Terry say but “Okay”? And when Terry does, it’s time for you to say goodbye.

• Listen some more. When setting ground rules and being direct doesn’t work, listen some more. Your customer may be trying to tell you something important that you’re not hearing. If the phone conversation is about a product or service problem, it may be that your customer is still venting. Some people need to let off a lot of steam when things go wrong. While that isn’t always pleasant to hear, and doesn’t always seem to be helpful in resolving the problem, remember that angry customers need to vent. If you abruptly end the conversation, the customer is apt to vent to friends and family—and to your other customers and potential customers.

It may also be that the customer doesn’t believe that you’ve understood the message he or she is trying to convey. Perhaps the customer is doing a poor job of explaining, or perhaps you’ve jumped to the wrong conclusion—and offered the wrong solution. Use your listening skills and the technique of reflective listening—repeating what the customer has said in a summarized form—to increase and confirm your understanding.

• Use “I” statements and a promise of action. What if the customer keeps talking, you’ve tried the techniques, they aren’t working, and you still need to end the conversation? It helps to include a statement of action, including when and how the customer will know you’ve taken that action: