I planned on comment on the course we had on Tuesday during the entire day... :)
The course was about customer excellence, and basically it were phone skills all over again, which I don't really mind, it's rather amusing. However, apparently it is possible to predict customer satisfaction by no less then two arithmetic formulas, which are: "3.8 + 2.8 CLT + 1.1 CPU + 0.4 AN + 0.4 CN + O.5 CON" and "1.5 + 0.7 CHEFT + 0.6 OC - 0.3 RCA - 0.2 NRC - 0.3 NT - 0.2 PWT", and all those years I worked in a call centre I thought it was only about being helpful, friendly and polite to the customer... too bad I'm not a mathematical genius.
Moreover we got some points to keep in mind whilst talking to customers; we need to be the A from the PAC-model (Parent, Adult, Child), and to arrive at a point to communicate with the customer on an A-A level we need to use the following techniques: LSD, LEO, DESC, SORAC and STAR. If this doesn't confuse me, nothing will! :-)
I'll just continue to be too bloody cheerful ;)
Thursday, March 8, 2007
Wednesday, March 7, 2007
History
here's a tiny bit of telephone-history for you guys.
On Tuesday I was in the office building in Ghent for a course named "customer excellence", comments on that course will follow, but what I want to write about might me extremely boring for you guys, but to me it's actually quite fascinating. In that OB there are classrooms on the second floor and in the coffee area they keep an old telephone switch board (one of the first ones ever made) and some of the first phones, and to me it's quite interesting to see how it all worked in the old days.
This is the first switchboard, which had an operator sitting in front of it 24/7 (I do hope they took shifts though), when a customer wanted to make a call he'd wind up the handle on the right side of the phone (image underneath), then their number would appear because the small black valve covering the numbers would fall down, then the operator put a line in and talk to the other person to hear whom he or she wanted to be connected to and then he'd connect the two lines. If it was an interzonal call, he'd switch to the other operator, and so on and so on until the caller could be connected to his or her correspondent, pretty cool huh!?
On Tuesday I was in the office building in Ghent for a course named "customer excellence", comments on that course will follow, but what I want to write about might me extremely boring for you guys, but to me it's actually quite fascinating. In that OB there are classrooms on the second floor and in the coffee area they keep an old telephone switch board (one of the first ones ever made) and some of the first phones, and to me it's quite interesting to see how it all worked in the old days.
This is the first switchboard, which had an operator sitting in front of it 24/7 (I do hope they took shifts though), when a customer wanted to make a call he'd wind up the handle on the right side of the phone (image underneath), then their number would appear because the small black valve covering the numbers would fall down, then the operator put a line in and talk to the other person to hear whom he or she wanted to be connected to and then he'd connect the two lines. If it was an interzonal call, he'd switch to the other operator, and so on and so on until the caller could be connected to his or her correspondent, pretty cool huh!?
here's an image of the first phone, I really like the design of it, especially since it kind of looks like a funny face to me... you'd put the faces ear to yours and speak in the mouth, the handle on the left is only to make contact to the operator.
Monday, March 5, 2007
too bloody cheerful
It's possible, apparently you can be too bloody cheerful. and according to some colleagues in Brussels I am today. But they're not complaining, neither am I, since I quite enjoy my mood! However I should leave the singing tone behind because it'll freak some people out.
It makes me wonder though, how can anyone be too bloody cheerful!? Would anyone prefer me to be in the massmurder mood!? Would that make the working day more interesting?
And by the way all those forwarded e-mails about smiling because the smiles will come back to you... it's all a lie!!! I tried it, and it didn't work, people looked at me as if I were a raving lunatic, some of them even shouted at me: "what's wrong with you?", "what are you smiling about?"
Maybe I'll start a slideshow and forward it to everyone I know and to everyone whom I don't know but once sent me an e-mail telling me that I should smile to be smiled at, stating: "if you don't want to be put in a psychiatric institution, put on a normal face, don't smile at people, don't say goodmorning to people you don't know."
That's the lesson of today
It makes me wonder though, how can anyone be too bloody cheerful!? Would anyone prefer me to be in the massmurder mood!? Would that make the working day more interesting?
And by the way all those forwarded e-mails about smiling because the smiles will come back to you... it's all a lie!!! I tried it, and it didn't work, people looked at me as if I were a raving lunatic, some of them even shouted at me: "what's wrong with you?", "what are you smiling about?"
Maybe I'll start a slideshow and forward it to everyone I know and to everyone whom I don't know but once sent me an e-mail telling me that I should smile to be smiled at, stating: "if you don't want to be put in a psychiatric institution, put on a normal face, don't smile at people, don't say goodmorning to people you don't know."
That's the lesson of today
how to get me annoyed in 14 mins
It's probably not the best idea I ever had, but still I need to get this off my chest, I'll take the risk of this information being abused by certain people ;).
Last Friday we had to take a crowded train, so Icky and I ended up sitting with a man who had taken the entire table to himself. Ok, that's not too bad, since he sat there before us, but still the man managed to get me extremely annoyed in less then 15 minutes (since our trip by train takes us 14 mins). He started off by tapping the table, had a cough, and coughed in my face!? then he got a wee hunger and decided to eat his apple (nothing wrong there), but no one has told the man it's nice to eat with your mouth shut, and that the people around you don't enjoy it if you continue to tap the table whilst chewing with your mouth open... and cough in their faces...
Ok, he finished his apple, thank heaven for that, phew,then he had to cough another time -the poor man obviously had a cold and a sore arm so he wasn't able to put his hand in front of his mouth- but then he got a bit tired, and it was time for his wee nap. No harm there, until he started snoring...
Boy, was I happy to arrive in Lier!
How come commuters keep annoying each other!? This morning as well, there was this lady talking in this monotone voice, who kept repeating the exact same story, I've heard how many figurines and paintings her mum has four times, not kidding, but she tried to inform her friends who weren't listening to her, who can blame them!? So we ended up with the information, whether we liked it or not...
Last Friday we had to take a crowded train, so Icky and I ended up sitting with a man who had taken the entire table to himself. Ok, that's not too bad, since he sat there before us, but still the man managed to get me extremely annoyed in less then 15 minutes (since our trip by train takes us 14 mins). He started off by tapping the table, had a cough, and coughed in my face!? then he got a wee hunger and decided to eat his apple (nothing wrong there), but no one has told the man it's nice to eat with your mouth shut, and that the people around you don't enjoy it if you continue to tap the table whilst chewing with your mouth open... and cough in their faces...
Ok, he finished his apple, thank heaven for that, phew,then he had to cough another time -the poor man obviously had a cold and a sore arm so he wasn't able to put his hand in front of his mouth- but then he got a bit tired, and it was time for his wee nap. No harm there, until he started snoring...
Boy, was I happy to arrive in Lier!
How come commuters keep annoying each other!? This morning as well, there was this lady talking in this monotone voice, who kept repeating the exact same story, I've heard how many figurines and paintings her mum has four times, not kidding, but she tried to inform her friends who weren't listening to her, who can blame them!? So we ended up with the information, whether we liked it or not...
cardboard rose
This morning there was a note at the entrance of our building, requesting a cardboard rose. The exact memo stated:
"hey
who happens to have a cardboard rose to spare? (it might be a stupid question, but you never know)
I'm one short for my best friend
Who won't do anything with it, I could really use it
persons name
persons perid
persons phonenumber (I won't print this, protection of the privacy)
Thanks in advance"
I thought it was rather amusing, personally I haven't got a cardboard rose, wouldn't even know what it looks like, I do know how paper roses look like... and if your best friend is that dear to you, buy her a bloody rose, or make her one yourself... jeez... :-)
Sunday, March 4, 2007
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