They are predicting a major storm as 2025 starts and even though environmental services organizations have been through storms before, customers aren’t very understanding when it comes to delays in picking up their garbage. Often-times the only tool the customer service teams have at their disposal is to wait for updates on routes from the operations team and to hesitantly suggest recovery will be attempted “hopefully tomorrow”. You should be better prepared. You can be better prepared. Your team can surprise your customers with their great attitudes and
customer service
Tooty Inc. Offers Skills Based Program to Improve Customer Care
Tooty Inc. offers a time-tested solution to reduce costly mistakes, improve customer care, and establish higher service standards.
Lori Miller, President of Tooty Inc., stated, “Customers want to be served by representatives who are more than friendly personalities. They want to be helped by someone who knows how to assess their needs, provide accurate information and appropriate solutions in a timely manner. That level of service does not come about through a motivational customer service training program. It requires accurate assessment of customer service representatives’
Your Customers Detest 3 Things
People everywhere detest long-hold times, being passed around from one person to the next, and yes- A.I. posing as a real person.
Long hold time stats from your phone system can point the finger at staffing issues but long hold times also diagnose inefficiency. Here at Tooty Inc., we listen to and evaluate thousands of customer conversations every year and have found that often times the calls stacking up in the queue are due to individuals being poorly trained on product and service information and being unsure of the protocols for resolving issues.
Passing
Training and Coaching Difficult People
Lori Miller- President of Tooty Inc.
When it comes to training and coaching difficult people, I find the same personalities, the same defenses, push back and questions. Managers and supervisors have similar frustrations as they try to balance providing personal attention to one person while maintaining standards for a team or department. A key goal with training and coaching is to help individuals overcome self-imposed roadblocks in order to move forward. The Tooty Training® program is an effective way to develop individuals into industry and customer service experts.
Common
Making Waves in Customer Service
It is such an honor for us here at Tooty to interact with and listen to so many amazing customer service representatives each month. Whether we are making old fashioned secret shopper calls or evaluating recorded customer calls for our clients, we find some amazing experts who also love interacting with their customers.
Those who are bi-lingual representatives and switch from one language to another throughout their day are exceptional and I had the opportunity to showcase one of the best bi-lingual representatives in Canada during a recent presentation to sales and marketing students at Chicago-based
Develop Your Inner Detective
Customer service is often measured by the niceness factor of the person talking with the customer. However, how good we are at solving problems really has more weight. A good detective listens and writes down verbal clues, makes note of the subject’s demeanor and directs the conversation. The first 15 seconds of a call is full of clues you can use to sell service and solve customer issues. How much attention are you giving to the first 15 seconds of your conversations?
Before your customers call, they have decided what they will say to you when you answer. They have ironed out how they
Customer Feedback-Tooty Training
Tooty Training is not fluff. We don’t offer trendy catch phrases or techniques to improve your customer service or sales teams. We have evaluated over 250,000 conversations. Evaluations were not completed by A.I., but highly trained individuals who have the skills to assess conversation, sales process, marketing strategy, problem solving and how customers are treated.
We are a key to successful culture change. We understand how to effectively train those who are working from home or a workforce that has been disrupted by Covid. We love helping individual people grow in their
Thankfulness
Lori Miller, President, Tooty Inc.
When I reflect on each person that makes up our team here at Tooty, I am thankful on a deep level. I know how 2020 has affected them, what they have had to overcome, and the super-human effort required to produce an excellent product every day.
Every organization has a similar testimony of their team’s resilience, persistence and unity. I reached out to some of our Tooty customers who were more than willing to share why they are so thankful for their teams. Be encouraged.
Pamela, New Mexico
I am thankful how the team has come together and even though we are physically distanced we are
Help for stressed and stretched managers and employees
Lori Miller, President of Tooty Inc., stated, “Customer service teams are under unbelievable pressure as Covid-19 has disrupted the workplace and personal lives. But customer service is where the heart of any organization resides, and they are wired to love on people no matter what is happening. When your employees know you care, they can show your customers that they care.”
Lynne Franklin, one of the Tooty Training ® team experts (neuroscience and business communication) provided Tooty employees and their families encouragement by sharing the following message of hope.
Lockdown
The W.A.V.-Wording, Attitude and Voice
I had the opportunity to speak with 100 marketing students at a prestigious Chicago university this week. I asked them if they knew what the W.A.V. was and one student sheepishly raised his hand to share that the wave was something the crowd did at a sporting event. He gave me the perfect opening to explain that the W.A.V. represented wording, attitude and voice which are used strategically in marketing and sales efforts. My objective was to show them that their personal W.A.V. would affect their future. The students had 3 specific “ah hah” moments and we can learn from them, too.
The Phone Interview
A panel of students was instructed to assess the Wording, Attitude and the Voice of a job candidate as they listened to less than 1 minute of a phone interview. They had to decide on whether they would offer the candidate the job based on his W.A.V. The panel and all the students were unified in their assessment and decision to not offer the candidate the job because:
1. His wording showed he was only interested in himself and what the company could do for him.
2. The attitudes he projected were bored, tired and sarcastic.
3. His voice was monotone and lifeless which made anything positive he may have done in the interview to go unnoticed.
The “ah hah” moment for the students: A diploma isn’t enough to get the job.
Sales and Marketing
Several students were given the role of salesperson and they were provided a scripted phrase to deliver to the group using their voices to project a specific attitude. The group of students who were the observers needed to vote for 1 salesperson they would give their money to and they needed to be able to explain why.
Student #1- Used a perfectly worded statement to close on the sale but, the student sounded bored and tired. No one chose this student. Because of his lifeless voice they stopped listening and didn’t like him.
Student #2- Had a friendly voice and attitude as she said, “The price is $250.00. Is there anything else I can help you with?” Half of the students really liked this approach although they weren’t sure if they would have given the student their money. But they liked the salesperson!
Student #3-Projected a caring attitude but, had disastrous wording for a salesperson. “Do you want to start service or call around for other prices?” Most students thought this was the most considerate approach and would have taken the advice given and called the competition.
I did tell the students that if student #3 worked for me he would have been fired for intentionally sending my prospective customers to the competition. That got their attention! Words matter.
The “ah hah” moment for the students: My W.A.V. matters and when the right words are partnered with a friendly attitude and confident voice it is easier to succeed.
Choosing Your W.A.V.
I wanted to help each person in this large group realize that what comes out of them, their W.A.V., demonstrates who they are. I asked the group if they had all heard their voices recorded and of course they said they had. I asked for a show of hands if they liked the sound of their voice and only 3 people raised their hands. There was a lot of nervous laughter. Each student had the opportunity to speak and share the two main attitudes they wanted to convey to others through their W.A.V. Both confident and knowledgeable were at the top of everyone’s list. Unfortunately, many of them sounded timid and tired.
The “ah hah” moment for the students: I may feel a certain way inside, but if I don’t work on my voice, I may alienate people or be passed over for opportunities.
The Phone Interview
A panel of students was instructed to assess the Wording, Attitude and the Voice of a job candidate as they listened to less than 1 minute of a phone interview. They had to decide on whether they would offer the candidate the job based on his W.A.V. The panel and all the students were unified in their assessment and decision to not offer the candidate the job because:
1. His wording showed he was only interested in himself and what the company could do for him.
2. The attitudes he projected were bored, tired and sarcastic.
3. His voice was monotone and lifeless which made anything positive he may have done in the interview to go unnoticed.
The “ah hah” moment for the students: A diploma isn’t enough to get the job.
Sales and Marketing
Several students were given the role of salesperson and they were provided a scripted phrase to deliver to the group using their voices to project a specific attitude. The group of students who were the observers needed to vote for 1 salesperson they would give their money to and they needed to be able to explain why.
Student #1- Used a perfectly worded statement to close on the sale but, the student sounded bored and tired. No one chose this student. Because of his lifeless voice they stopped listening and didn’t like him.
Student #2- Had a friendly voice and attitude as she said, “The price is $250.00. Is there anything else I can help you with?” Half of the students really liked this approach although they weren’t sure if they would have given the student their money. But they liked the salesperson!
Student #3-Projected a caring attitude but, had disastrous wording for a salesperson. “Do you want to start service or call around for other prices?” Most students thought this was the most considerate approach and would have taken the advice given and called the competition.
I did tell the students that if student #3 worked for me he would have been fired for intentionally sending my prospective customers to the competition. That got their attention! Words matter.
The “ah hah” moment for the students: My W.A.V. matters and when the right words are partnered with a friendly attitude and confident voice it is easier to succeed.
Choosing Your W.A.V.
I wanted to help each person in this large group realize that what comes out of them, their W.A.V., demonstrates who they are. I asked the group if they had all heard their voices recorded and of course they said they had. I asked for a show of hands if they liked the sound of their voice and only 3 people raised their hands. There was a lot of nervous laughter. Each student had the opportunity to speak and share the two main attitudes they wanted to convey to others through their W.A.V. Both confident and knowledgeable were at the top of everyone’s list. Unfortunately, many of them sounded timid and tired.
The “ah hah” moment for the students: I may feel a certain way inside, but if I don’t work on my voice, I may alienate people or be passed over for opportunities.
For more information on Tooty Training™ for your team contact lori_miller@tootyinc.com.
