What can you contribute to the company, knowing the basics of being a call center agent?

Answer 1

For one, you know the complaints that your customers will have, as well as things that may be unclear to the customer, prompting customer questions.

Answer 2

First it's imperative that the people answering the phones know the product/service backwards and forwards. I worked for some time in a call center and we were trained for a month on health insurance products and Medicare before we were allowed to answer the phones. When people call for answers, they expect that you are an expert in the field.

It's vital that you be able to speak clearly and pleasantly. Be POLITE and above all STAY CALM. Many times, people calling with complaints are frustrated and angry and will take it out on an unsuspecting call center rep. Whatever you do, don't respond to anger with anger. Just keep saying "I'd be glad to help you with that..." "I'm sure I can resolve this for you..." etc. You can even let the caller know "I understand you're frustrated, but let's see if we can solve your problem..." That kind of thing.

If you're absolutely unable to answer a question, hopefully there is a supervisor or someone higher up who knows the answer. Ask if you may put the caller on hold while you do a little research: try your hardest to answer the question during the first call, so the customer doesn't have to keep calling back, getting angrier and angier. My experience is that even people whose heads are about to explode will calm down and actually THANK you if you stay calm, do your best and resolve the problem.

Hope this helps.