Nobody ever wants to need the services of a funeral service; it’s something that we turn to after tragedy has struck and we’re at our most vulnerable – which is why it’s so important for funeral services to provide great customer care to anyone who has to get in touch.
The customer care offered under these circumstances needs to be tailored; it needs to broach the gap between friendliness and compassion, and some of the tips and tricks practised by others in the customer service industry aren’t appropriate at such a delicate time.
It’s easier said than done, because while reading body language and non-verbal clues might help someone who works in funeral arrangement to react appropriately to their customer, interactions which take place over the phone can be much trickier to get right.
While a relaxed demeanour and chirpy tone might be the perfect way for staff at a telephone answering service to act when they’re representing a clothing brand or a supermarket, it could make the recently bereaved feel worse, not better.
In fact, there is no one way that customer care should be handled for those contacting a funeral service. No two people grieve in the same way, and as such, no two people will react in the same way to someone on the end of the phone at a time of bereavement.
Professional, sensitive and well-trained call handlers are necessary to ensure that a tailored, personalised service is provided to each person who rings up, making them feel cared for and empathised with. Of course, some hard and fast rules can be put in place for such situations – avoiding jokes and prying questions and instead being aware of the heightened emotion that a caller may have should be par for the course.
Here at Frontline, we specialise in funeral call handling and our trusted team have been looking after clients with businesses in that area for many years. If you’re looking to outsource call handling and want to make sure your customer care isn’t compromised, we could be the business for you. Get in touch to find out more about our excellent track record and current clients.