I Called Your Franchise

I CALLED YOUR FRANCHISE

Wow. Not all terrible. But help is needed. Here's a start.

By Nancy Friedman

I have an assignment for you. If you have never called in to ask for yourself, a service, or a product at your own franchise, I highly recommend that franchisee managers call their own franchise to hear how their customers and potential customers are being handled. We cannot fix what we do not know. We must call in and find out what is going on in our business. This is not rocket science. It is plain old common sense.

There are folks who tell me, “Well, Nancy, they’ll recognize my voice.” Maybe they will - - if you call in for someone else - - but if you call in and ask for yourself…. I do it all the time. I call my office, and say, “Is Nancy there?” and trust me no one has ever said, “That you screwing around, Nancy?” They may think it, know it, or suspect if. But they will never take the chance. And if you do happen to have a recognizable voice. let a team player do it for you. Be on the speaker phone. Get on an extension. Record it so you can hear later. And if you need or want to, let the person who answered it ineffectively hear it. Then TRAIN, don’t complain.

Don’t make your questions too convoluted. A simple question to the person who answers will tell you a whole lot and what you need to do to fix the problem.

Does your first responder need to transfer the call to get the answer? Then why do they say, “How can I help you?” in the greeting. It’s USELESS if the person answering cannot help the caller, isn’t’ it?

If the person answering the call cannot answer the question promptly and correctly every time, we strongly suggest NOT using “How Can I Help you?” in the initial greeting.

They are there to help. That’s why they answered the phone.

Are you wondering: What questions should I ask? A few sample questions for you on a mystery call would be:

• Where are you guys located? This will tell you a lot. I had one lady yell out to a coworker: “Hey Bob, where are we?” Yes, it happened to me.

• Hi, how much is a (product, service) This is critical. Those locations that answer with a price right off the bat are in big trouble. Because the customer will usually say, “Ok, thanks very much.” The franchisee answer is usually, “You’re welcome.” Hundreds of thousands of your marketing dollars are lost with this one.

• Start off with a complaint. And see how it’s handled. A soft complaint. Nothing huge. We’re not trying to make it impossible for your folks to answer. We are trying to help with the simple, common sense questions your customers and potential customers will ask. There are dozens of easy questions to ask your customers. Many franchisees fail, and they don't need to. With a little bit of soft skills training, it all can be fixed. My goal here is to bring the concern to you – so you’re aware. At my conferences, I always ask the audience: “How many of you call in to your own office, to see how your customers are being handled?” I’m often amazed at the number of franchisees that do not call in and find out how their customers and potential customers are being handled. One of the best favors I can do for you is tell you to call into your own locations. The answer to many of the people problems at any location, office, store, or wherever is training. On-the-job training isn’t training. It’s refreshing. And if the person has never had training to start off with, on-the-job training isn’t as effective. Sometimes I feel as though I’m preaching to the choir, but like most things, we need to hear some things over and over. Thank you for the opportunity to help you. w

Nancy Friedman, a former franchisor, is founder and president of Telephone Doctor Customer Service Training in St Louis, MO. Telephone Doctor helps companies communicate better with their customers and coworkers. Nancy is a popular keynote speaker at franchise conferences and corporate meetings around the country. The author of nine books, Nancy has appeared on Oprah; Fox News; CNN; Today Show; CBS This Morning; Good Morning America, Great Britain, Australia; and many other radio and TV shows and media outlets. She can be reached at nancy@telephonedoctor.com, at www.nancyfriedman .com, or 314-291-1012.