API: Sorry, I didn’t hear the rest of that. Could you repeat it? Staff: (muffled noises) API: I am sorry, I can’t hear you. Staff: (continues talking) ... and basically that’s how it works. API: Could you please say that again? I couldn’t... Staff: (interrupted) The guides will show you all of that and how it works. Goodbye. Score: 2 Comment: Maybe make sure the caller can hear what you are saying instead of getting frustrated, not repeating yourself, and hanging up. Was she mul- titasking? Perhaps. Did she handle this Staff: Umm, for the first set of zip lines you will do your own hand braking. We do have ground school where you can learn and practice. Then for the last zip line on our course, that is just automatic braking. API: OK. So, for the last one we don’t need to do anything, but for the others we do? Staff: Yes. API: How does hand braking work? Do we need to bring gloves? Staff: For hand braking, we do provide gloves for that. Then they teach you how to brake and stuff in ground school. API: OK. Staff: Yep, anything else? API: No, that’s all. Thank you. Staff: Yep, goodbye. Score: 4 Comment: “…they teach you how” doesn’t answer my question. Good to know we can practice before heading out, but this conversation didn’t tell me much. PARK #5, ID First Contact: Female (sounding bored) . API: Stated question. Staff: Umm, you will hand brake with a glove. API: OK, and how does that work? Staff: Yeah, you use your hand to slow down. API: OK. Do I need to bring my own gloves? Staff: No, we provide those. API: Do the guides let us know when to start braking? poorly? Yes. PARK #4, WI First Contact: Female. API: Stated question.
Staff: (long pause) Umm, yes, they do. API: Alrighty. Staff: Yep, have a good day. Score: 2
API: Great, thank you for your help! Staff: Yep, have a good day! Score: 10
Comment: She knew her information, had a great attitude, and gave me a great explanation on what I should expect. Well done! Identity Revealed: The Gorge Zipline Debrief: Any staff member tasked with answer- ing the phone should be able to nail the basics. Is there a weight limit? What happens if it rains? What if I get scared? How do I stop at the end of the zip? If you interact with guests, the answers to these questions and others should be automatic. In 2016, we advised readers to “work with your staff to develop a ‘speech’ that they have memorized in response to common questions and can recite during busy days, tired days, off days, whatever days.” That’s still good advice. Quality customer service requires training, just like any other job responsibility. You can also set your staff up for suc- cess by ensuring the answers to these frequently asked questions are readily available to the person picking up the phone. That resource could look like a binder that sits next to the phone or a searchable database on the computer, among other options. In many ways, having the answer is the easy part. The hard part—which really isn’t hard—is putting a smile on your face when you answer the phone, re- gardless of how you’re feeling or what is going on around you, and listening to the caller. It’s bad for business to take a bad day out on an unsuspecting customer. Train staff on the customer service expecta- tions for your business, and make sure the person answering the phone on a given day is up to the task.
Comment: Well, I feel confident going to this park… not! If someone asks how they stop at the end of a zip line, odds are they don’t know anything about zip lining. Educate callers. Don’t patronize them. PARK #6, AZ First Contact: Male. API: Stated question. Staff: (rude tone) No experience is required. We do everything. (still rude) API: OK. How does that work? Staff: (snippy) It is automatic braking, so we do everything. API: So, we don’t do anything? You slow us down and stop for us? Staff: Yep. API: Alright, thank you. (He hangs up.) Score: 0 Comment: Wow. Maybe he gets this question a lot or maybe he hates his job or maybe he’s just not a nice person—regardless, somebody take the phone away from him. Don’t be rude when being asked a basic question. PARK #7, NC First Contact: Female. API: Stated question. Staff: (chipper) So, we have an automatic brak- ing system. When you are going down the zip line it will slowly stop and catch you. Then the guides that bring you out on tour will pull you into each platform. So, basically, there really is not much that you have to do yourself in regard to braking and getting yourself to the platform. API: OK. That sounds easy! Staff: Yep. (still chipper) There are some handle- bars that you can hold onto that help you keep going forward and straight. There is a bench on each platform that the guides will ask you to step on so they can easily get your gear off the line. But other than that, pretty much everything is automatic. API: OK, great. Staff: And, of course, we have ground school so you can get the basics down and meet the guides.
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