The Power of Phone Impressions
I spent over a decade of my career calling senior living and care providers all over the country. Senior apartments, retirement living, assisted living, residential care homes, skilled nursing, CCRCs/life care communities - you name it, I've called it. National groups, regional groups, local groups, independently owned - everything. A conservative estimate, over the years I've placed over 30,000+ outbound calls to these providers. As you might imagine with such a substantial outbound call volume, it became very clear what works and what doesn't in creating a positive phone impression. Phone presence is hands down the most underutilized and mismanaged service tool in communities.
The phone impression doesn't stop at the number of rings before a greeting or the quality of the greeting itself. How the call is handled after the greeting is equally, if not more important in carrying the overall tone and aptitude for delivery of service. The inability to properly dispatch a call shows a lack of organization, cohesiveness, communication and team presence that is so incredibly important to convey in a senior living setting.
What doesn't work
The unanswered call - First and foremost an unanswered call tells the caller their outreach is not important enough to interact with a staff member. Yes, the staff may be busy doing other things, yes the front desk representative may be on break. That's not the caller's burden to bear. That call could have been your next resident, but the lack of a live person to answer the call suggests that the community is overburdened and understaffed. This is not the impression you want to leave with prospective residents, families and professionals.
The silos - I'm baffled at the number of organizations with more than one care level or building on their property and they operate mutually exclusive of one another. Countless times I have inadvertently called the 'wrong building', asked for a staff member and the response is, "Who??? You have the wrong number." CLICK. This really happens! Can you imagine how families feel if they call the wrong building and ask for a staff member, or worse, their loved one and hear, "Who???" All organizations large and small, with more than one building and/or campus should have a universal directory and operate as one entity, because in the eyes of the caller, they are one entity. That's the goal of a brand, right? At the first utterance of an unrecognizable name, the representative should be able to look up the name and help the caller connect.
The jingle greeting - I understand the intentions of relaying a positive message with the greeting. However, when imposed on staff members answering a busy multi-line phone system, this approach backfires. In an ideal world, the representative has the time, patience and frame of mind to deliver the greeting so the words are discernable and believable. The real life application is quite different. The call is answered, the jingle greeting is speedily delivered and the call is quickly put on hold to answer the other line. The message sounds formal, forced and salesy, and the good intentions are lost.
What works
Every call answered by a professional, yet warm, informal, friendly, caring. One of the best examples of phone presence was masterfully delivered by a woman named Eileen, who worked at a local community. When she answered the phone she said the traditional greeting ("This is [community name], how can I help you?"). However, her delivery and tone made callers feel like they were a long time friend. Sometimes she was in the middle of laughing when she picked up, other times she was saying hello to a resident walking by. There was always a friendly exchange going on in the background and she made callers want to be a part of it. She did a great job listening and doing her best to accommodate the caller's request with a smile in her voice. She referred to the staff members by their first name. She loved her job and her community - it was obvious and memorable. Which is why, out of 30,000+ calls, I remember her to this day. She, without a doubt, helped countless families decide on her community for their loved ones.