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Oral Communication is an Art

Posted on Jan 17 in Life Log, Miscby PrintText Resizer Text Resizer

 

It’s BenQ again! I’m really uncertain is it the end user’s using behavior or the quality of the product. 3 days ago, a customer sent in his camera for warranty claim. Alas! Physical damage detected!! Just look at the lens. OH MY FUCKING GOD!! (Please forgive my language, that’s the best phrase to show my expression. Because it’s not possible to successfully make a FREE warranty claim!)

BenQ DC T700

Obvious enough, this is considered as warranty void according to BenQ Malaysia’s warranty policy. The customer kept insisted that he did not dropped nor “abuse” the camera. Complaining that once he switched on the camera, the lens just became like that – stuck.

Look close at the picture above, can you spot the lens is scratched and dented????

Let me quote the most important part of the Policy.

This warranty automatically becomes void under following circumstances:
(a) the product has been physically damaged or rendered defective due to accident, misuse, or abuse, or other circumstances beyond BenQ Malaysia’s control;
(b) use of the product with parts or peripherals not manufactured or supplied by BenQ;
(c) use of the product within an improper operating environment;
(d) unauthorized modification of the product;
(e) the product serial number or warranty seal being removed or defaced;
(f) the product serviced or repaired by non-authorize personnel;
(g) the LCD Panel has cracked internally due to whatsoever reasons

Not like I didn’t want to help proceed on warranty claim. I admit, I’m not good in oral communication. Most people prefer to talk over the phone (I have phone phobia) or communicate face to face. On the other hand, I prefer written communication because you can think thoroughly of what to say over and over again before ink (typing). Furthermore this type of communication has a (written) record, good for future reference. (You can’t record speech all the time unless you have a recorder beside you which is always on when you start talking.)

Maybe I’m really not good in oral communication, as this post title suggested, oral communication is an art! I tried to talk politely over the phone and the customer started to shoot me. Okay I know, it’s human nature to blame others first, regardless of it’s your own fault or not. He even hang up my phone (fuck!). I tried to control my emotion. Oh, I think I need to improve my EQ too.

At last the customer agreed to repair the camera with a charge of RM250 barely for the parts. Thanks to my colleague who is much more better in communication.

I felt bad so I dug an old textbook on business communication. Here is the summary.

Factors that add impact to face-to-face communication:

  • intonation of voice
  • facial expressions
  • gesture
  • posture
  • movement

To commence effective face-to-face communication:

  • Plan what you will say. Prepare supporting notes and gather any relevant documents.
  • Consider the person to whom you will be speaking. Take account of their position, background knowledge and experience.
  • Speak appropriately to the situation. Be chatty, friendly, informal or formal, etc, in accordance with the situation and the topic.
  • Be open-minded. Consider the matter from the other person’s point of view and be as open-minded as possible, but have counter-arguments ready just in case they are required.
  • Consider the location. You will feel more comfortable in a familiar environment. Try to avoid distractions like telephone calls or other interruptions.
  • Dress appropriately. Your appearance indicates your personality and what you represent.

Listening is also a skill, it’s half of oral communication:

  • Prepare to listen. Clear your mind so that your attention is assured, and concentrate on what is being said.
  • Be open-minded. Hear what is being said, not what you would like to hear. Appreciate the speaker’s point of view.
  • Establish eye contact. This shows that you are listening, as does your posture.
  • Avoid prejudgement. Do not prejudge the speaker because of appearance or occupation, or make conclusions about the speaker before hearing what is said.
  • Extract main points. Pick out key words or phrases to help fix in your mind what is being said.
  • Beware of distractions. Try not to be affected by what is happening around you.
  • Give feedback. Learn to give positive feedback verbally and non-verbally, eg. by nodding, smiling, etc, to let the speaker know you are following what is being said.
  • Make notes. Record important conversations afterwards – your notes will serve as a useful reminder. Develop your note-taking skills by jotting down the salient points of lectures or meetings.

How about communicating over the phone? As you cannot see the speaker or know what he/she is thinking, the intonation and style of delivery used is very important. Here is a list of do’s and don’ts of telephone effectiveness.

Do Don’t
  • answer promptly
  • have pencil and message pad to hand
  • speak directly into the mouthpiece
  • answer with relevant information (name/number)
  • speak clearly with a smile in your voice
  • assure callers who have to wait that they have not been forgotten
  • take messages correctly, and repeat details
  • exercise good manners to everyone, with tact and discretion
  • answer the phone with ‘hello’
  • be unhelpful
  • use slang
  • shout across the room without placing a caller on hold
  • lose your temper
  • sound hurried or impatient
  • sound abrupt or rude
  • ask first who is calling before saying the person required is not in

It really takes time to put all those points in actual use. I’m actually a hot tempered person. I have to always control my tone and my emotion as I know what I say will represent my company. So just imagine how hard is it to be an operator (though am not one), or from the company’s perspective – how hard is it to search for a suitable employee to work as an operator.

Sometimes its really hard to communicate with others when you thought its more like common sense. A friend of mine discussed about common sense, which is quite true. Worth a read!

Yea, customer is always right (screw that!).

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Entry Details: This entry was posted on Saturday, January 17th, 2009 at 11:16 pm, by Apple, and is filed under Life Log, Misc. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site. Print This!

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