Anyone who is involved in customer service has probably been amazed at some point by the customers assumption that we have all the time in the world to deal with them, that we are sitting at empty desks just waiting for the phone to ring!

Here are some tips which might help you to manage your time better, while maintaining the illusion that they are the only customer who needs your help!

1. Stand up when you answer the phone. For some reason you will come across as more business-like and will probably finish the conversation quicker than you would sitting down.

2. Similarly, if you are meeting face-to-face, stand up as the customer enters the room. You will have greater difficulty in ending the exchange if they sit down.

3. Open the conversation with How can I help you? rather than How are you? to direct them straight to the point.

4. Dont be afraid to tell them if you have a pressing deadline. Explain that you are just about to go into a meeting, take their contact details and agree a realistic time when you can ring back, remembering to allow plenty of time for contingencies.

5. If they are rambling, simply say their name politely but assertively this will make them pause so you can interject to summarise and wind-up the conversation, to avoid later misunderstandings.

It is perfectly possible to practise all these suggestions in a courteous way which will help both you and your customer to have a pleasant and constructive exchange.

Andy Britnell

Andy Britnell has worked as a professional musician, a cheesemonger and in hotels, including Claridges and the Savoy in London. He spent 15 years with BT, latterly designing and delivering international management, sales and graduate development programmes. He now lives in Cornwall, UK, where as well as enjoying the surf and the coastal footpath, he runs a training and coaching practice specialising in sales, customer service and personal development training for the private and public sectors. He is an accredited coach and trainer of the Insights Discovery System which is a model based on the pioneering personality profiling work of Carl Jung. Using colour as a common language for better understanding of self and others, it helps people operate and communicate more effectively. Andy gains great satisfaction from helping his clients to grow and learn, and from the rapid progress they make in their business and personal lives. He works constantly on his own development and practises Ki Aikido, the ancient Japanese art of working with energy.