Telephone Survey Work with Optimum Contact

Paul_Varjak

vixxxen wrote: »

Paul Varjak - I was charged £4.59 by Skype yesterday for my monthly unlimited UK package, I only paid this yesterday so I know it is correct.

Skype do show they charge £4.59/month (including VAT) but that implies they are only charging 15% VAT. The current rate of VAT is 17.5%!! So. I played safe and quoted the ex-VAT cost!

vixxxen

Well £4.59 is what I was charged...so maybe they'll charge me the extra 2.5% eventually! :rotfl:

Thanks for telling me what times you completed the surveys....I might try working weekends then, see if I get any joy.

I WILL get a survey completed!

Paul_Varjak

vixxxen...

When you call, speak slowly and clearly. Introduce yourself and establish you are speaking to the right person before launching into the whole script.

NEVER assume that because a man's voice answers that he must be the Mr. Smith you need to speak to. There may be more than one man in the household and that man who answers just might turn out to be a woman!

You need to quickly establish a rapport with the person otherwise they will quickly reject your call. If they indicate they are busy, ask for a convenient time to call back, telling them what hours you work.

If anyone hangs up on you, don't slam the phone down, keep hold of the handset for 3-4 seconds, slowly replace the receiver and think to yourself that it is the person you called who has a problem - not you!

Finally, always end the day with a good phone call (even if it does not necessarily end with doing a survey). If you end the day with a bad call, you will go to bed thinking about it!

System

Some good advice there Paul ty. I was wondering about the script. I know we can ad lib a bit but is there much lee way? If I could earn half of what you make I'd be happy lol

Paul_Varjak

rachelja...

My friend regularly earns more than me, so it is definitely possible to earn money.

Survey data is made available weekly or monthly (depending on the client). As we draw towards the end of the cycle it does become increasingly difficult to do surveys. That is because you will be calling back people who were not available last time you called.

So, one trick to improving earnings, is to do surveys as soon as a new load of data become available.

Yes, you can change the script a little, but you should retain the meaning. I maintain the order of sentences of the script but use my own words, without changing the meaning. In particular, I will stress it is ONLY A SURVEY AND WE DO NOT DISCUSS ANYTHING CONFIDENTIAL. Interviewees often then respond with a simple OK, usually indicating that I have allayed their fears.

If they interrupt doing the script, stop and listen to what they say and try to be conciliatory in tome, manner and language. Try to understand their concerns. If that fails, you can just say thank you very much Mr/Mrs/Miss xxx and terminate the call politely.

Occasionally, there will be a talking point (other than the survey you are calling about) but try to remain professional at all times. Yesterday, I had a brief chat (of a few seconds) with someone about giraffes and Okapi and how both those animals have just 7 neck vertebrae (the same as humans)

Princess_x

I did my first survey! Think im gonna do some more later on.

Paul_Varjak

Princess_x wrote: »

I did my first survey! Think im gonna do some more later on.

Well done! It can be disheartening when you first start on these surveys, but patience is rewarded.

Princess_x

Paul_Varjak wrote: »

Well done! It can be disheartening when you first start on these surveys, but patience is rewarded.

Yeah. I had to call about 6 different people first and all their phones were engaged or on answer phone. And then a lovely lady picked up her phone. I thought she would say she didn't have time, but she did and i could begin the survey, wahey!

Can i just ask, I accidentally forgot to mention one of the briefing comments at the beginning (you know prior to starting the actual survey questions). This wouldn't be a problem would it?

And also, I sort of asked 2 of the questions the wrong way round, oops.:o I'm hoping they don't kick me out because of this.

& because im using skype, i sent the recorded call to the assessor email. Is that okay? Or is there a specific email for the recorded calls to be sent to for those not using the 0845 number?

Paul_Varjak

Princess_x

I think you will find that Optimum Contact staff are quite tolerant, so I would not worry too much.

Could you perhaps delete the e-mail address you gave, as that is really only for people working for the company. I now use the 0845 service to record calls so I am not sure if the e-mail you gave is still the correct one to send recordings to. I suggest you e-mail OC on the e-mail contact they have given you, and ask them.

Princess_x

Oh that's a relief.

Sorry, didn't realise that. Have already emailed them, just waiting to hear back.