With more than 11 years of experience in the field of customer care and telesales via call centers, providing skills training to thousands of call center operators, Mr. Bui Tien Dung, Training Director at Bellsystem24-Vietnam (BellVietnam Company) shares his journey of hard work and patience to reach love and sweet fruit in this profession that requires a lot of discipline.
Read the original interview at This.
Pressure forms diamonds
Hello, I understand that before becoming Training Director, you were also a switchboard operator. Was that period difficult for you?
The first days when I "went on line" (the professional term for the official switchboard operator stage) were not as I had imagined.
On my first day at work, I had to answer more than 100 calls. The calls from customers were continuous, each call lasted from 3-5 minutes and after each call ended, another customer would call 5 seconds later. I had to listen, review in my head the appropriate answer, and choose my words to match the emotions of the person on the other end of the line. There were many moments on the first day when I just wanted to go home and give up.
So what helped you overcome that difficulty?
Once, in the middle of a call, the customer suddenly commented: “Why do you sound so sad? Aren’t you excited to talk to me?!” They were the ones who woke me up.
Not everyone has the energy to change right away, how do you motivate yourself?
New hires are often surprised, hurt, and easily discouraged. But as we change, our surroundings can change. I review bad habits that are distracting and draining our energy and replace them with positive ones.
I practice reading, breathing, complimenting colleagues at the right time, and smiling when I meet others. I have been doing all of these things in the morning for over 11 years.
When I started to feel the crisis and pressure, I told myself that if I gave up too soon, wouldn't it be a huge waste of time and effort? So many people have done it, why should I give up?
What makes you believe your philosophy is correct?
Until now, I still remember what a female customer said at the end of the second month: "Viettel's customer care is really good these days." Just a short sentence from her but it really made me feel motivated for my work and confident in the path I am taking. When customers call the switchboard, what they need is care and dedication from the operator.
Cultivate operators who understand themselves and love others
What brought you to the role of Training Director, and what are you teaching young people new to the profession?
I was very fortunate to have had some great supervisors during my years as a call center agent. The leaders and supervisors were patient and open to training their teams, and they constantly encouraged and motivated their employees to do their best. When I became a trainer, I tried to apply the same style.
What advice do you have for young people to increase their focus and love for this disciplined work?
When you continuously create “wow” experiences for customers, you will become more and more attached to and confident in your work. When you are attached and focused, success will definitely come.
So what training process is Bellsystem24-Vietnam implementing to create good experiences?
As Training Director, my management team and I have developed a systematic training process to promote skills that help new call center agents quickly adapt and engage with the job. After the interview round, new employees have 2-3 days of initial skills training, getting acquainted with career thinking, communication skills groups, language, customer identification, and call handling procedures.
Next is the detailed training phase to master both professional and technical skills. You will study according to an "Up Skill" program, including learning modules: mastering tools, managing emotions, handling difficult situations, etc.
The training form is integrated diversely between online, e-learning and offline. E-learning online learning system: Learning Management System LMS Vietnam makes integration training, culture and skills training in the company easier. Enterprises with a large number of human resources departments, or wanting to reduce the pressure of internal training of the enterprise can also apply LMS Vietnam.
