Revision [8255]

This is an old revision of ComprehensivePhoneGuide made by MichaelM on 2013-03-26 12:03:08.

 

Comprehensive Phone Guide


Outline
Overview
Script
How to Deal with Certain Types of Calls
Rules of Thumb
Research Tips
Extension List
Using Our Website Worksheet

Overview

Operators must be ready to provide help to anyone from C-SPAN junkies to graduate students and professional congressional researchers to our own members. It is the job of every Project Vote Smart intern or staff member answering the phone to provide the caller with a pleasant experience. No matter what tone of voice the caller uses, remain polite and professional. As a phone operator, you are speaking on behalf of the Project.

When you answer a call, one of the first questions you may be asked is "What is Project Vote Smart?"

Short Answer:
Project Vote Smart is a nonpartisan, non-profit, political research organization. We provide the nation's first Voter's Self-Defense System. This system allows ordinary citizens to access biographical information, issue positions, voting records, public statements, performance evaluations from special interest groups, campaign contributions for current elected officials and candidates seeking to replace them, and information on voter registration.

We were established by national leaders from both sides of the aisle including Jimmy Carter, Gerald Ford, Michael Dukakis and Barry Goldwater.

The Project is supported by the Ford and Carnegie Foundations, and has received praise from the New York Times, CNN, and PBS.

Long Answer

How to Answer a Phone - for Vote Smart

Basic Script

Mainline or Candidate line calls:

"Thank you for calling Project Vote Smart. This is _, how can I help you?"

Hotline Calls:

"Thank you for calling Project Vote Smart's Research Hotline. This is _, how can I help you?"

(Somewhere in conversation get their name and state they are calling from - allows you to remain professional by using their name in conversation and when transferring a call).

LISTEN to the question...don't rush or jump to a transfer conclusion. Maybe you can help them answer the question, just LISTEN to figure out what the question actually is.

Caller:
asks question ... you decide whether you can or can not research this question (Hotline calls should only last THREE MINUTES). Either get email address or make a phone appointment for them to call vote smart back (we do not call people back when it is a research hotline call!).

....................................................Always Be Polite. Remain Non-partisan...........................................


If caller is not a member or is not signed up for the e-newsletter call must end with this question:

"Would you be interested in signing up for our e-newsletter or maybe becoming a member of Vote Smart?"

CONTACT INFORMATION MEANS: name, phone, mailing address, AND email address - double check accuracy

About E-newsletter:
The e-newsletter, Common Ground, is our monthly electronic newsletter that provides brief updates about Project Vote Smart, elections, and other political information. Just another way to keep yourself up-to-date with factual political information.
[Make sure you have their email address correctly spelled if they say 'OK']

About Becoming a Member: ($45 is the suggested donation amount, but we will take any amount of money. $5 etc)
Because we are funded exclusively by small individual contributions, as a donor, you are considered a member of Vote Smart which includes benefits such as:
(1) The opportunity to visit and/or volunteer at our research headquarters at the Great Divide Ranch in southwest Montana.
(2)Receive free copies of our annual publications such as the Voter's Self Defense Manual, which is actually takes a candidates' public record and puts it in a pocket-sized, hand-held format.
(3)As a member you will be the first to receive updates and new info on all of our programs and services.
[Transfer call to Hannah (2233) or Eric (2225) if caller is interested in learning more]

Basic End of Call
: "We very much appreciate your call today and hope you will share us with people you know. Have a nice day, good bye."

For HOTLINE calls
*At the end of ANY and ALL emails that are sent to callers, you must attach the boiler plate located in the Public Drive>Intern Hotline>Intern Material>Hotline Email

*Be sure to keep track of the calls you get by using the tally sheet located on the research department's gmail account. Mark each category of information the caller requested, and be sure to include the date on the tally sheet.

*If you have an interesting/unique call, feel free to add the comment to the document located at: research>hotline>funny quotes>year of call

How to Handle Certain Types of Calls

Dealing with Negative Responses: (regarding video promo, spring 2012)

The opinion expressed in the video/email is that of Richard Kimball and does not necessarily represent Project Vote Smart as an organization.

The video was created to spur debate and stimulate conversations amongst its viewers.

Richard Kimball will contact you if you would like to speak with him personally.
(Get CONTACT INFO; Send CONTACT INFO to your supervisor ASAP)

Give Donation/Become a Member:
(Donation/Gift Membership) - Membership Department handles these calls

Become a Volunteer; Spread the Word from Home:
Speaking with candidates/campaigns - Political Courage Test Department handles candidate and campaign phone calls:
The Political Courage Test Department will...
  1. get the name and position of the person you are speaking with
  2. what is the name/office/district of candidate (bring that person up in admin
  3. address any questions they might have (see ways to deal with common questions) or redirect the call to the appropriate person
  4. encourage campaign to contact us if they have any additional questions or if they would like to submit something. This is the contact info you will give:
    • Candidate Line: 406-859-8692
    • Main Fax: 406-859-8680 (Attn: PCT)
    • Email: politicalcourage@votesmart.org (Attn: whoever is appropriate to deal with their inquiry)
    • Mailing Address:
      • Project Vote Smart
      Attn: PCT
      1 Common Ground
      Philipsburg MT, 59858
  5. end the call with: "good luck on your campaign"
  6. create a contact log for the call


Members AUTOMATICALLY receive a copy of the new edition of VSDM. If members call the hotline, then just tell them the new copy will be received shortly - no need to send them a copy if they are already receiving one.

API/Subscription or Tech Questions

*Please try to get some information about what specifically they would like to talk about and then direct their calls/emails in the following manner:

-Questions about our data, including questions about frequency of updates, go to whatever department's data they are asking about

-Questions about registration, their API key, our terms of service, payment or any other administrative question about their account can go to Jim (2294)

-Technical questions, problems with the API service itself, or feature requests for the API should go to IT (Mike - 2243); Clinton (clinton@votesmart.org) - Get specifics of IT question...

If a caller wants to be taken off of the mailing list

1.ask why they would like to be taken off of the mailing list.
2.if the recipient has died, Membership handles the issue (Hannah - 2233)
3.if the recipient is alive, ask if they have ever donated to Vote Smart
1.yes, alive and yes, donated - Membership handles the issue (Hannah - 2233)
2.yes, alive and no, donated - take their name down. Do nothing with it. Prospecting mailing recipient
(Note: Often members will call in with a response to a mailing they received from us and the Dev/Comm department will be best equipped to handle those calls, and record them properly in the database. If membership requires they assistance of another department, say it turns out the member really want to figure out how they can donate time doing some IT for us, membership will handle that with the necessary departments. To the extent we can we want to give the members a single point of contact. Also, any changes to membership, e.g. removing from the mailing list should also go to Dev/Comm, and if unavailable take a detailed message noting full name (watch spelling) and state.)


Spanish Language "Vote Easy"

http://www.votafuturo.com/
Simply click on "Encuesta de Candidatos" - this tool uses Project Vote Smart's data to create a similar VoteEasy tool. Please direct spanish speaking callers to this website if they want to know about spanish language political materials.

Rules of Thumb

Our Top Goal is Non-partisanship

Partisan is defined as an adherent or supporter of a person, party or cause or as partial to a specific party, person or cause. Bias is defined as a particular tendency or inclination, especially one that prevents unprejudiced consideration of a question.

A caller may make biased statements, you cannot respond in any way to partisan remarks.
Simply tell callers: "Project Vote Smart is a non partisan organization so I can not comment on that, but if you have a specific question, I can help you answer that based on facts."

Don't interpret any information you give out on the phone. This means you cannot rephrase or reword anything from the database or from reference books, nor can you agree with the caller's phrasing. Interpretation allows for bias; if the caller is confused, offer to reread something slowly but DO NOT PARAPHRASE! Always read things word for word. There are several manuals that define congressional terms and legislative procedures from which you can read if a caller needs further explanation. If a caller asks for information about Project Vote Smart make sure to touch on the points mentioned in the Important Talking Points list or the Short Answer section, and offer to send the caller our Voter Self-Defense Manual (U.S. Congress only).

Be respectful, considerate, and helpful Some callers are angry and frustrated, and all are looking for help. Some have never heard of Project Vote Smart and don't know what we do or whether they can trust us. Occasionally, you might receive a rude or prank call. Do not take it personally. Be tolerant, patient and professional. Always give problem calls to a supervisor.

Hotline: Keep all calls under 3 minutes!!
If you know a call is going to go over 3 minutes, tell the caller that you can take a special request. Take down the caller's questions and tell the caller to provide an email or call us back.

Don't let callers ramble. You should be doing most of the talking. If the caller starts to ramble, as politely as possible ask if he or she has a specific question you can help with. If not, politely say:

"Sir/ma'am, unless you have a specific question for me, I'm going to have to let you go so I can keep the lines open. Please feel free to call us back with a specific, factual question."

Or
"Sir/ma'am, that's not something that I can comment on because Project Vote Smart is a nonpartisan political research organization. If you don't have a specific factual question, I'm going to have to let you go so I can keep the lines open."

Or
"Sir/ma'am, that's going to take me some time to answer and I have to keep this line open. Do you have an e-mail address that I can send this information to?"

Non-Hotline Calls: Members, Donations, Candidate Calls, Media Calls - these calls have a 10-minute time frame.
If all of the lines are busy, the caller will get a message asking them to call back.


We do not fax, mail or call anyone back from the Hotline with answers to their research question - unless they are a member!
If they are members, get their special request and contact information. Otherwise, the caller can call us back--it's a toll free call--or we will email them information. The only time we mail anything is PVS Publications, which include the Voter's Self-Defense Manual and brochures - This information is handled by Membership

-Never answer a caller with, "I don't know" and don't use abbreviations (PVS/PCT/VSDM)


-No personal calls on the Hotline Do not transfer any personal calls to anyone here at work; "Staff Call-ins" are appropriate when staff members are away from the office.

-Do not give out personal phone numbers or e-mails Especially Richard's Home or Office. Take a message or provide the proper departments' email address.


If you have Lunch Duty:
You have a choice of (1) going 10-15 minutes early to the lodge and getting a plate to return back to the office for 12:30 - with this option you get an extra hour of work if you sign the hours sheet -however you do not get your hour lunch break with this option. You may also (2) take your lunch hour later in the day or earlier in the morning, just as long as you are back for 12:30 phone duty. Or, (3) you can go after 1:30 to the lodge to get left overs - maybe ask someone to make a plate for you.

If the primary person is away from their desk - break, meeting, whatever - someone answer the phone! Primary person should inform someone that they need to take over for a few minutes, but sometimes we are away from our desks for a minute or two...just ANSWER THE PHONE!


Phone Extension List - Transferring Calls


We do not transfer calls to department directors.

Calls for RK or Adelaide Calls for Richard: -do not give out Richard's personal email address, home phone number, or office phone number without permission- instead transfer to him if appropriate, someone else appropriate if he doesn't need to take the call personally, or take a message and be proactive about getting him the message ASAP. if you think a special circumstance calls for such information, please transfer the call to the National Director who can make that decision.
In general, phone calls should be directed to the following staffers:

Transferring Calls:

Before transferring a call, make sure you ask the person their first and last name and what organization they are from/what the call is in reference to. If it is a member calling, be sure to also ask what city and state they live in.
press transfer key on your phone > dial the 4 digit extension of the person you wish to reach > inform them what the call is about, wait for their "ok" > hang up
if the person does not answer their phone within 2 rings = the person is not at their desk. Simply press blinking key again (brings you back to the caller) inform them that the primary person was not at his or her desk. Inform the caller that you will transfer him or her to another person. > press transfer key again > dial another 4 digits for someone else who could take the call > wait for them to say they will take the call > hang up.

If neither Vote Smart Employee is available, take a message being sure to get the following information: name, phone number, email address, relationship to PVS, affiliated organization (if applicable), and reason for calling. Email this message to the appropriate party immediately, so that they may deal with the issue.

If you must transfer to someone in another office, you must dial 9+1+ and the office number.
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