Welcome to the Phone Support Team

Please review this training with details of the team. 

Link: Phone Support Introduction (1) 

System Basics

Training: Omnichannel Voice Inbound Basics.pptx 

How to Answer Phone Calls

Example Greeting

 “Thank you for calling BYU-Pathway Worldwide. This is [first name], how can I help you?”

Authentication

Every caller must be authenticated in order to provide them with any information related to their account. This includes information about previously submitted support tickets or creating a new ticket on their behalf. 

You must verify the caller’s first and last name, and at least two pieces of personal information from this list:

• Student ID

• Home address

• Phone number

• Personal email address (not byupathway.edu)

• Date of birth

You should use a phrase such as:

“For security purposes, can you please provide me with your [student ID] and [home address]?”

If the caller can’t be authenticated, you should use a phrase such as:

“Unfortunately, I’m not able to help any callers without them verifying at least two personal pieces of information from our records.”

Listen & Empathize

• Be an active listener, responding when there are pauses

• Never talk over the caller

• Summarize what you heard

• Express empathy with phrases such as:

-"I’m sorry to hear you’ve had to go through this"

-"I can only imagine how frustrating that would be"

For further information on active listening, please review this training.
Link: Active Listening and Asking Questions 

Assurance of Help

• “I’ll do everything I can to make sure we figure out a solution for your issue.”

• “I can show you how to see the status of your ticket on the Help Center and how you can include additional notes or comments.”

Closing

All phone support agents should use the same closing:

• “Again, my name is [first name]. Thank you for contacting BYU-Pathway Worldwide and have a great day.”

Handling Irate Callers

The best thing to do when talking to an irate caller is listen. Allow them to talk and share the details of their experience. Be sure to interject (“I see”, “wow”, “ok”, “that sounds frustrating”, etc.) when there are pauses, so they know you are listening. 

Here is an important training you can review that will give additional information on this subject.

Link: De-escalation Strategies.pptx 

Escalations

If the caller is not satisfied with the above response, you can use a phrase such as:

• “Since your issue does seem to be more time sensitive or critical, I can send an email to one of our support team leaders to look into this as soon as they can. You should get a response from them within 48 business hours.”

Training Link: Escalation Training.pptx 

How to Use the BYU-PW Help Center

In this video, we cover the following topics. 

1. How to Search for Articles

2. How to Submit a Ticket

*Students will need to be logged in for this step. 

3. How to See Existing Tickets

*Students will need to be logged in for this step. 

Training Video: How to Use the Help Center.webm  

Finding Students In Reach

Training Link: Finding Contacts and Creating Cases in Reach.mp4 

Start Video at 0:00

Seeing What Open/Closed Tickets Students Have

Training Link: Finding Contacts and Creating Cases in Reach.mp4 

Start Video at 1:08

Creating a New Ticket For a Student and Assigning It To the Proper Queue

Training Link: Finding Contacts and Creating Cases in Reach.mp4 

Start Video at 1:37

Cases Picked Between Calls

Prioritize cases where the student prefers email communication.

Do not call the student; calling resets your availability and prevents you from receiving inbound calls.

 If the student is requesting information found in a knowledge base article:

• Carefully read the student’s message to ensure you understand their question.

• Email the student with the relevant information, including links to external KB articles in the Help Center.

• Resolve the case.

If the student has an issue that needs to be escalated:

• Review the case thoroughly to understand the issue.

• Gather any required information from Reach and Anthology Student and add it to the case notes.

• If you have all necessary information:

-Follow the escalation or parent case instructions in the article.

• If more information is needed:

-Email the student to request the missing details.

-Follow the instructions below to add the case to the General Support Queue.

At the end of your shift:

• If you have open cases that need follow-up:

-Add a note to the case including:

-That you are on the phone team and worked on the case between calls.

-What issue the student is experiencing.

-What information you requested.

-That the case needs follow-up.

-Example Note: “I am on the phone team and was working on this case between calls. This student is having an issue with their gathering selection. They said they are getting an error message when trying to select their gathering. I asked them to send me a screenshot and the URL of the page they are on. Please follow up with the student.”

• Add the case to the General Support queue. A General Support agent will pick it up and follow up with the student or escalate as needed.

Handling Inbound Calls That Require Follow-Up

• Determine if follow-up is needed.

• Common scenarios include:

-The student reports an error but doesn’t have access to their computer.

-The student says they will send screenshots later.

-The student wants to speak with an advisor at a later time.

• Check for an existing case.

• If a case already exists, update it.

• If no case exists:

-Help the student submit a ticket through the Help Center, or

-Create the case while on the call with the student.

• Add detailed notes to the case:

• Summarize the conversation and clearly describe the issue.

• Specify what follow-up is needed.

• If screenshots are needed and the student can’t provide them during the call, choose one of the following options:

1. Preferred method: Ask the student to create their own case and upload the screenshots.

-This keeps all information in one place, helps the student learn to use the Help Center, and exposes them to relevant knowledge base articles.

2. Alternative method: Send the student an email they can reply to with the screenshots attached.

-This prevents duplicate cases and ensures attachments are linked to the correct case.

• Write a final note in the case stating:

-That the student called Phone Support.

-What follow-up action is needed.

-Assign the case to the General Support queue for continued assistance.

Important Links

Help Center: https://help.byupathway.edu/

Reach CRM: https://cne-101008.crm.dynamics.com/main.aspx?appid=155f9667-c2f7-ed11-8847-000d3a358523

First Training Meeting of Phone Support: Phone Support Team Intro-20250401_100219-Meeting Recording.mp4