You know who they are. They call on your busiest day, when you’ve got lots of calls to return, an important deadline to meet, and that project to complete. They’re the callers who don’t want to end the call, the ramblers, the storytellers. They want to tell you about their lives, their coworkers in minute details, and to recount the story of their last vacation in real time.

Worse – they’re your customers. And you don’t know how to get them off the phone without being rude!

Talkative people are often interesting and entertaining on the phone, but they can also eat up a lot of your time. To avoid wasting precious time, you should be able to manage the endless call with a talkative customer.  One of the following simple techniques should help you:

With a talkative customer, ask closed questions, as much as possible. Closed questions will prompt short answers that will help you maintain the flow of the conversation. Opt for open-ended questions only when you need further details.

Offer minimal response. Do not encourage pointless conversation. The talkative customer may try to engage you in a non-work related conversation. To prevent this from happening, answer with minimal information and promptly redirect the conversation on the matter at hand.

• Customer: “Hi Mary! This is Mike. How are you? Did you watch the game last night?”
• You: “Hi Mike. No, I missed the game, but I heard it was good. What can I do for you?”

Set out the ground rules. If you are calling or are taking a call from a known talker, you aren’t being offensive when you are being proactive. Before the conversation begins, set the time parameter. Do it in a way that makes your customer feel important.

•  ”Mr. Thomas, I’m glad I reached you. I’m pushed for time, but I wanted to return my most important calls. Do you have ten minutes so we can discuss the product shipping information you requested? Or is there a better time for me to call?”

A statement like this flatters your customer by suggesting that he is a busy and important person. It allows you to work the conversation to a close.

• “Wow, we really got a lot accomplished. But I promised this would only take ten minutes, and we’re at that now. Thank you so much for taking the time now to talk to me.”

Some people are just born talkers. They don’t even mind if you’re not really listening so long as they’re talking.  So they talk and talk and talk and talk, and you “uh huh” and “oh” and “I see” and hope that eventually they’ll run out of steam and let you off the phone. They won’t.  Don’t play the waiting game, and don’t fear that they will take offense if you try to end the conversation.  They won’t – if you do it in a courteous and direct manner. You may have to jump in when they pause for breath, but don’t beat around the bush or drop hints. Just say it -

• “Gee, Sam, it’s been great talking with you, but I have to sign off for now.”

If your conversation calls for action on your part, you can include that – “Sam, I’m glad you called. I’m going to let you go now so I can look up those files right now and find the information you need. Okay?” What can Sam say but “Okay”? And when Sam does, it’s time for you to say goodbye.

Make statements that psychologically lead the customer toward the end of the conversation:

• “Before we hang up I want to be sure to tell you …”
•  ”I don’t want to take up anymore of your time so let me give you ….”
• “One last thing I need to tell/ask you…”

When setting ground rules and being direct doesn’t work, listen some more.  Your customer may be trying to tell you something important that you’re not hearing. If the phone conversation is about a product or service problem, it may be that your customer is still venting. Some people need to let off a lot of steam when things go wrong.  While that isn’t always pleasant to hear, and doesn’t always seem to be helpful in resolving the problem, remember that angry customers need to vent. If you abruptly end the conversation, the customer is apt to vent to friends and family – and to your customers and potential customers.

It may also be that the customer doesn’t believe that you’ve understood the message he or she is trying to convey. Perhaps the customer is doing a poor job of explaining, or perhaps you’ve jumped to the wrong conclusion – and offered the wrong solution. Use your listening skills and the technique of reflective listening – repeating what the customer has said in a summarized form – to confirm your understanding.

What if the customer keeps talking, you’ve tried the techniques, they aren’t working, and you still need to end the conversation? It helps to use “I” statements and a promise for action. Instead of blaring out with frustration – “You need to let me get off the phone, Mr. Thomas, if you expect me to do anything about this.” Try – “I appreciate your concern, Mr. Thomas, I need to take some time to review the information you’ve provided me so that I can take immediate action to correct the problem with your account. You’ll see the correction on your next statement.”