Call Center Customer Support Services
Some companies establish call centers to save money. Other companies establish call centers to provide a better customer service experience. The best companies figure out how to do the former because of the latter. Regardless of the intentions behind a call center, there is a certain, vocal segment of all companies' customer bases that doesn't like dealing with the call center at all.
When that is the case, those customers need to be shown why the call center and its technology will work for their benefit as well as that of the company.
Offering self-service options via the web is once choice that may satisfy customers. The call centers themselves can get a terrible reputation if a custom has to wait even one time on hold for too long. They may prefer the immediacy of the web. They will probably also prefer using the web if they felt they spoke to a discourteous rep on the phone.
If Internet access is not an option, some customers may like using Interactive Voice Response technology (IVR) which is also called the Voice Response Unit (VRU). However, customers should always be given a choice when it comes to these automated phone systems. Customers should never be forced to go through actual account information or even several menu levels before getting the option to speak to a customer service representative.
Another benefit to customers using the systems is that call center agents are freed to handle more complicated inquiries or to work on other tasks. It should be noted that having interactive technologies available will increase certain costs as they require their own maintenance and attention from IT personnel.
When customers are on hold either before connecting to an operator or when the operator must go to another line to check on something with another department, customers should be given the choice of whether they want to listen to that infamous hold music. Some customers like it because it lets them know that the phone call has not been disconnected accidentally. Some hate it passionately in general, while others dislike a particular genre and don't want to be forced to listen to it. The same applies to companies that use radio station feeds. If a customer would not tune her car radio to a particular station, she probably won't want to hear it while waiting for the rep to return to the call.
Call center training modules often include a section on vocal presentation. Reps are told to smile when they talk, especially when giving the greeting, because the customers can "hear the smile in their voice." While that sounds rather hokey, it is true and can go a long way in setting the proper tone of the call.
A final tip for rapport building is for call center agents to inform the customer of what is being done each step of the way. Since the customer can't see the rep, the customer has now way of knowing what is going on during those long pauses. It is easy for the rep to explain that he is waiting for the screen to load the customer account or find a particular transaction, etc. It can also elicit sympathy for the customer if she knows the rep is trying to help her, but is being stymied by the computer system. Otherwise, she will just assume the rep is working too slowly.
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