* Readers write in about customer service done wrong
Last time, as a follow-on to our discussion of converged call centers, we shared experiences of integrated call center experiences that worked. This time, the news is more mixed, as we share the experience of a reader who developed a successful call center that was nixed by upper management.
Our friend wrote:
“In 1982, I supervised call center employees and have some thoughts on my experience. While in the center, I performed a study of time spent online vs. customer satisfaction by allowing a portion of my group to ignore call duration requirements and focus on taking care of the customer. [Comment from Steve and Larry: What a concept!] I discovered a direct, positive correlation between customer satisfaction and the length of time the reps spent online. [That is,] the longer the employee stayed online with the customer, the higher the level of customer satisfaction as indicated by online feedback, reduced repeat calls, AND customer compliments (both verbal and written).
“Although this was a small, perhaps even statistically insignificant study, it convinced me that customer satisfaction could be greatly influenced by allowing employees the time to solve the customer’s problem on the first call. To me, it became clear that the long-term benefits of customer satisfaction far outweighed the short-term benefit of restricting the time spent on the telephone call. Unfortunately, driving up the average talk time did not meet the center’s goal of taking more calls!”
Our take on these responses is that there is indeed hope for call centers to use convergence technologies to become more responsive to customer needs. But having the corporate go-ahead to make these moves requires a commitment to move from tactical penny-counting to a more strategic view that recognizes the value of having happy customers – regardless of your industry. And next time we’ll delve further into the strategic vs. tactical issue.
