Just Answer the Phone Quicker!
Posted by Ted Hopton on January 16, 2008
I’ve started hearing more people talking about automated callback technology in glowing terms. That’s when an announcement plays while you are waiting for your call to be answered, offering to have the call center call you back instead of making you wait in the queue. Even my mother likes it (she always tells me what she likes and doesn’t like about call centers she has called, every time we get together). But I admit I have never been that fond of the practice of postponing calls to be handled later, and I further confess that my bias was heavily influenced by a discussion years ago with Jay Minnucci, ICMI’s Vice President of Consulting Services.
So I emailed Jay recently to see if he’s been won over to the automated callback approach. In a word, “no,” but his response is more fun to read than that:
Hi Ted,
Still hating the automated callback thing. Some of our clients are looking into it, and my comments to them were basically that it’s a neat technology that helps in the short term and hurts in the long term. There really isn’t any value to it if wait times are under 3 to 5 minutes or so…given that, our advice is “fix your forecasting and scheduling and answer the damn phone quicker.”
If you do that, then you don’t need automated callbacks.
What I’ve noticed is that it becomes a crutch for those that have it. “Why worry about the queue anymore when the automated callback system will take care of it? Customers love it, so we don’t need to be proactive anymore.” I think those that believe customers like it are deluding themselves – of course they like it compared to having to sit on hold for 20 minutes. But I’d bet if you asked them if they would prefer that the call be answered right when it arrives, they’d tell you that’s what they really want.
call center management 
eryan said
Automated callback solutions are intended as a safeguard rather than a substitute for adequately staffing your contact center. All centers are prone to having unforeseen peaks in call volume, and rather than overstaffing to manage peaks, a callback solution can be utilized to keep customers from waiting for an agent. This keeps staffing costs under control, and while customers prefer not to wait, receiving a callback is perceived as a much better experience than being tied to a phone waiting on hold.
Ted said
Thanks for your comment, Eryan. Your position pretty much expresses my mother’s perspective. She’d rather have a callback than wait for 20 minutes to have her call answered. However, I think it’s a sad commentary on our call center industry that customers have such low expectations that they are glad to let the call center dictate when their call will be handled, because they have had so many bad experiences with long wait times that it’s a more appealing alternative. If you know what you are doing, and make an organizational commitment to providing excellent customer service, you really can consistently answer the phone quickly. IMHO, those are the companies that are going to win the customers in the end.
eryan said
While answering the phone immediately is a desired result for customers, not having to wait is also a desired result. Keep in mind that a callback is supposed to be an exception rather than the rule. While primitive callback solutions call customers back when it’s convenient for the contact center, the more advanced callback solutions utilize virtual queuing. This solution saves the customer’s place in line and calls them back when it’s their turn. In a society that’s used to waiting in line just about everywhere: at the grocery store, the bank, a fast-food drive thru; it’s refreshing to a customer to know that their place in line is maintained while they are able to do more productive things than sit on the phone listening to hold music. Perception is reality in the mind of the consumer. Companies who provide positive customer experiences are the ones who end up building customer loyalty.
RudyV. said
So, I think we all agree, any tool, incorrecty used runs the risk of injury. Eryan, in your first comment you mentioned the words “keeps staffing costs under control”. Since you sound like a person who is in the industry and understands the value of Loyalty through Experience I can respect it. However, so many call centers use these features as a way to keep staffing costs down, by staffing on the lower end of the curve becuase they feel the “call back” feature buys them customer resistance to abuse.
Customers only want two things:
1. Answer the phone now.
2. Solve my problem today.
Anything less is playing with a loaded gun and lack of respect.
Thanks for a great string.
Enjoyed reading your entries.
Regards.
Rudy Vidal
http://willtheybuyagain.wordpress.com
jayaticmi said
Rudy, I agree completely with your reply. Any strategy that puts the customer off until a more convenient time is far more risk than it is worth. Whether an automated solution is more elegant than other options is a moot point. The best option is to be there for your customers when they want you.
Interesting point in Eryan’s post. It’s true that this is a society that is “used to waiting in line just about everywhere”. How did we get to that point? There is no better way to de-value a customer than to take away our most precious commodity – time. My loyalty goes to those companies that understand this and are there when I need them, not when it is convenient for them.
Regards,
Jay Minnucci