by Interactive Northwest, Inc.
Last night, I was about to wind down my weekend by streaming the latest episode of Downton Abbey, when I discovered a website that I manage was down. I called the technical support line for the hosting service with a heightened sense of urgency, and was greeted by a message that the “current hold time is 67 minutes.” Sure enough, I was forced to wait on hold for over an hour before finally being connected to an agent who could assist me. Thankfully, once connected, the issue was resolved rather quickly by a very helpful technical support agent, in spite of the arduous journey to get there.
So why am I still scratching my head?
While I was relieved to have my issue resolved, even after hanging up, I found myself a little unsettled by the way the call was handled. It was like a throwback to the 1980s when waiting on hold was commonplace. But this is 2016. The average caller is not likely reaching out from a land line and they’re certainly aware that technology has removed the need to wait on hold for extended periods of time. Contrary to the repeated message that my call was important to them, I felt as though my call was, in fact, not important to them–at least not important enough to invest in a technology that allows me to go on with my business until an agent becomes available.
I watched the battery on my phone spiral downward,
64%….
52%…
47%…
As my phone plummeted toward the red zone, I was forced to listen to innocuous music of someone else’s choosing instead of watching my coveted episode of Downton Abbey, all the while worrying that my client’s website was down while I was powerless to do anything about it.
None of this is new. You’ve certainly heard similar stories before or experienced them first hand. But it is becoming much less frequent. Today’s callers are less accustomed to waiting on hold than they were a decade ago because they are no longer treated this way by other organizations.
As I sat there, still a bit perplexed, it occurred to me that I probably would no longer recommend this hosting service to a colleague or friend. They are a great hosting service on most other fronts. In fact, they are frequently listed among the top 10. But this was my third consecutive experience like this with their support line. The quality of their product/service has been overshadowed by how poorly they handled my calls. Unfortunately, it sends a message that they don’t really value their customer’s time.
Callback is no longer optional
After this experience, I found myself wondering, is it really an option for a contact center that has hold times of more than a few minutes to not offer callback in today’s technology driven world?
Callers have grown accustomed to higher levels of service and convenience. They carry around mobile devices that keep them connected to the things they value, 24/7. They expect organizations to keep up with current technology. They’re multitaskers and will move their business to organizations that respect that.
A survey conducted by Software Advice found that 75% of callers were only willing to wait 5 minutes on hold, if at all, before preferring a callback option. Providing callers with the option to receive a callback is clearly their preference and contributes to an enhanced customer experience. If customer satisfaction, high net promoter scores, and capturing new business through referrals is important to your organization, callback should be an essential consideration for your contact center toolbox.
Step up your game
The great news is that callback is not a complicated offering and works seamlessly with typical contact center models. In fact, it often enhances productivity by queuing up callers as agents become available. When combined with intelligent routing applications, callback can even connect callers to agents who are most qualified to resolve their call, providing an even greater level of customer satisfaction.
If your organization is not offering callback, or your current callback offering could use a makeover, consider having a conversation with INI. We’ve recently updated INI SureConnect™, our robust customer callback solution, with even more features that enhance caller convenience while providing greater flexibility and efficiency in the contact center. INI SureConnect 5.0 now has greater support for web and mobile devices, enhanced scheduling features, universal time zone support, and greater monitoring and reporting capabilities. Your path to greater customer satisfaction begins with a simple conversation.
[button link=”https://www.interactivenw.com/ivr-self-service-solutions/products/ini-sureconnect/” size=”large”]Learn more about INI SureConnect™[/button]