Call queues provide a method of routing callers to people in your organization who can help with with a particular issue or question. Call queues, if set up and utilized correctly, can help a calling customer easily and quickly get to where they need to be. If they’re too long, too slow, and too confusing, they’ll just frustrate the caller and drive them to hang up. There are many ways to optimize your productivity and customer service by focusing on offering an organized call queue.
Making your call queues the least stressful as possible for your callers is extremely important. Especially because 1 in 3 Americans say that they would be willing to switch companies after only one instance of a poor customer service. Make a good impression, and utilize these 5 tips for optimizing your call center queue.
Use The 3 Cs: Communication, Choice and Call Routing
Communication, choice, and call routing are three very important factors to have when organizing your call queues.
Good communication is essential to every business – everyone knows that. Customers get their first impression of your company or your customer service when they call your line, and they always prefer to be waiting the least amount of time. Keeping your communications tightened, and letting the customer know exactly what to expect is key. If the customer has to wait for a representative, let them know that they will be put on hold, and give them a message to listen to.
Choice is another important factor to have on your call queues. Make sure you give your customers options, and make sure you have an option for out of the box calls too. Suggest callback requests for voice callers. Keep your knowledge base, or FAQ section up to date and easy to find.
Publicize Your Other Channels in Your On-Hold Messages
One great way to promote your other communication channels is to publicize them on your on hold message. If your company offers different ways for customers to reach support or service, let them know while they are waiting. Some people would rather hang up on hold and reach out via text, or another option. CallHarbor offers support through text message, phone call, email, and live chat on our website or through the customer portal.
If you choose to play a message informing your customers of other ways to reach out, try to say it a little more creative than the typical “visit our website at ….” that everyone hears, because most people will simply block it out if it doesn’t catch their attention.
Record Calls
Analytics that gauge the performance of your call center are an essential part of your business, because they can help you uncover which areas your team needs to improve on.
Solving an issue for customers in a single call means better satisfaction ratings, less queue time for other callers, and lower operating costs for the center as a whole. The call recording data that you gather can make it easier for agents to self-manage.
Agents can listen to calls and track problematic patterns in the way they communicate with callers so that they can correct it before the issue grows. By recording calls, you provide a platform for growth that lets agents perform at their best and nip bad habits in the bud.
Provide Alternative Contact Options
When customers call your hotline, they want to speak to the next available agent, we know this. But that doesn’t mean you can’t have a failsafe that provides other options when their ideal solution just isn’t available.
Rather than providing a message such as “our agents are busy please stay on hold or call back later,” you can provide the option of leaving a voicemail. This will help customers send their concerns to the support department then get back to work while they wait instead of listening to hold music.
Another approach is to let customers request an automatic callback to their phone number. This is better than making them wait in the call queue for half an hour since time always passes quicker when you’re preoccupied with other tasks.
Customers are also more likely to leave negative reviews over long call times in comparison to slow call-backs, so making sure your call queue is organized in an efficient way, and getting back to customers quickly is always the goal.