For call center agents, one of the worst things they can face is an irate client. In some cases there is little they can do to avoid having to deal with angry clients; there is always more of that when they are assigned to handle complaints hotlines. It really takes very special skill and an absolutely calm demeanor to be able to face and sometimes even defuse such situations. Call center industry organizations like the British Columbia Contact Center Association are always on the lookout for those exceptional types of people they can train.
Aside from complaints about products and services, one of the most common causes of client anger is having been made to wait too long to get connected to a person qualified to resolve their issues. Some contact centers try to keep the client busy so they don’t get impatient. They provide music over the line, or offer information about their products or services. Sometimes they use interactive voice response (IVR) systems both to occupy the client and to gather information which would allow faster and more accurate call routing. When there are no operators available, the contact centers offer clients a call back option. But some clients resent IVR systems and view them as a way of dismissing them and their concerns. [Others try and source more effective inbound call center service after they get fed up from low client satisfaction.]
A more effective solution involves the use of software called acd call center; acd being an acronym for automatic call distribution. With automatic call distribution software in place, each call is compared to information in the database to determine whether records for the client already exist. Available information is used to route the call to the call center agent whose skills match the client’s requirements or issue. This is done much faster than any human can, because software makes it possible. For more information on the advantage of using automatic call distribution software, click here.
Having an acd call center system in place gives the contact center the advantage of using algorithms based on client information, the number the client dialed, IVR configurations, whether call center agents are available, the caller’s area code, the skill of the agent, and rules governing the response as defined by their client company to quickly and accurately route calls to the right person; the call center agent and the company he represents come across as very professional. Through the use of this system, there are very few errors, dropped calls or transfers to the wrong department. The system can even monitor calls intentionally or accidentally dropped by a client for a call back.
Automatic call distribution services are usually provided through the cloud so there is uninterrupted real time connectivity to all agents. This enables managers and supervisors to monitor individual and team performance. They can also intervene whenever necessary to limit any errors they may find. Because calls are routed much faster, clients are less likely to become impatient; this makes it just that tiny bit easier for call center agents to resolve issues. That is but one of the benefits of efficient call routing enabled by automatic call distribution software.