subject: The Primary Grouses at Answering Service [print this page] The answering service department of any call center is probably the most popular aspect. However, the popularity is more often in the negative sense. We all know how an experience at the inbound call center desk can be! The infamy is now as ancient as the call center services itself. The question we are asking here is: can they not do a better job at this extremely important BPO desk? Of course, they can! Let's check out some ways in which customer care services can be a better experience for the callers:
1. Efficiency: Callers who knock on the phone answering desk are either looking for detailed information about the products/services. Or it could simply be that they have a complaint against the telemarketing services that the call center is providing. In either case the answering service agent has to process their requests. A lot of time can be saved if the agent does so with practiced efficiency. Callers don't like unnecessary delay while they hold the phone. Efficiency is the keyword here. If the calls are readily processed and the callers get what they want in the wink of an eye, they will be more open to call in the future. This might also open telemarketing options for the agents.
2. Responsibility: The answering service agents need to assume more responsibility. Many at the inbound call center feel that they should pass the call to someone with authority instead of trying to solve the trickier issues. But call center agents need to understand that passing the buck is infuriating. It's more so if the person you are passing the call to knows as much as you do! If you need to get a higher authority on the call, make it a conference call. Explain things to the higher up and save the drudgery of the caller to state his problems twice over. If you are going to pass the call to another BPO guy, say that to the caller. Don't make him keep guessing where he's waiting and for what.
3. Transparency: Hidden costs are part of every business today. If the telemarketing project you are doing has any, explain that to the customers. That saves lots of hassles later on. Callers like to talk to an inbound call center person who's transparent with the procedures and also well informed about what they are talking about. If you mutter and stammer your way through because you are not supposed to reveal some facts, it rings the alarm bells. If the client has asked not to reveal some statistics, better prepare something to say in advance. Sync with the entire BPO team so all of them say the same thing.
4. Patience: As an answering service agent, you will need dollops of patience. You have to be a patient listener if you want to be good at phone answering. Many call center agents simply jump the gun before they hear out the caller. That is not the right way to deal with the problem.
