subject: Attitude Shift On Answering Service [print this page] Just like the telemarketing sector, there has to be an attitude shift in the answering service department as well. This shift in focus could do for the phone answering department what subsequent reforms couldn't do over the years. The problems faced by callers when speaking to call center agents is an old one. You will come across many disgruntled callers who are unsatisfied with the kind of services that they get. Many new customers enquire about the after-sales service and that often becomes the deciding factor while purchasing from a particular brand or company. The worst part about poor customer care is that the negative word goes around rapidly and before you know it, the market finds out just how unprofessional a firm is in their customer relationship.
Once you get that label, you have a gigantic task on your hands to surmount the bad reputation. Only a quality BPO unit can help you out. However, as modern business is proving to us, business firms cannot rely on answering service that is done in the old model. You need a dynamic team handling your phones. These agents must be able to think on their feet. They must be authorized to take decisions. The decision-making power will cut down on the system of transferring calls from one agent to another. The hold time at the inbound call center desk is a pet peeve for people who call up. When the agents know that they can decide for themselves, they do not pass the call around. The BPO service management must take the responsibility and should not haul up agents when they make minor mistakes.
It does sound a little dicey to leave the decisions to the call center agents. That is why the call centers must start a rigorous training module. These sessions will make the agents aware of the consequences of the decisions that they make at the phone answering desk. They must be told how the whole telemarketing business works. If they know where they fit in and how they can contribute more productively, it will be a benefit for the BPO. An agent who can work independently and still contribute towards the team effort is nothing short of an asset for the company. Such agents can also inject the motivational values in their peers and pull up the quality of call center services.
Another change that the answering service desk can bring into practice is the idea of conference calls. There are times when the inbound call center agent does not possess the knowledge to answer a technical question. That is when the agent needs to get a technician on the phone. Instead of making the caller wait, they can put the caller on conference with the technician. That ensures that the caller doesn't have to repeat his problem or type in any information. The agent can act as a mediator and solve the problem. Innovation is what you need and the more BPO units head towards that state, the better it will be for their business.
