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mattd

Mystery callers and how they can help your business

527 272 mattd

The ‘mystery caller’ concept — adapted from the ‘mystery shopper’ — is an effective, but relatively unheralded technique in agent training. With monitors posing as ‘customers’ unbeknownst to staff, a firm can assess levels of service whilst pinpointing any issues within the customer experience with calls as they would be taken, not in the ‘falsity’ of a training session. Top tips include:

1) Courtesy and tone only go so far. In-depth knowledge is vital — especially as most customers are calling because their problem is more complex than one that could be resolved with a quick internet search. MCs can highlight any areas of specialist knowledge that might be lacking.

2) MCs can easily test average handling times, but more importantly they can assess how a request is dealt with once a customer gets through to a representative. Research has shown customers are more prepared to wait longer if their issue is resolved properly first time around.

3) First impressions really do count. Give customers a bad one, and you can be sure they will take their business elsewhere in future. MCs can tell you if your agents (who are usually the customer’s first interaction with an organisation) are giving customers the best impression off the bat.

Contact centres one of the UK’s ‘biggest bugbears’

350 201 mattd

eConnect - Article 4 ImageCall centres are the nation’s biggest bugbear – especially those based outside the UK – according to new research carried out by Which? consumer group released last week.

Having surveyed 100 major UK brands and more than 3,500 consumers, the results found that 46 per cent of people said they were irritated by call centres not being based in the UK, while just over a third (36 per cent) disliked automated telephone systems. Those lucky enough to get through were no less discontented. A third (32 per cent) were annoyed about being passed around lots of different people and channels.

The biggest block to contact centres improving their offering is their insistence on focusing too much on treating customers like numbers. Industry experts acknowledge that data driven metrics and intelligent contact flows are a must to ensure customers are dealt with quickly and by the right person.

Richard Lloyd, Which? executive director, said: “Call centres and telephone systems are the biggest customer service gripes by far. Firms need to up their game — those that don’t give customers the care and attention they deserve risk losing out to their competitors.”

Solutions like self-service options, queue personalisation and ensuring agents have visibility across all channels and a record of historical interactions can help improve the customer experience immensely.

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