Managing Multiple callers

US rapper, the Game, provoked chaos at Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department recently. Offering his 580,000 followers a chance of a music internship with him he asked them to telephone a phone number which turned out to be that of the police department. The calls jammed the switchboard for hours and delayed responses to genuine emergencies.

Whether the number was tweeted as a prank or the result of an error is not known but the incident is a graphic illustration of the problems any organisation can have when faced with above expected levels of calls. So want remedies are available to SMEs to help them cope with high call volumes?

One of the commonest reasons for sudden high call volumes is following the launch of a new product. Far too often whilst great attention is paid to multiple-marketing avenues the same care is not taken to helping employees to cope with increased volumes of calls and orders. Key to the remedy is the virtual switchboard. With all the functionality of an elaborate PBX switchboard at a fraction of the cost the virtual switchboard could be programmed to:

• Identify callers through push button or speech options and automatically transfer calls on to the right department or an outside call service
• Identify callers based on their dialling code and transfer them as appropriate
• Manage multi call queuing
• Offer callers the ability to leave name and phone number so they can be called back

It doesn’t matter how small the business, giving your clients the impression that you are prepared for their call is vital for reputation and trade. Even a one man band can benefit from using a virtual assistant service. This means that whether you are on another call or away from the office your clients will still receive a response. Alternatively a straight divert service will allow your calls to be routed to whereever you are. So, for example, calls to your office number can be diverted to your mobile when you are out and about.

Whilst not as potentially life threatening as the delayed calls to the Los Angeles Sheriff, failing to deal with your own telephone calls can quickly lead to lost business and frustrated clients. Using one or more of the methods outlined above will help your call answering to run smoothly and that can only be good for client relationships and for business.

Ofcom calls for customer service improvements

In advance of the introduction of new rules on handling customer complaints which come into effect from 22 July, Ofcom has recently announced the results of a customer service review. This has revealed that satisfaction levels are lower for those receiving landline and broadband services as opposed to mobile and pay TV services.

Whilst the report revealed that some aspects of customer service are improving, it reported that overall satisfaction levels continue to fall. Although the survey concentrated on the four major providers, BT, Sky, Talk Talk and Virgin, the results are significant for all those who are looking to set up a new phone service or to switch provider.

Of those surveyed although between 13% and 18% had contacted their provider within the past three months, between 23% and 31% of these contacts were as a result of a complaint. Poor line quality topped the complaint list with bill queries coming in a close second. Interestingly this difference in types of complaint was inversely reflected in the resolution statistics with line faults and quality generally being more likely to be fully resolved than bill queries. However, neither received particularly high scores with the best result for the complaint being fully resolved still only coming in at 63%.

One of the interesting statistics from the survey was that over 60% of customers still prefer to contact companies solely via telephone compared with the 6% contacting only via e-mail. There was also a strong correlation between customer service satisfaction levels and customer loyalty.

Although the report concentrated on the largest providers, it does have ramifications for the rest of the industry. Callagenix, for example, prides itself on providing a high level of customer satisfaction and regularly surveys its own customers to ensure that high levels of satisfaction are maintained. In addition, we constantly monitor the services provided to our clients and are often aware of a problem and taking action before our customers notice it.

When it comes to pricing our clients have a wide choice of packages and can add on or change features as required. This flexibility helps our clients to only pay for the services that they need, whether they be VoIP telephones, international numbers, virtual switchboard, call recording or any of our other services. Because we are so convinced that you will be happy with the Callagenix telephony services we offer them on a on a pay as you go basis.

The new rules on handling customer complaints include complaint procedures being clearly displayed on paper bills and consumers being able to take their complaint to an independent tribunal after 8 weeks. Ofcom intend to review progress in 12 months time and in the meantime we will continue to strive to provide our clients with high quality service.

Telephones – A force for good or evil?

As the youth of Britain riot the world watches on and the good publicity that we have received as a host Olympic city vanishes in an instant. Indeed the timing couldn’t have been worse for the London Olympic organisers who had arranged a test beach volleyball event on Horse Guards Parade from 9-14 August.

One of the features of the latest disturbances was the speed and ease with which the rioters communicated with each other. Whilst Twitter and Facebook played their part, the Blackberry Messenger service is believed to have carried the main bulk of the planning communications, enabling rioters to keep one step ahead of the police task force.

Ironically it is those same communication devices, which are now being blamed for the London riots, which were praised earlier this year for enabling protesters in places such as Tunisia and Egypt to make a stand against their regimes. So are telephones a force for good or harm?

In truth, like most things, the merit of a telephone is in the hands of the user. Telephone hacking has had a bad press recently but telephone support lines can give advice which will change someone’s life. Prank calls can cause distress whereas disaster recovery telephone packages can save a business.

Actually, it’s not just disaster recovery packages that can make a vast difference to a business. Choosing the right telephone package can make the difference between profit and loss for many businesses. Why use a standard telephone line when VoIP internet telephony is available? Why lose potential clients because you are busy when a virtual assistant package is waiting for you? And why pay for a bank of switchboard operators when a virtual switchboard can recognise incoming calls and divert callers automatically?

With energy prices rising and margins being squeezed it is good to know that internet telephony at least has enabled businesses to cut one cost by a significant amount. Just take a look at our case studies to see how much can be saved.

Looking at disaster recovery, the ability to dial 999, help lines and a host of internet features does lead us to the thought that in general telephones are a force for good. It is a shame that in the hands of a few they aren’t used that way.

Telephones – what do you use yours for?

Let’s start with a word of reassurance. This article is not going to be about phone hacking or the latest apps for smart phones. Although the search engines are so front-end loaded with these two subjects that the casual searcher could be forgiven for thinking that hacking and apps are all that phones are good for, we disagree.

We believe that the telephone is potentially one of the most powerful tools available to any business. Unfortunately, just as letter writing has been replaced by texts and e-mails, so the telephone has been sidelined, replaced by chat rooms, forums and marketing gimmicks. So, how do you use telephones in your business?

Customer orders
Lured by the apparent cost savings we are tending to move away from taking customer orders via the telephone and towards automated web ordering. Whilst this is an attractive option, it can lead to a reduction in sales, particularly in cross selling. For example, go on the internet to buy a plank of wood and that is just what you buy. Order via the telephone and by talking to someone who can give advice on screws, varnish, paint, and sanding methods you buy these extra items. Using a virtual switchboard makes sure the order is transferred to the right person without vast cost.

Advice line
By adding an advice line to your automated switchboard you can again keep costs down whilst turning customer queries into sales. Make this a premium rate number and you can offset the costs of the advice with telephone revenue.

Conference calls
Many businesses use conference calls as an inexpensive way of arranging employee meetings. But how about a conference call to update clients on the latest products or to gauge reaction to potential innovations? Used properly, conference calls prove to be a very powerful marketing tool.

Supplier relationships
Having a good relationship with a supplier is invaluable. The better the relationship, the more likely they are to offer attractive discounts or to put you to the top of the tree in times of shortage. So how about a special supplier line, or a quick telephone call every now and again to say thanks. You can even programme your switchboard to route calls from the supplier direct to their contact within your business.

Disaster recovery
Communication is key to managing disaster recovery. So a plan which includes telephone divert, call recording, information lines and instant messaging will always be on the right track.

These are just a few ways in which using telephones can help to boost your business as well as your reputation as a company which cares. So when you next review your business plans, don’t forget the telephone; it may have been around a while but it is still there working hard for you.