Welcome back to work everyone! Well, maybe not everyone. But, here at MeloTel, we’re back in the offices today and tomorrow before taking off some more time to enjoy the beginning of 2015. We certainly hope that you all had a very Merry Christmas and joyous holiday celebration with all of your loved ones! We’re looking forward to continuing the good times later this week. But not before informing you of a way that you can help your customers have a happy new year.
Don’t keep them waiting! Yep. It’s that simple. Customers hate waiting. Just ask anyone who stood in long line-ups throughout this month’s holiday shopping season. Especially if they went out on Boxing Day to take advantage of all of those special deals, it was likely that standing in line-ups – even just for the stores to open in the morning – was a part of the festivities. And maybe waiting comes with the territory of holiday shopping. But what about the rest of the year?
In 2014, MeloTel handled 3,085 telephone support calls. We achieved an average time of 2:27 to resolution, and an average wait time to answer of just eight seconds! We’re only too happy to report that such statistics have helped to further solidify our reputation as a “people’s company”. Simply put, we do not keep our customers waiting. And, in 2015, we plan on improving those numbers! Here are five tips on how you can do the same.
1. Discover the main sources of the problems. What is the most common reason for customers to call your company? Is there a specific product or service that generally generates the most questions? If so, you may want to devote more time to resolving those issues by training your staff to better handle such queries. You may also want to provide more information on your website about those issues so as to lessen the number of calls that come in about them.
2. Utilize an Automated Attendant Receptionist. It’s important to get your callers to the right departments quickly. Sitting and waiting for someone to pick up the line only to find out that you have gotten in touch with the wrong representative is extremely annoying. MeloTel’s Telephone Features include those that allow for calls to be routed to the appropriate representatives within seconds of the call being connected.
3. Develop self-service solutions. Is there a way that you can communicate to your customers ways that they can resolve the problems themselves? In many cases, customer calls end up being easy fixes. A high volume of quick calls, however, doesn’t help for wait times to be decreased. If there is information available, either through your voice prompts or on your website that can assist customers to resolve issues on their own, you’ll have less people waiting on your lines.
4. Consider your customer expectations. Be mindful of the type of industry you are in. If you work in the automotive industry and inform a customer that his or her repairs will require a couple of hours for completion, it is not likely to be taken as badly as if the same time frame was given for restaurant patrons to receive meals that they’ve ordered. Be sure to make good on your promises for deliveries that are in keeping with the industry you are in.
5. Train your staff well. To reiterate an earlier point, perhaps, there’s no better way to decrease wait times than to have knowledgeable, competent staff members answering your calls. Sadly, a big factor in wait times is the inability of some service representatives to answer questions quickly and correctly. Be sure that your service staff is well-equipped with the knowledge about your business to handle any and all customer queries efficiently.
Put MeloTel to the test! Give us a call with any of your questions and concerns by dialing 1-888-MELOTEL today!