More ideas about improving customer service calls.

The last couple days have been fun thinking about ways to make the customer service experience less painful for both companies and customers.

If you haven't read them yet, please go check-out Does thinking of customer service as a negative blind companies to new opportunities (Part I) and Part II.

But, the best part has been when readers have written in their own thoughts about customer service problems--and jump-started my thinking in new directions!

James Todhunter of Innovating to Win commented that when he calls RCN with issues, he hears a recorded message that says "We are experiencing higher than expected call volume" and then is faced with a long wait. 

Although it's good that the company tells him that many others are ahead of him, the following message "Your call is very important to us" sounds like a blatant lie when the company is always overloaded and does nothing about it.

Some ideas that came from James' comment...

• What if customers were able to see the estimated wait time online before they called?
  
  Most of the time, people just pick up the phone without realizing that 500 other people are calling on their lunch breaks too.  As a former restaurant host, I know that telling customers right away how long they have to wait lets them decide whether they want to or not.  It should work the same for phone service.

• What if customers needing service could sign-up for email or text message alerts when the call volume is low and the wait is short?
  
  Customers would then be able to find out when it is the best time for them to call in, and the company would be able to maintain higher call volume in normally-slower periods (and thus reduce wait time in busy periods).

• What if customers calling the customer help line could "take a number" and then the call service would call them back when it was their turn?
  
  This would give callers a chance to do other things while they were waiting and not have to stayed glued to the phone.  Plus, the teeny extra step of calling the customer back would make customers feel that the company was taking an extra step.  And phone companies need to know the phone number of the customer in order to help them--calling up the account screen and calling the customer could be a combined step.

Doug Meacham of Next Up says that it would be best if customers didn't have to wait for customer service at all!

Although Doug obviously doesn't understand that customers always have had to wait for companies to get around to serving them, that it's just the way things are done, and that no one likes people who come up with crazy ideas... (just kidding, Doug!)... his radical statement makes me wonder how that could work.

Some initial thoughts...

• What if the company specified online the types of issues that could be resolved through email, and reduced call-ins to more unusual problems?
  
  The advantage of this is that many issues can simply be resolved through a couple minutes on the computer system.  Thus, customer service reps don't have to spend as much time talking, and the issues could be worked on outside of regular business hours. (Potentially overseas to reduce costs further.)

• What if customers could book appointments to speak to customer service representatives?
  
  This would work really well for both customers and the company.  Customers would feel that they were being treated well and were respected by the company, while the company would be able to schedule those service appointments during the slow-call-in periods.
  
  
  
• What if customers didn't feel like they were waiting?
  
  Perhaps customers could choose between different types of hold music to get one they liked, or the hold system let them listen to a radio station, or sports results.  Who said that waiting for customer service had to include sterilized elevator music and irritating advertisements?

Any more thoughts and ideas?  Please share them below!

Comments

[Mike]

Katie,

Great ideas. I especially like the "take a number" and booking an appointment ideas. In IT where I work many of the calls to the Help Desk are for immediate needs and your other suggestions would apply. However for those non-emergency questions the take a number or appointment concepts would be great as they would let our customers get back to work and off the phone but knowing they will get an answer.

Mike

Hi Mike, It's really good to hear from someone who understands the other side of the IT department, and to hear that some of the ideas might be an interesting start.

I think that the worst part of customer service for people is the waiting on hold. If that could be eliminated as much as possible, customers would probably be a lot happier. Of course, not all strategies would work with immediate needs callers, (as you said) but it would help others.

Plus, it would be a lot better for the Help Desk workers (in my opinion). It takes the "we have 30 people waiting in line right now to talk to you, so you better hurry!" pressure off. Not having to wait on hold would probably also make callers a lot happier, so the whole experience would be easier for the service reps.

[Kent Blumberg]

Disney uses similar ideas to pretty good effect in their theme parks. Signs that tell you how long the wait will be (and the sign always estimates longer than the wait actually is) and the ability to buy tickets now for a later time on the ride. Works for me!

Actually, funny you mention Disney. A couple week ago, I read a fabulous post series on the Nextup blog about how Disney works hard to make sure their customers have amazing experiences: http://nextup.wordpress.com/2007/06/20/thoughts -on-walt-disney-world-part-1/ (http://tinyurl.com/2u484q) Also, slightly over-quoting the wait was a strategy I used very effectively when working as a restaurant hostess! People are always happier when they get seated "so quickly" then, and there are less furious customers if things take longer than expected.

Perhaps customer service lines could learn a lot from restaurants!