How Call Centres Have Transformed Customer Service
Ever wonder how companies dealt with complaints before call centers? We might love to hate them, but call centers have revolutionized the speed and efficiency of problem solving across numerous sectors, and given many businesses a public face fit for the twenty-first century.
I’ll Just Call the Local Office…
Thirty years ago, if you had a problem with your electricity or were unhappy with the quality of a product, you had limited choice in rectifying the situation. You could write to them, a lengthy process which relied upon them understanding your problem and resolving it quickly enough so that you didn’t suffer any financial hardship. If there was a local office, you could try calling in – but if your issue required higher level intervention, they may not be able to help, or have the authority to do so. Or you could try calling them, though of course these calls could only be answered if they weren’t already dealing with people who had called in to see them, and were prone to the same issues of authority as face-to-face visits. Nowadays, you just pick up the phone and call, knowing you will more than likely get a quick reply and your problem solved with the minimum of hassle.
Adapting To The Modern World
Of course, the Internet revolutionised many industries – the numbers of people who shop online increase every year, and the need to have a fully staffed local office has decreased, for some companies to the point of irrelevance. The emphasis however has switched on to telephone calls and emails, which can be answered anywhere – no need for expensive prime location offices on high streets or even in every town. Regional call centres – and even national and international call centres – provide the same service, but without the inconvenience of staff distracted by face-to-face enquiries, and limited to working traditional office hours.
A Professional Response From A Professional Company
The need to provide efficient customer services in the modern world has become even more important as your business reputation is just one click away from everyone with an Internet connection. It is no longer acceptable for multinationals to provide a Monday to Friday, 9-5 service, dependent upon whether the local staff were able to answer the phone. Call centres are able to handle large volumes of calls, through either one or several numbers, speaking to a team of advisers, closely monitored by a supervisor with the authority to solve a whole range of problems. This leaves field staff to do their jobs, be it sales or service based. There is no room for uncontrolled discretion, which can often cost companies dear and set unrealistic precedents amongst customers.
Reliable, Responsive Customer Services
The move to call centre customer service has freed up many sectors to provide a more modern service. Particularly in today’s economy, it’s important that all parts of the business are working together and not distracted by things they can’t influence. Separating the customer service element allows a dedicated team to address these issues in a uniform manner that is predictable and reliable. Whilst some members of the public may hark back to the days of the local office, the reality is that this model was highly inefficient and impractical to the modern market.
Andy Morley works for Magnetic North, document management company based in the UK. Andy has a keen interest in business and business management. Follow Andy on Twitter or connect with him on Google+.
