Solving the issue of hold times is vital to today’s customer satisfaction. Modern customers want their calls resolved quickly and they don’t want to waste time getting to that resolution.
Unfortunately for many callers, the last hurdle before talking to any customer service representative is seemingly unavoidable. When call volume spikes and contact center staffing can’t handle every call at once, callers must wait in a queue before finding any resolution. With modern automation that otherwise wasted time has found new productivity.
“When call volume spikes and contact center staffing can’t handle every call at once, callers must wait in a queue before finding any resolution.”
The Impact of Coronavirus and Other Incidents
Well managed call centers track call volumes and staff accordingly. Contact center leaders work hard to predict when volumes will spike, but sometimes unforeseen external factors make prediction difficult or impossible.
“It’s hard to plan for a global pandemic like COVID-19, but other less extreme incidents can drive up call volume unexpectedly as well.”
It’s hard to plan for a global pandemic like COVID-19, but other less extreme incidents can drive up call volume unexpectedly as well. When the marketing team sends out a new mailer without warning accidentally confuses customers, the contact center gets inundated with unanticipated calls. There are factors outside of the control of contact center managers that mean callers will have to wait on hold eventually.
All is not lost, however. Today’s contact centers can solve the problem of extended hold times and empower their agents for faster call times and higher first call resolution. Thanks to modern automation and cloud-based SaaS tools waiting on hold can be just as productive as talking to a live agent.
The Magic of Zappix Self-Service
Innovative Zappix self-service solutions connect customers to the tools they need for immediate call resolution while they’re waiting on hold.
Callers looking to check the status of their recent retail order can simply enter their order number or identifying information and Zappix APIs will securely grab the relevant information from the retailer’s backend systems. Callers trying to submit an insurance claim can fill out any form and attach photos, videos, authenticate their submission and more. These self-service interactions are lightning-fast and often deliver the information customers were looking for before they’re even done waiting on hold. If that’s the case, customers can leave the queue satisfied and contact centers can quickly release the pressure of call volume spikes.
Empower Agents And Improve KPIs
Zappix passes along what customers have completed in self-service experiences to live agents if they choose to transfer to a live agent. Important details for verification like account numbers, customer names, and other information can be gathered during the on-hold experience so agents can dive right into helping the customer. By transforming waiting on hold into a productive time for collecting information, agents are better prepared for success and calls are resolved faster.
“The seamless Zappix experience moving from call to visual to live agent gives customers the power to solve their issues as conveniently as possible and increases first call resolution.”
The seamless Zappix experience moving from call to visual to live agent gives customers the power to solve their issues as conveniently as possible and increases first call resolution (FCR). Zappix smoothly transfer callers between self-service and live agents and reduce customer effort. At the end of the day, customers find what they needed faster than before and the brands leveraging Zappix solutions see higher customer satisfaction as a result. Waiting on hold isn’t wasted time anymore — it’s just another opportunity to help customers and empower agents.
