11 Feb Contact Center Technology is a Reality, But No Substitute for Service
There is no doubt that technology is leading the charge in call center advancements. In fact, various technologies already have changed the contact center landscape. We are faster, more efficient, more secure and responsive than ever before. And while call centers have come a long way thanks to technology, we’re far from what’s possible.
Sometimes (okay, many times) Centrinex is on the forefront of new call center technology. After much evaluation, we are about to integrate three technologies into our Costa Rica and Midwest contact centers. Why? Because we need technology that doesn’t do our jobs for us, but rather helps us do our jobs even better. Here is a sneak peek at what’s coming in the near future…
Ignite: integrates chat, email and phone functionality
Ignite is an upgrade to our existing phone system that will allow our customer service representatives (CSRs) to multitask like never before.
A Centrinex CSR will be able to field multiple chats, emails and calls simultaneously, greatly increasing their efficiency and providing better service for our clients. Since everything is integrated and managed through our phone system, the chat sessions and emails are recorded and saved just like our calls are. Should a question or evaluation require reviewing how a situation was handled, we can pull emails and chats, checking them for accuracy.
Our clients’ customers’ benefit as well because Ignite displays wait times before a CSR is available on their websites. Customers have the choice of continuing to hold, switching to another method contact (phone, email or chat) and even scheduling a specific time for a CSR return call.
Should a customer choose the chat feature, our CSRs respond with specific, predetermined replies to minimize the risk of a regulatory or customer satisfaction issue. If the chat conversation moves outside the scope of those set reply messages, a call center manager steps in to take control of the situation and resolve it.
Ignite functionality is included in the hourly rate, so there is no additional cost to our clients.
Interactive voice response (IVR): reduces billable CSR hours by 10% or more
Interactive voice response (IVR) is the perfect solution for routing customers to the most appropriate CSR. However, what we found through our internal research is that many current customers and loan applicants are calling for specific information, such as their balance or the loan due date. Our upgraded IVR gives callers the information they want without ever having to wait or speak to a CSR.
IVR’s screen pop captures the phone number of current customers and pulls their information from the lender’s loan management system (LMS). Based on certain criteria, the IVR system responds to the caller’s request.
Interactive voice response can reduce our client’s billable CSR hours by a remarkable 10% or more.
IVR will be available at end of April 2015. Again, it’s included in the hourly rate. No additional charge.