Improving Customer Satisfaction with Queue Callback

No matter how great your hold music is, there are times when your customers just don’t want to wait on the phone to speak to a call center representative. Adding a queue callback system to your call center frees your customers from long waits and ensures you can provide them with great customer service.

A queue callback system can improve customer satisfaction levels if your call center is especially busy and customers are often on hold for longer time periods. The queue callback system asks callers if they’d prefer a call back versus waiting on hold. If the customer accepts, their phone number is put into a virtual queue to receive a call back from the next available agent – without losing their place in line. Meanwhile, the customer is able to hang up the phone and go about his or her day.

Queue Callback + CRM
Coupling a queue callback system with your customer relationship management (CRM) tool lets you provide your customers an added bonus: When they get a call back, your staff will already have their account information on hand, along with context on what products or services they use.

Time spent waiting can seem especially long because there is nothing distracting the person waiting. In some service industries, it’s easier to keep customers’ minds off the wait. Many restaurants, for example, have a bar near the front where waiting diners can pass the time before their tables are ready.

Call centers, however, have a harder time entertaining clients on hold.

“In some situations, such as telephone waits, it is difficult to ‘fill up’ time in a constructive way,” wrote professional service management guru David Maister. “The familiar ‘Muzak’ played by some organizations when their telephone-answering agents are busy is, to many people, an added annoyance rather than a benefit. In large part, this is because the activity (listening to music) is totally unrelated to the service activity to come.”

Reducing Frustrations and Social Media Complaints
Using a virtual queue still means your customers will have to wait to speak to someone during heavy call times. But they’ll be happier spending their wait time engaged with an activity other than waiting on the phone. Don’t lose the good will you foster by providing great customer service with a long wait time that becomes their new complaint.

Social media has provided a new outlet for customer service, but it also serves as a lasting record of any complaints made about your company. When customers feel like they’ve spent an unwarranted amount of time on hold, they will take to social media to air their frustrations.

Searching the hashtag “onhold” or “onholdwith” on Twitter brings up steady streams of complaints from customers about being on hold. Those hashtags are often accompanied by others like “useless” and “lousycustomerservice.” Hardly what you want on your internet permanent record.

No one enjoys waiting, which could be why 60% of customers report being frustrated before they even get a chance to talk with a call center employee. Using a virtual queue to enable callers to get off the phone while they wait for a customer service representative is the next step in growing your reputation for great service and happy clients.

For more information on how to work smarter with business intelligence solutions for the modern call center, check out our Top 10 List When Considering a Cloud-Based Contact Center Solution whitepaper.