Call Avoidance

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article is orphaned as few or no other articles link to it. Please help introduce links in articles on related topics. (January 2008)

This article or section needs to be wikified to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. Please help improve this article with relevant internal links. (December 2007)

This article does not cite any references or sources. (December 2007) Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed.

Call Avoidance is a popular strategy^{[citation needed]} implemented to reduce inbound call volumes to contact centers in the customer service industry, particularly in the consumer market. It is based on the fact that person to person service calls are time consuming^{[citation needed]} and costly^{[citation needed]} and should be accessed only when there is no viable option. Voice calls can then be reserved for high priority, complex service requests, or emergency situations where the quick response of skilled phone agents is essential.

It is impractical^{[citation needed]} and expensive^{[citation needed]} for call centers to provide a “live answer” for every caller during peak demand periods such as certain times, days of the week, or seasons. Callers in urgent need to discuss an issue with a live person are typically put on hold along with callers whose request could be better served through other channels. Both are competing for valuable talk time. With the proliferation of the Internet and email access, progressive contact centers are moving toward self services^{[citation needed]} via a searchable knowledgebase, Interactive Voice Response (IVR), or computer generated emails. Password resets are the most popular^{[citation needed]} means of self service where clients are asked pre-established confidential questions that verify credentials before sending them a temporary password. Other typical areas to employ call avoidance strategies include the following:

• Voice message indicating wait times, unusual activity, downtime, etc.
• Web forms that gather pertinent information before a call is answered
• Electronic chat via the Internet
• Online software update notices of upgrades to prevent security or virus breaches
• Blogs, Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ), web site links to common problems
• Simpler, clear and concise product documentation and descriptions
• Automatic return policies and procedures
• Reports that identify key problem areas for corrective action, i.e., additional instruction/training

A Call Avoidance strategy requires constant vigilance beginning with popular service requests that are constantly being analyzed to reduce or eliminate voice calls and re-direct them to other alternatives. Whatever the strategy, it is important to remember that the contact center is the voice of the company to the outside world. That voice and message should enhance and not detract from relationships with customers^{[citation needed]}.

[edit] References

[edit] Links

1. Call Centre
2. Help Desk
3. Help Desk Institute
4. Helpdesk and incident reporting auditing
5. Incident tracking system
6. Remote Assistance Software
7. Service Desk (ITSM)
8. Technical support
9. Customer Service