The Verdict is In - Your Customers Hate Automated Voice Systems

Are you currently using an automated voice system to handle your phone calls? Are you wondering why people call and hang up without attempting to make their way through the crazy routes that the system gives them in order to finally reach their destination even if it’s something as simple as a voice mailbox?

How many times have you hung up from calling your local company rather than dealing with a system that is confusing? Most of the time these systems are in place to try and minimize response time for a caller but they also end up being the furthest thing from user friendly for the caller. Now the most important question to ask is if you really want to subject your own clientele to that type of treatment or would you rather have them happy with speaking to a live person?

The idea is great, trying to reduce the time it takes to properly handle a call but if your clients are getting lost in the routing of the system it’s not going to help its going to hurt. The idea is great, a system that is in place 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, year round even with holidays. It is able to answer the phone, directing the call but never takes sick days and works as quickly as possible. The problem is that the call is only routing as quick as the caller is making the proper sections within the system.

The sad fact is, most places do not properly maintain the system to keep it user friendly or a person refuses to even try one. So now the question is why you keep torturing your clients with the only option of talking to a machine rather than a human?

There are some auto attendants that do not play nice when it comes to those of us who are fast talkers, you will constantly here the “Please Repeat” when you are attempting to make a selection. Many of the AVS’s or AA’s out there do use some type of automatic speech recognition software but the issue is that sometimes it’s harder for the system to hear what you are trying to say as none are perfect.

Just imagine it now; you have already wasted five minutes as you start to realize how much you miss speaking to real people rather than an automated system. Of course it’s much better for your sanity to speak with a real person rather than a machine to start with but you wonder why you even bothered, then it dawns on you and you hang up.

We have all been there and it’s really nothing new. At least with a human, if they ask you to repeat yourself it’s because you may have muffled your voice on accident blocking the receiver of the phone, not because it’s a machine that seems to only understand the basic words of the English language (or worse yet, you are speaking to a system that is in a foreign language).

The Importance Of Making A Great First Impression

We always hear that a first impression is important but why? We hear both in our personal lives, in our business worlds and everywhere in-between the two. A first impression is going to last a lifetime and this applies for the personal side of an individual as well as the business side. For personal reasons it could be the person you are courting for marriage, the banker who is about to give you a loan for your first home or even your child’s first grade teacher.

What happens when you need to make a first impression within the business world? Is it for your boss, your employees’ or your potential clients? Making a good first impression lets others know that you can and will know what to do, when to do it and how to do it.

They need to know that they are able to put their full trust into you and the company you represent for their needs. Are you going to have any issues meeting their needs? Are you able to back what you say when you give your word?

Even meeting a person for the first time either by phone conference you still need to remember that first impressions do count. You always want to make sure the person you are making a connection with will feel at ease with you, having a positive image of you. Even when you meet with someone for the first time you can do little things that can go a long way to help create this positive image.

If you are treating the person as if you are meeting someone you have known for years, rather than being timid it’s going to be a great icebreaker. Are you welcoming and friendly? Simple things like having a welcoming voice can go a very long way in extending the handshake (even a virtual handshake) to a person who has just met you. What you say is just as important as how you say it. Remember that knowing what your role is and making sure the other party has complete faith in your work is part of the deal. If they think they are reaching out to the wrong contact they will end up passing you over for the person who can help them.

First impressions are more important than most anyone can think. Within moments a person can summarize you and know if they plan to continue the conversation (let alone the business) with your organization. You need to be able to give top notch information to make sure they are fully satisfied with what you can bring to the table.

Keep in mind that some will base their judgments’ alone on person appearances (what they can see: attire, manners, eye contact) and others can do the same with only your voice (the tone, if you are paying attention, can they hear the confidence in your voice). In person or over the phone someone can always take a first impression of you – make sure you are doing your best to give them exactly what they deserve, your best.

10 Reasons Your Company Can Benefit From A Call Center

Is your company growth reaching the volumes that there are not enough hands in the office to answer all of the calls that are flooding your lines? You never want to turn business away but what else can you do? What exactly is a call center (known also as a call centre) and how can you benefit from one?

Do you need to save more time, and the overtime money that you have been paying out for far too long? No matter how much you try you can not be in the office 24/7/365 and neither can your employees so saving time is important just like saving funds are. What if there is a place available to handle such a request that you need along with the level of service you would give? If you try to have your local employees’ work extra hours to man the phones it’s going to cost more, you want to save money not lose it.

When you decide to launch a large advertising campaign are you going to be prepared for the growth that comes along with it? What happens if you go from “decent sales” to “an explosion of sales” to the point you cannot keep up with the demand?

All hands on deck – even if you have a dozen employees dedicated to answering all calls, what happens during peak time? The time when the phone lines flood and you still do not have enough hands to answer those phones. Having a full staff dedicated within a call center means there will always be more available “just in case” rather than having a potential client on hold for 20 minutes waiting for someone’s line to free up they disappear with disappointment of never be answered at the same time you lose a sale.

Some people still want to talk to a real person, not an automated system that gets confusing and not someone who cannot really help them. If you can still provide real support with real people clients will always be appreciative of this.

Is your office in your home? Do you need to sound a little more professional even when you deal mostly with the back end issues and not the hands on day to day issues of your clients? Why not take the time to hire a professional call center to deal directly with your calls so that you can spend more time doing what you do best, the management.

You could be all management but you still need someone who is all customer service oriented. This still allows you to be hands on in taking care of your normal duties and allows the customer to get the information they need before ordering with your company.

The other possibility is that inquires vary between different positions within your company that you just may not have enough people to handle the call needs, then what train more people? A call center can be equipped from the start to handle all phone inquires needs; no matter the level of support may be needed.