Answer the Darned Phone!
Are you losing customers and not sure why? Well, maybe it’s something as simple this. Companies pay consultants like me obscene amounts of money (well, not all to me personally) for customer service help – just to be told things like, “Answer the phone!”
Sure, it costs money to have live, knowledgeable people readily available to your customers. You’ve got to have escalation processes, service training, and good technology. But, the pay-off in customer loyalty could be tremendous. If you hide behind multiple phone prompts, force customers to repeatedly enter the same info and then put them on hold more than once (or for more than 90 seconds) – you’ve likely turned what was a mildly irritated or perplexed caller into an enraged, irrational ranter. (Or they just hang up, throw your stuff out the window and go to your competitor.)
Note to small businesses: Think you can’t compete against the big boys? Think again. A local tech support provider who will answer the phone on the first (or even third) ring can instantly displace a Dell, IBM or Microsoft. (More about all those on another day.) Ditto for just about any other type of business.
(P.S. I’ve developed, packaged and sold all types of help desk and call center services, including writing detailed service delivery and escalation processes – so I know the cost structures as well as the rationale behind having automated systems and limiting service. Doesn’t matter – there is never a good reason for service avoidance.)
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