Do you know what would be remarkable for a customer service telephone support line? A voicemail answering service.
Wouldn’t it be great if you get stuck in a long support queue – or even if not - to have the option to leave a voicemail message with your name and contact details so the business can give you a call back.
17 November 2009 at 9:31 am
I can’t recall which companies specifically, but I’ve seen this before. I’ve also seen companies with a form on their support website where you can leave your coordinates and the best time to reach you – they’ll call you. It’s interesting, but I wonder how effective it is.
19 November 2009 at 7:02 am
Speaking with the helpdesk manager of the organisation I’m currently at, I asked whether they use voicemail on their helpdesk phone system to handle long queues.
They do have it for after hours support, however they found that it was ineffective for normal operations: messages are often hard to understand, it breaks the rhythm of the support staff handling requests (and requires more time) and then the requests need to be transcribed into the helpdesk software system.
A better option – one that I have seen and used on a number of occasions – is to provide the ability for the customer to either e-mail or submit an online form to helpdesk staff. Even minimal contact and request detail is enough to allow the support staff to return contact with the customer.
19 November 2009 at 8:55 am
Interesting. Thanks for sharing.