Waiting on hold for a customer support representative has at times been the bane of my existence. Especially with computer technical support, it often seems impossible to obtain help from a live person without a lengthy wait. This is why Microsoft employed disc jockeys to provide a more radio-like experience while callers waited for hours on hold.
Public services often offer the same level of promptness, only minus the music. So when I embarked on my current bout of unemployment, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that my state had implemented a bit of automation technology that actually made dealing with the Bureau of Unemployment Compensation almost downright pleasant.
The improvement was very simple. Rather than putting callers in a queue, where they could wait half an eternity for their call to be answered, the Pennsylvania unemployment compensation customer service line redirects callers to a message-taking system if call volume is too high for agents to handle incoming calls within a reasonable period of time (five minutes, judging from the times my call did go into the incoming call queue). Callers are asked to leave their Social Security number (for agents to pull up records) and a phone number where they can be reached.
While the system informs callers that it could take as long as the end of the following business day for their calls to be returned, in my experience, most calls have been returned within a few hours, and almost all on the day they were made.
This helps callers immeasurably. Why? Because it means that they can spend the time they would otherwise have been stuck on hold doing other, more productive activities. In all likelihood, it also improves the mood of the customer service representatives, for they will no longer regularly confront callers cranky because they had been sitting on hold since Monday and here it is, Wednesday already.
I would personally recommend that any company or organization that has a high volume of incoming calls seeking support consider implementing an automated callback system if it has not done so already. Its customers and customer service reps will both thank management for it.
Do you agree? Share your experiences here.
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By: Sandy Smith
Sandy Smith is an award-winning writer and editor who has spent most of his career in public relations and corporate communications. His work has appeared in The Philadelphia Inquirer, the Philadelphia CityPaper, PGN, and a number of Web sites. Philly-area residents may also recognize him as "MarketStEl" of discussion-board fame. He has been a part of the great reserve army of freelance writers since January 2009 and is actively seeking opportunities wherever they may lie.
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