On Hold and Stressed Out!
How many times have you patiently waited on hold until your blood begins to boil? Subjected to what is typically the worst of the worst in music selection (or very poor audio quality at best), the time spent is made even more interminable.
In fact, so many callers are made to wait on hold that an entire industry of call-waiting services exists to “soothe” frayed nerves.
Instead of listening to dead air, you can become a captive audience listening to messages about how wonderfully attentive the company you are calling is, or you may hear the biographies of significant employees, or all about the customer service awards they’ve earned. You may be made to listen to endless loops of marketing clips geared to boost their business – if you don’t hang up first!
Finally, a voice is heard that asks you to say or enter your account number. At last, you think that you are getting somewhere only to be put on hold again! The inconvenience of waiting has turned into a tortuous business-transaction pursuit. Emotional and intellectual barrels are loaded, ready to fire at the first human contact who finally releases the hold button. Then suddenly, without any warning, you are disconnected!
Busy phone lines are so common that the on-hold industry maintains a solid foothold in business support. Yet still, the recordings designed to soothe nerves ironically serve to fan flames of customer frustration. What is most detrimental to the offending company is that no amount of recorded messages will defray the negative experience; not with blogs and social media as public platforms from which to air grievances!
ANSWERING SERVICES AND REAL PEOPLE TO THE RESCUE
Resolution exists in customer calls being answered immediately by call center operators. Companies that employ call-answering services circumvent the detriments of on-hold recordings. The live voice answering your phones extends a personable connection that conveys appreciation of the customer’s business and time.
An answering service operator saves time by providing the answers to any number of questions, taking orders, paging managers…whatever you need them to do. They will best support your callers and give them a better chance at becoming clients.