A troubling trend is emerging in the customer service industry, and we’re calling out every business guilty of contributing to its proliferation.
As the New York Times explained the situation in a recent article, many businesses are intentionally arranging poor customer service practices to save money. That is, although these companies know that their customer service strategies are failing to make the grade, they’re willfully doing nothing about it.
The article called attention to a recent survey which found that 92 percent of customer service managers claim their agents could be more effective. And 74 percent claimed that their company procedures are inhibiting agents from providing positive experiences for customers.
These procedures include things like keeping customers on hold and using interactive voice response systems to keep agents off of the phone. Some businesses are even monetizing their awful customer service strategies by forcing customers to wait on hold for long periods of time and then using the experience to sell premium support plans.
Now, if your business is engaging in these types of shenanigans, we understand why. Phone support is very expensive, especially with cost-per-contact plans. And you may not see the value in building customer relationships if you are operating in an industry with little competition or customer turnover.
Yet, you can save money without tarnishing your business’s reputation: Embrace a blended multichannel service strategy—where customers have many different ways of contacting your organization, including self-service, live chat, video, SMS and email. Using Bright Pattern’s blended call center software, customers won’t have to wait for agents because they will have other ways to resolve their issues. As a result, your phone lines will become less populated, which will save your business money.
So remember: Always take the high road with customer service. Alienating your customers to save money is a slippery slope. Instead, employ a blended multichannel service solution to cut costs while boosting customer satisfaction.
