The computer reports: all lines are busy

Wonderful what the computer takes out of our hands. Discovering the whole world from the comfort of your armchair with one click as a true adventurer. Or ordering things from all over the world. And then to think of all the work that is taken out of our hands. For example, when we do want to call a company, we can hear an extremely friendly computer voice telling you that all the lines are busy. Fortunately, in between repeating this message, the computer then plays a wonderfully relaxing technically sophisticated tune of 4 tones.

Computer

The automatic answering by a computer of an incoming telephone line is not a strange fact. Yet people do not sufficiently realize that with such a computer you can personalize certain settings. A phone may ring a few times before a voice tells you that all lines are busy. And yes, you can also have such a voice say your company's name to welcome you as a calling customer.

It even seems to be possible, if you do make a customer wait on the line for 4 minutes, to let him hear something other than, “all lines are busy, we will help you as soon as possible.” So there are companies that use the nice phrase “the queues are longer than you are used to from us, we recommend you call back at another time”. By the way, that text is claimed by the companies you know in advance that you will probably be on hold for a long time so just be careful if you choose that setting.

Perhaps some companies have made it too easy for themselves with the call computer. Therefore a call to all companies, who claim to provide telephone service, go back to basics. That is, the customer and the first impression given by the way he is addressed. Choice menus and automated voices are far from being customer friendly. It is too often a way to park the customer or to buy time before an employee actually answers a phone line. Voices that tell you the queue is longer than expected, in my opinion, say: we don't want to invest in customer contact so we offer you this sham solution. As a company, you don't want to say that to your customers, do you?

A company that invests in a multiple-choice solution wants its own no real customer contact!

And when you are told, after an extensive dial menu, that there are x-number of waiters for you....oef. Most computer-based solutions seem to focus on internal savings rather than investment in good customer contact. Is that the impression you want to give customers as a company?

The basics

So back to basics and find out what is the reason why customers contact your company. The main reasons are:

1. Someone wants to become a customer and calls to buy a product or service.
2. Someone is a customer and has a question about the service or product purchased.
3. Someone is a customer and has a complaint about the service or product.

Surely someone who wants to become a customer somewhere, as a seller, you want to receive them with all honor, nurture good feelings and close a deal. At an upscale restaurant, they lay out the red carpet for such customers, because it is very important that the 1^e impression the customer gets when contacting the company is correct. Indeed, how great would it be if we could raise customer expectations through the good 1^e impression and instantly turn the customer into an ambassador for the company. So what do you show of yourself when you connect the potential customer with an impersonal computer?

Studies show that if someone is already a customer they need regular confirmation of a previously made choice.

Ambassador

Research shows that an existing customer regularly needs confirmation in a previously made choice. I'm with the right company or I have purchased the best who-must-have. Therefore, it is essential that there is a positive experience when contact is made. Again, if the impression is good and the expectation is exceeded, the company has an ambassador.

If someone calls with a complaint, it is important that the complainant be taken seriously as soon as possible. Making him click through menus and leave him on hold for a long time will increase the annoyance. Most likely, the person who actually gets to speak to the caller will get the charge over him. In fact, because of the time lost in a queue or menu of options, there is a chance that irritation will increase. In that case, the company does not gain an ambassador but someone who can start costing the company money. It takes a lot of the marketing budget to counter the negative statements. In addition to the frustrated customer, you have an employee who needs to be helped back on morale after such a phone call. That too costs money and effort.

It takes much of the marketing budget to counter the negative portrayals

Personal contact

This is why I am a great believer in personal contact with clients. At the same time, I realize that there may be circumstances where it is not always possible to fulfill this. Nevertheless, a number of solutions and good reasons can be identified in favor of personal contact.

It is common knowledge that it costs more to gain a new customer than to retain an existing one. A person who calls a company himself to buy a product or service is already almost in. All he has to do is get confirmation in the choice. In other words, minimal effort is required to make this caller a customer.

The other reason is that personal contact creates ambassadors for your company. Their expressions are more likely to be believed than an expensive slick advertisement. So entrepreneurs create ambassadors from the first contact moment.

And as for the solutions I am happy to share them with you. Are you interested in how to improve customer contact for your business? Give us a call or let us data behind Then we'll call you!