Today’s businesses -- particularly enterprises -- must take efficiency seriously by implementing quick-moving, reliable and cost-effective processes across all levels of the organization. Customer service is streamlined through services like an auto attendant, which removes the extra step of the operator rerouting the customer’s call and inevitably reduces costs for the company while expanding capabilities beyond that of its human counterpart.
This technology is starting to take off in a less familiar space, although these large businesses require hundreds, if not thousands, of customer interactions every day. Fast-food restaurants have begun to apply voice-over-IP (VoIP) and call center technology, including the rerouting abilities of auto attendants to take the place of the person waiting to take your order in the drive-through lane.
One string of Wendy’s franchises has implemented the new technology for “speed ordering,” according to Computerworld UK. The director of operations of one of the franchisees explained how the restaurant’s point-of-sale (POS) system uses broadband and VoIP technology to reroute the customer’s order to a call center, where it is relayed to the kitchen order screen and POS station. According to the director, peak lunch-hour traffic has increased from 112 cars per hour to 137.
Although this technology clearly could not take the place of ordering through a real-person at more fine-dining establishments, auto attendant technology still plays a role in the overall functionality of these businesses. Companies like Parlance offer auto attendant systems like the nameConnector that can maximize efficiency by allowing employees to concentrate on customers face-to-face during peak business hours.
Auto attendants like nameConnector can provide customers with needed information quickly and consistently, reducing the need for the host or hostess to answer calls. Customers calling to inquire about restaurant hours can be directed to an automated message to get this information. Inquiries about the restaurant menu can be rerouted to a hospitality or business office if it has one. This frees the host to answer calls for reservations and seat in-house customers -- streamlining business and maximizing the profit-making duties of employees.
One in three restaurant operators say they use more technology, such as an auto attendant system, than three years ago, and half of the respondents indicated an increase in productivity from the application of technology.
Janice McDuffee has worked in marketing, editing and freelance writing for companies including SheKnows and HBM Inc. after receiving her master's and bachelor's degrees in journalism from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. To read more of her articles, please visit her columnist page.Edited by Tammy Wolf