Calling into larger organizations can sometimes be a gamble, as a short wait time is never guaranteed. Quite often, we have to cross several hurdles before successfully reaching our desired department or recipient.
Today’s bigger corporations have employed auto attendant systems to handle vast call volumes. Without an auto attendant – a technology designed to automatically transfer calls to an extension without the intervention of an operator or receptionist -- it could take a whole fleet of employees to field every single call to the proper person or department.
On the other hand, some may argue that an auto attendant is useless as the “dial 1 for Accounting, dial 2 for Marketing” formula only creates obstacles for the caller. So, we ask, when is it truly appropriate to install an auto attendant and what situations call for a traditional receptionist instead?
The answer is, it really depends on the business itself. Determining factors include how high the call volume is, whether the business operates across multiple locations, out of a virtual office, or in multiple languages, or if integrating remote workers into the phone system is a priority. Taking a look at the good, and the ugly, or auto attendants, may help to finalize this decision.
According to a blog post on Netcelerate.com, callers greeted by an automated voice greeting will most likely perceive your business as a larger, more established company. Just take Parlance Corp’s findings, for example, which revealed that the majority of Fortune 100 companies favor auto attendants over the live answer model. Since today’s latest auto attendant are designed to provide a direct route to specific departments or employees, callers will have an easier time reaching their desired party.
With a remote workforce becoming the norm, it’s important to have a system in place that can function on behalf of several offices regardless of locations. According to Netcelerate, this is ideally more affordable and provides a more seamless setup than typical hosted telephony environments. Even more, automated voice greetings can be programmed to route callers to a few phones simultaneously, even if they are distributed. This guarantees the call, or a likely sale, doesn’t fall through the cracks.
Another major highlight is that auto attendants can be customized to more than one language if needed, which is useful in today’s diverse workforce.
Of course, there are perceived downsides to auto attendants, like the idea that a lack of a live voice can detract from the company image. And, things can get really ugly if the auto attendant greeting is too lengthy, especially for customers that are already frustrated about a billing or technical support issue. With that said, be sure to check out TMCnet’s tips for formulating an auto attendant script.
Edited by Jamie Epstein