Call Center Recording

We often talk about the importance of recording calls in the call center to ensure that agents are properly following scripts, to measure customer satisfaction and to assist in proper coaching and training of call center agents. Call center recording is also essential to identify those agents that are hurting the company overall.

 

In a recent interaction with a technology company, I contacted the call center as the wireless router that I had recently purchased was not properly connecting to my system. I needed help and the information provided by the company clearly stated that if help was needed, their trained support staff was available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

 

My first clue into the experience should have been the frustrating trip through the calling tree to try and get to an agent. This was my third time calling in and I had already tried the suggestions on the recording. The warning that call waits were exceeding 20 minutes was not enough to deter me as I was unable to find help at any of their other suggested locations – such as the company website.

 

Now, conventional wisdom would suggest that after waiting for a good thirty minutes to finally speak with a customer service agent, that I should be the frustrated one on the phone. Instead, I was greeted by a call center agent who was clearly annoyed that I had dared to call in and bother them on the job.

While I cannot say for certain that the company this individual was representing would cringe at the attitude they took with a customer on the phone, a recording of the call would have quickly identified the curt responses, impatient questions and lack of common courtesy.

In this situation, that is not all that a call center recording solution would have captured. When I had to ask this particular call center agent to slow down when providing me with a number that I had to call after waiting thirty minutes, I was actually hung up on.

My response was somewhat delayed in that I could not believe that any call center agent would actually hang up on a customer when it was their job to provide quality customer service each and every time.

A robust call recording solution would have identified the problem with this agent and quickly enabled the call center manager to resolve the situation. And here is why this is essential for the call center: once I recovered from my surprise, I put the router back into its original packaging and immediately sent it back to the retailer from which I had purchased it.

That company just lost a customer. Given the call center agent’s disposition, I am quite sure I am not the first customer treated in this manner and likely not the first customer to be lost because of this “service.”

Using call center recording would have quickly identified this agent as probably best suited for a position that does not require interaction with the customer base. Without call center recording, the company will certainly suffer.

 

 

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