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Is Your IVR System Doing More Harm Than Good?

By TMCnet Staff

In the call center world, customer satisfaction is about the most important thing that exists these days. Call centers used to be all about getting as many customers on the line as possible but those days appear to be long over. Despite most call centers understanding the need to drive up customer satisfaction, they had problems achieving their goals in 2014. A new report by the CFI Group says that those same call centers were able to rebound quite a bit in 2015.

This report, now in its eighth year, not only found that customer satisfaction was going up, technological advances were also growing and making it that much easier to have a contact center that continued to help as many customers as possible while still making sure they were actually helping. In total, the Contact Center Satisfaction Index (CCSI) got data from more than 1,500 consumers spread across six major industries.

In 2014, the CCSI topped out at 72 out of 100. That is a three point increase from 2013 but is the third lowest score since the index came into existence. When it comes to finding a way to improve customer satisfaction, there are a number of ways people have tried to reach the magic number of perfect satisfaction. That number is likely not only magical but something that is all but unattainable.

Still, finding a way to keep customers happier is an endeavor nearly every contact center is working hard at, especially in 2015. When it comes to looking for the best numbers in customer satisfaction ratings, contact centers have rolled out all kinds of new technology. Despite these efforts, a majority, 57 percent would rather use the telephone than any other method of contact.

How much an agent at a call center can interact with a caller also matters greatly. People are expecting operators to be able to suggest actions and answer questions even if those answers aren’t on a script. Having operators that care about their job and the people who are calling into their center are two points that reportedly will drive customer satisfaction to its highest level. Savvy managers would be wise to take steps in that direction to make it happen.