Hanging around on hold when trying to contact a company’s customer service department can be a nightmare. Hours of time can be spent simply waiting to talk to a human being while having to endure hold music, only to discover the calling system doesn’t lead to a situation where they can talk with an agent.

A number of companies, however, offer a callback facility where customers can request that a firm calls them at their convenience.

Virtual Hold Technology (News - Alert) (VHT) has demonstrated its new Conversation Bridge solution, which allows customers to request a callback from firms using their smartphones and Internet-connected televisions. The multichannel callback service triggers callback requests to link consumers with customer service representatives when they’ve hit a dead end through self-service procedures.

VHT demonstrated the solution at the International Avaya (News - Alert) Users Group Conference in Boston, MA. The conference is a gathering of contact center industry user groups: the International Alliance of Avaya Users (InAAU) and the International Nortel Networks Users Association (INNUA (News - Alert)).

The solution aims to halt a situation where a customer does not obtain the information they require from a closed-loop self-service system, without being able to speak with someone who can offer help.

The Conversation Bridge integrates automated support with access to agents when customers are contacting centers via mobile apps, Websites and social media. The solution can be used on devices as varied as smartphones, Internet-connected TVs, store kiosks and game consoles.

VHT says the Conversation Bridge can be integrated with existing communications systems to reduce costs and optimize the customer’s experience. The solution offers customers with the time they can expect to wait before receiving a call, while they will not need to suffer lengthy hold times as an agent best equipped to handle their problem will contact them directly.

"Whether your customers are trying to make a purchase or reservation, solve a problem or manage an account, there's no reason to leave them stranded and frustrated in a self-service dead end, no matter what channel they are using,"  said Robert Brazier, VHT's director of product management.

A number of companies offer callback solutions, such as Zeacom (News - Alert) and Mindshare. Yet offering VHT will hopefully showcase its solutions across enough channels to pique the interest of contact centers.

For more on this topic, be sure to check out, “Surviving Self-Service Dead Ends: Building Customer Loyalty with a Multichannel Conversation Strategy” happening tomorrow.