May 2003

The Purdue benchmark research has been conducted since 1995. Purdue currently holds data for more than 5,400 call centers. To learn about how to participate in some of Purdue University's new benchmark research, please visit www.BenchmarkPortal.com.

Q: What is the best practice regarding which calls to monitor and score?

A: The most common practice is to randomly select calls to be monitored and scored. In my opinion, the best practice is to select those calls that have one or more parameters that are substantially different from the average. For instance, monitor those calls where the talk time is two times the average talk time, or those calls with extensive hold time. The importance is to monitor those calls that have the highest likelihood of having something worth coaching.

Survey questions asked pertaining to the above graph:

1. In your most recent experience in calling for customer service assistance, how did the telephone agent do in satisfying your needs and handling your call? 

2. Was your issue (reason for the call) resolved on the initial contact?

In this figure, we see a relationship between 'meeting customer expectations' and the number of calls required before the issue is resolved. As you can see, if it took several calls to resolve the issue, the caller was not happy with the experience. 
As shown above, respondents who perceived that their problem was resolved on the first call also perceived that the company exceeded their expectations. As the number of calls increases, so does customers' dissatisfaction. Some of these correlations may appear obvious, but keep in mind that scientific research allows us to prove these relationships statistically.

Survey questions asked pertaining to right-hand graph:

1. In your most recent experience in calling for customer service assistance, how did the telephone agent do in satisfying your needs and handling your call? 

2. Based on this positive experience, will you use this company in preference over their competitors in the future?

In this figure, we see an interesting correlation between 'exceeding expectations' and the percentage of participants who would use the company again in the future. As you can see, a greater percentage of respondents whose expectations were 'exceeded' said they would use the company again versus those whose expectations were only 'met.' 
This figure shows that the customer must receive 'wow!' service to help ensure his/her loyalty and intention to repurchase.

Keep in mind this graph also shows that 16 percent of the people whose expectations were 'met' would not use the company again in the future ' this is a crucial finding for call center managers striving for quality.

Dr. Jon Anton (also known as 'Dr. Jon') is the Director of Benchmark Research at Purdue University Center for Customer-Driven Quality. Have a question? E-mail him at [email protected].