Bloggers conversing about the call center space will often write about how to make an agent’s work-life more enjoyable. They do this because call center agents get the short end of the stick when dealing with difficult individuals – we get that. But what about call center managers? We’re forgetting about the people who are managing those agents and are faced with making difficult decisions every day.
Attention: CONTACT CENTER MANAGERS – This time the article is for you and we’ve made it as enjoyable as possible. Sometimes you just need to laugh at the stresses in your job. Unexpected events occur and call center managers need to make the best out of pretty terrible situations. You’re expected to be a leader, think outside the box, problem solve in a creative manner, keep the customers happy, and save the company money while you’re at it. Good luck – my feeling is that you’ll be bookmarking this page just to get you through those days!
So, here are some humorous memes made just for you.
1. Yes, you have no other choice. The calls and inquiries are coming in regardless of who decided to be sick that day. No call-back system in place makes this situation even more dreadful for inbound calls. Just ask Mark Edelman whose entire center came down with the flu epidemic the first day they started using a call-back solution. Thank goodness something was in place for them!
2. I’m sure all managers are familiar with this complaint. Customers have no sympathy for technical issues. If you’re a telecommunications company, with a technical issue to boot, hopefully you can get some magical help from Willly Wonka, because you’re sure to hear the anger from customers calling in. A few years back, Rogers felt that pain during one of their bigger outages – check out all the people who were roaring on Twitter.
3. If you’re a contact center manager handling call escalation, I’m sure you have trouble understanding how a customer can become so irate. You just need to laugh it off! Being in customer service you have the defined skill of acting pleasant no matter what. Just remember to smile because the customer can undoubtedly hear your facial reactions.
4. King Rafiki knows what it’s all about. It’s certainly not a bad idea to find some peace and relaxation before your day starts. Whether that’s meditating, having your morning coffee, going for a walk, or watching a few minutes of the Lion King – allocating time to yourself is critical to the success of your day.
5. Call center managers are surely nodding their head to this one. Let’s put the jokes aside for a second. Hold time is actually a sensitive topic for the folks here at Fonolo. We get that waiting is inevitable, and although this meme makes a good point, we still think you should think of the alternative.
Think of the same situation in line at a bank. You’re being told that the wait time is 20 minutes, or you have the option to hold your place in line, leave the bank and have a teller come to your house when your turn arrives. Clearly, this in-person option isn’t realistic, but there is a viable option that’s similar and can be offered over the phone. It’s considered virtual queuing.
WAIT, before you say…..
Think about having an easy to add call-back solution that doesn’t interfere with your existing business process, requires less than a week to deploy, and only entails 5 minutes of training? Now I’ve gone on a marketing rant when really the solution speaks for itself – here’s more about how Fonolo works.
