Everyone hates to wait in a line. Whether it is a physical line-up, or a telephone or email queue, customers don’t want to be kept waiting. That is why managing queues in customer service is so important to the success of your business. Read on for tips on how you can effectively reduce and manage queues for your customers. If you are looking to upgrade or install a new telephone system to speed up your customer response times, contact Network Telecom today.

Contact Us Now

Toll Free: 1-866-764-7866 || Email: [email protected]

The entire project was orchestrated with minimal telephone system down time, and the ongoing support we have received from them has been reliable and efficient.
Angela B., THOMPSONS LIMITED
Read more testimonials

Managing Queues in Customer Service

Importance Of Reducing Customer Wait Times

Time is an important commodity for almost everyone these days and customers do not want their precious time wasted. If a customer has to wait for what they feel is an unacceptable and unnecessary amount of time, they will feel as though you don’t value them and they will be unhappy. As a business owner, you understand how difficult it is to get customers in the first place, so keeping them happy to make sure that you don’t lose them is extremely important. Research done by The Rockefeller Corporation found that 82% of customers will take their business somewhere else if they are unhappy with the service they receive or if they think that you don’t care about them.

Not only do you risk losing a customer, but that customer will probably give a negative impression of your company to others, further limiting your customer base. According to the White House Office of Consumer Affairs, if a customer is unhappy with the service they have received, they will tell between 9 to 15 different people. Therefore it is extremely important to limit or reduce customer wait times as much as possible.

respond quickly

Respond Quickly

Responding quickly to a customer’s request is very important. If a customer knows that you have received their request and are working on it, they are more likely to patiently wait for you to solve their issue and be happier with the process. Interestingly enough, a survey done by Nielsen showed that 33% of customers were willing to recommend a company that quickly replied to them even though they weren’t able to give them an answer right away. On the other hand, only 17% of customers would recommend a company that gave them the answer they were looking for but were slow to answer them. Customers understand that you can’t solve every problem quickly, however, what they are looking for is that you promptly acknowledge that you have received their request and communicate that you are working on it.

Responding to a customer’s request is also beneficial to you. If a customer does not hear back from you right away, they will start to wonder if you received the initial request in the first place. They may then decide to email you again, or even telephone this time, thus giving you a long list of emails or phone calls to respond to.

How To Respond Quickly

1. Use A Hunt Group.

A hunt group is a feature offered by Avaya. With a hunt group, you can set up your phone system so that when a customer wants to speak to someone in a specific department, such as Sales, the number for the Sales department will ring any of the extensions in that department and any one of those employees can answer that call. This will increase the likelihood that the customer will be looked after more quickly than if they were transferred to a single extension. The following video shows you how easy it is to manage a hunt group in Avaya IP Office Manager.

2. Use Call Waiting.

Another way to speed up customer wait times is to use a feature called “Call Waiting.” This telephone feature allows you or your staff members who are already on a call to hear an intermittent call waiting tone to let you know that there is another call coming in on their extension. Depending on the type of phone system that you have, information about the new caller may also be displayed. To learn more about this feature that Avaya offers, click here.

3. Use Call Forwarding To A Cell Phone.

If you or your employees are not in your actual office but you would like a way for your customers to still reach you, you can get your calls forwarded to any outside number, including your cell phone, using Avaya’s extension to cellular feature. The following video will show you how to set up call forwarding to an outside number on an Avaya 9508.

4. Set Up An Automated Email Response.

Most email programs have a way for you to set up an automated response that immediately emails a customer back to let them know that their request has been received and that you are working on an answer. Learn how to set up an Autoresponder in Microsoft Outlook here.

5. Set Up And Use A Customer Support Email Template.

There are customer support email templates available for you to create and upload into your system which can help you to quickly respond to multiple email requests for a similar topic. Learn more about these templates here.

Help Customers Help Themselves

Interestingly enough, customers actually like to be able to solve their issues themselves. In fact, 70% of customers expect that your website should have a self-service section. Consumers today want to be in control. According to a Zendesk report, 50% of customers feel that it is important to try and solve their issues themselves.

solve your own computer problem

How To Help Customers Help Themselves

1. Use An Auto-Attendant:

An auto attendant feature can allow your customers to choose the department or person that they wish to speak with, the language that they want service in, and can forward them to a live operator if the extension they dial is not answered.

faq

2. Provide A FAQ Section On Your Website:

76% of customers will look for an use a company’s FAQ section in order to try to solve their issue themselves. It is important, therefore, to have an up-to-date and relevant FAQ section. In addition, if you track what people are searching for on your website, you can proactively include these answers on your site, thus helping your customers find what they need on their own and also reducing your customer service queues. Learn more about setting up and maintaining an FAQ section on your website here.

Make Your Customers Feel Like You Are Servicing Them While They Wait

Finding a way to make your customers feel like you are already servicing them while they are waiting will help them feel that you care and will ease their tension during the problem-solving phase.

How To Make Your Customers Feel Like You Are Servicing Them While They Wait

mcdonalds

1. Take Their Order And Place Them Back Into The Queue.

McDonald’s has a very effective way to manage their line-up. Their strategy is to take as many orders as quickly as possible, then work on getting the food out. This strategy helps the customer commit to them because they have already paid, while effectively placing them back into the queue to wait for their food. Recently, they have installed monitors where customers can see that their order is in line on a screen and they can follow the progress by watching their number work its way to the top and finally be given to them. By being able to see the progress, the customers are less agitated during the wait.

2. Use Issue Tracking Software.

Issue tracking software allows your business to record and follow the progress of every problem that a customer identifies until the issue is resolved. The customer is usually given a ticket number which they can look up online to view the progress of their issue. Like the McDonalds example, this effectively allows you to take your customer’s “order” and place them back into the queue while allowing them to view the progress of your resolution. Click here to take a look at the best issue tracking software along with reviews and pricing.

office phones

Need Help Managing Queues in Customer Service?

Network Telecom has a team of telecommunication experts who are ready to solve any business phone systems problem you may be having. Whether you are looking to have your system installed, or your current system is not working as it should, our trained technicians are available to help 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. We also carry a huge selection of parts in order to quickly solve any components issue you are experiencing. If you are having a telecommunication or networking issue, we can resolve it quickly and professionally.

In addition to our accredited and certified technical expertise, we offer:Click here to meet our team!

Contact us today for all of your telecommunication questions and concerns; we’d be happy to help you.

button (1)

Sources:

5 ways to manage (and reduce) your customer service queues