The telephone systems of many organizations such as insurance companies, banks, credit cards and governments use interactive answering machines, also known as “interactive voice servers”. These are very frustrating, as you have to listen “attentively” and above all “for a long time” to the options without getting impatient. You have to listen to up to 10 options one after the other for long minutes before arriving at the right place. And this despite a prior Google search for the phone number of the service you’re looking for. In the end, these interactive voice servers bring us back to a general menu, whatever the request. It’s up to the customer to qualify and orientate himself!
After listening “attentively” to this interactive answering machine for a long time, which makes us feel like we’re wasting our time, we ideally end up talking to a human. When that human finally takes the call, the loop starts all over again as we have to repeat our information. And yet, our information is already in their computer system, linked to our telephone number when we are a customer. Take your credit card, for example: you enter your card number and the first thing they ask you when a human takes your call is your credit card number… Time is wasted and frustration quickly sets in.
All these operations, most of which are useless to the customer, waste their time and reduce the chances of a harmonious conversation. Unfortunately, it’s not just the customer who suffers, but also the customer service agent. Yet all this could easily be avoided.
The purpose of the interactive answering machine is to classify and direct the customer’s call to the right agent in the organization. This is understandable. However, thanks to your telephone number, which these days is over 98% personal cell phone, you are unique and identifiable within the organization.
Modern organizations can very easily, as soon as they receive your call, find out your customer profile and open your file before even taking the call. They can personalize the conversation and, above all, avoid you repeating yourself at the risk of getting angry. As a customer, modern customer service organizations need to protect your time. Which often doesn’t seem to be the priority!
Modern VoIP telephony technologies are available to all organizations, large and small. There’s no longer any reason for you to go through an interactive answering machine with options to force you to file yourself before talking to someone.
Most importantly, once you’re on the line with a human, you don’t have to repeat yourself for long minutes. It may be important to confirm certain information with the person. But this can be much quicker and more efficient with today’s telephony technologies.
Companies can identify you securely by texting a unique code to your cell phone. Desjardins does this very well, by the way. This way, you can limit the number of requests for information that waste minutes of everyone’s time.
Today’s telephony connected to cloud services and near-infinite data storage services plus 5G connections combined with insane computing power must make customers’ lives simpler, not more complex. Companies need to make it easy for you to solve your problems with their business.
Most customers commonly use text messaging to communicate. Statistics show that many customers want to communicate with companies by text message.
Yet very few organizations offer it to customers. Text messaging means you don’t have to wait in line to ask a simple question that could be answered later today or even tomorrow.
Email is ubiquitous, yet full of spam. And let’s not forget that the new Z generations understandably don’t want it!
It’s now easy to integrate text messaging into business processes to facilitate customer communications. Let your suppliers know about intelligent communications solutions such as Fresk. Such software can identify the customer who is contacting the company, directing them immediately to the right place and avoiding having them submit information they already know. Technology enables companies to implement efficient customer communications solutions that avoid wasting the time of millions of people.
