The higher-ups say customer service is important, but they may sometimes mistakenly make decisions that don’t reflect that thought. Watch out for these signs.
Because the top brass at most companies don’t spend too much time in the contact center, they may not understand why these plans actually hurt Service. Fortunately, your contact expertise can help others see where to put efforts.
- A constant push to drive down average handle time (AHT). Sure, you want to have control over AHT. But less time on the phone doesn’t mean the customer was taken care of efficiently. More important: Reducing AHT too much can increase second and third contacts and quickly cut customer satisfaction.
- Steering customers more and more to self-service. Self-service is less expensive on paper. But if customers are forced to use it and aren’t comfortable with it, they won’t be happy and will take their money elsewhere. More important: Self-service should be offered as a convenience channel for help, not a replacement for personal help.
- Failing to reach out to customers. It’s easier to wait for customer calls, emails and business than take time and effort to reach out to them. But if the relationship isn’t a two-way street, it’s easy for customers to walk away. More important: If agents call or email customers periodically, they’ll become more valuable to customers, who will then buy more.
