I V Really Annoyed!

The very first step on the contact centre voice journey and the hackles can go up before an agent has had an opportunity to give you a friendly salutation.

I have spent a fascinating few days making test calls to some of the UK’s most loved, most ambitious and most focused retailers.

The agents have, in the main, done a great job of representing their brands, answering questions and doing their job well. What they can’t do anything about though and what will influence my NPS/NES is what happens before I speak to them.

It should be teaching granny to suck eggs but to Multi-Channel Managers, Customer Journey Managers, CX Directors or your good old fashioned Operations Managers I implore you to reflect on your IVR messaging. Here are some of the NO NO’s I have experienced:

1) Sounding like Derek or Jayne the Team Leader has popped into an office and made the recording. I’ve worked with businesses who spend lots of money on professionals to record their IVR’s but Contact Centres generally have a few out of work actors – find the right voice for your brand.

2) Telling me I am going to be put through to a customer experience survey. Don’t tell me – ask me, and let me know what’s in it for me.

3) Agents not appreciating how much time I’ve been on hold – 8 mins yesterday to a UK retailer, in a loop and no ‘Sorry to have kept you waiting’ (I did ask her to clarify if she could see this information and once she did know she was very apologetic).

4) Calling yourself Customer Service on-line and then Customer Care on the message.

5) The DTMF options not working (£131 million turnover so not tin-pot).

6) Routing options – There are lots of specialist articles on this piece but it’s not just the options it’s the wording. As an example I felt a bit of a low priority when I called a clothing retailer to discuss my latest order to hear “Press 1 to place an order and 2 for anything else…”

7) Consider systems thinking and the reptilian brain. Be a ‘friend’ and say ‘Thank you for waiting’ not “Sorry to keep you holding”

Once all this has been considered and you have made any necessary changes then get a few key stakeholders in the business to pick up the phone and make a test call to give feedback (marketing will be all over this).

Brands can do so much at this first step using clever tech to wow your customers but, getting these first steps right will help make sure you are putting your best foot forward and it also means agents don’t have to start off talking to a porcupine!