Your answering service is making a huge impact on your callers, but sometimes you wish there was more you could learn from those after-hours calls.
Since you aren’t always the one to answer your calls, you can’t be 100 percent sure that your customers are getting the care they really need — if only there was a way to record those calls and play them back later.
Answering Service Care Offers Call Recording
Whether you want to monitor your answering service’s work, that of your own staff or just keep yourself in the know about common calls and complaints, call recording can be a valuable tool for maintaining high quality customer service. Instead of relying on reports of common problems from staff, you can hear every call that runs through your business phone line.
Call recording may seem like an insignificant feature for a business, but consider its benefits, including:
Monitoring customer service. An obvious advantage to call recording is knowing what it is that your customer service staff is saying to your callers. Instead of dealing with a he said/she said type of situation when an angry customer contacts you, you can access the call in question and listen to the whole exchange. Before answering a complaint, it’s important to know the whole story – and call recording can provide a true picture of the entire event.
Ensuring common problems are addressed. If you listen in on calls on a regular basis, you’ve probably made a mental list of the most common problems your answering service solves for you each and every day. Whether they’re providing information to renters for common procedures like changing furnace filters or forwarding information on a specific product, understanding what common problems are managed by your answering service can help you strengthen your marketing or customer service efforts.
Highlighting areas where procedures can be improved. Another reason to listen in on calls is to make note of areas where calls may sometimes be mishandled. When a caller is given the runaround because of a problem that’s not listed in your instructions or misdirected to the wrong person, this can hurt your credibility. By monitoring your calls regularly, you can adjust training methods and send out information that will help your answering service deal with areas where procedures need to be improved.
Understanding why your callers call. An accurate reporting of calls can act as a well of knowledge if you listen closely. For example, you may note that a significant portion of your callers are simply calling to get the store hours or find out if you’re open on a specific holiday. You can provide that information online or in a brief message while the call is being transferred to the operator instead of making your customer wait to ask the question. Not only does this save your customer time, it also saves you money in calls that don’t need to be handled by the answering service.
Beware, though. Referring callers to the website or social media is only an effective cost-savings technique if these resources are kept up-to-date. If you’re lax as far as keeping up with this kind of communication, your callers may call back significantly more frustrated and spend even more time on the call than they would have without being given self-help instructions.
It’s a simple tool, but call recording can offer your business a great deal of actionable information about your customer service execution. Answering Service Care allows you to record, store and access your calls for up to 30 days with a standard package, or up to six months with an extended plan. You’ll never be left in the dark again when you’re able to directly monitor your call quality.
