People understand very little about call centers. To many, their existence is irrelevant. Others feel that call centers are useless offices where nothing ever happens. In popular opinion, nobody ever calls into a call center, and even if they do, it is rare and infrequent. Then why do we have call centers?
Well actually, outbound call center services are a very important part of the customer service experience.
We fail to realize how significant they are. In fact, some companies have separate Call Centers, apart from the main offices, where callers attend to customers and just that.
In this article, I will try to debunk some of the myths surrounding call centers.
1. Myth: Call Centers Do Not Enhance Demand and Sales
Profit is one of the most important reasons why a business is called an economic institution. But consumer satisfaction is equally important. A call center acts as a bridge between a company and its customers. It is advisable for the company to be always quick in their approach while they are dealing with a handful of potential consumers.
It is necessary to have someone there to attend to potential clients, to whom consumers can seek redressal, talk about their grievances with or communicate in case of an inquiry and there must be successful feedback to the same. Lacking such attributes can result in risk. A consumer when in need of a specific product or service must be immediately attended to.
If this does not happen, the company might run out of demand in future and there will be no sales once the potential consumers lose faith in them. A call center enhances and speeds up this response. Therefore, any company could benefit from a call center.
2. Myth: Customer Care Executives Are Indifferent
A company indulges into heavy investments to train these executives and on an elimination process to provide consumers with the most potential and hospitable employees. Although, people tend to share many of their negative experiences with such executives, this turns out to be a common myth since these people definitely do care about the customers and try to help them in the best possible way.
Sometimes, these agents even try to extend the help to those customers who are polite and cordial to them. Customers must understand that such people are bound by the rules and regulations of the company and that, the company does induce customer service enhancement. All of the agents are professionally trained to respond to the customer’s concerns and inquiries. They do their best to render customer satisfaction.
Call centers prevent people from misinterpreting and are quite effective during a crisis situation.
3. Myth: Customer Care Services Are Antiquated
Since the beginning of urbanization and industrialization, a global network has begun to form by the means of technology that includes social media apps and the use of email, and live streaming. The modes of communication have been broadened but phone call remains the preference for most customers because they feel that, it is a better way to get back an instant feedback or a solution.
Even in the past, even after the availability of a computer, people would prefer calling as a better means of communication. Due to paucity of time, youngsters might prefer emails but still, the majority of the population haven’t given up on phone calls. Calling also remains a preferred mode of communication in the world of commerce, largely owing to the fact that conversations over call are quicker and can save a large amount of time that can then be utilized for other purposes.
4. Myth: Linguistic Barriers Hinder the Performance of Call Centers
Such barriers occur during the communication process when two or more people speaking in different dialects/languages finds it tough to comprehend each other. This leads to misinterpretations and misunderstandings which ultimately ruins the whole working system.
However, this is a myth since due to advancement in technology, there are provisions for communication in different languages so that the customer can freely express themselves. Such barriers have been got rid of in order to enhance customer care service. These unparalleled advancements in services help the business to flourish and retain clients, new and old.
Most call centers also have staff who are multilingual and even those who are equipped to address customers in their language of comfort. While this can be done by hiring locals in the area of the call center, it is mostly realized that people prefer speaking in English over call or during a corporate communication.
5. Myth: Customer Care Agents Are Unscholarly and Underqualified
It is often believed that customer care agents are ill-educated which might be true to a certain extent but most of them have got degrees. They are professionally trained and they must have communication skills to interact with its customers.
Knowledge about certain stuff is really important for them. For instance, they must know how to use a computer and if they are well versed in whatever they are doing, nothing makes them any less than an educated professional. In fact, they are the most-sincere people around although with a basic knowledge of marketing.
The process of elimination is scrupulous and is quite evident that the ones who are getting selected are actually skilled. Customer care agents have the ability to pitch an idea to a potential client, and they are well practiced in doing so. We can safely say that in terms of experience, they even surpass some of the professionals in a proper organization.
6. Myth: Working in A Call Center Is an Easy Job
Anyone who isn’t doing the job actually and judging without being aware of the crux of it will obviously find the job easy. But the reality is that such a job requires a lot of patience and consistency. There is going be a lot of work load and only the ones who can survive the pressure can make it till the end or work there for a longer period of time.
It doesn’t only require listening to a customer, it also focuses on the agents coming up with instant solutions to satisfy the customers. It includes a lot of endurance and capability to listen, understand and react accordingly. Call center employees also work on longer shifts and they must remain alert and sharp during all this while.
Not everyone can successfully do the job. Most people quit at an early stage owing to the lack of necessary skills. Agents have to abide by the company’s rules, satisfy customers and do a lot of multitasking to prove themselves.
7. Myth: Customer Care Services Are Poor in Quality
While most business require their representatives to be around for 24 hours a day. Call centers proves out to be the most efficient institutions. However, some customers want their problems to be solved immediately which makes it impossible for the agent to minutely deal with the problem. They are often mistaken to be rude and even if there might be one unwanted call in a day, the good agents are never talked about.
These agents even go out of their way to render extra help but some people might overlook this gesture and point out the negativities. The calls are often recorded for monitoring purposes and most of the times, these agents are at the stake of losing their job if they lose their calm or if there are complaints against them by a customer. The job is risky and challenging. It requires a lot of willpower and strength.
The Bottom Line:
As you see, call centers are a crucial part of the business model. While smaller companies use their own staff to attend to clients directly, semi-large or large institutions need some more. This is why dedicated call centers are set up to cater to potential clients as well as existing customers. Call centers give the impression that a company cares for its customers and wants to stay in touch with them.
This is especially good for a firm’s reputation management. In the present day, when most advertising is going online, people are still reliant on word of mouth references for their choices. So, if you have not worked on it already, make sure you have a call center in place to serve your business and its interests. And if you happen to be a customer, the next time you call in with a problem, remember to be polite, cordial and respectful. For, those receiving your call are humans too, and it would not be nice to be in their situation and deal with an aggressive customer.
