Editorial by Niels Kjellerup, Editor of the Call Centre Managers Forum website. April 3rd 2000.
To illustrate this article I have streamed this sample of an irate customers calls to show how IVR will escalate frustration -Warning, very explicit language. (Note it is a Windows Media file, you can download the player here http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/en/download/default.asp).
Background: For years it has been a badly kept secret that customers don't like talking to IVRs - research after research in the US, in Europe and in Australia have confirmed this. The question begging to be asked is " Why do companies continue to deny customer access by making mazes of IVR-menus ?". And the answer " because it costs money, lots of money, to give customers access to a live representative of the organisation ". We in the Call Centre Industry need to understand, that there is balance between excellent customer service and cost/benefit, and the use of IVR is unavoidable to cope with unpredicted rise in call volumes or to get customers to segment themselves, but what we're seeing is not a well judged use of IVR. Its basically an indiscriminate use of IVR to fudge service levels (% of calls answered within a set timeframe) to hide the fact that call centres really don't want to talk to customers and that they are not welcome at all. The results are that Call Centres are rapidly becoming synonymous with bad or indifferent service.
New research: The latest research by Mintel, GB just confirms the trend of more IVR means bad service. ( I have reproduced the press release from Mintel ) Pls note that the research also contains some interesting predictions about the growth of on-line financial services.
CALL CENTRES - CAUSE FOR CONCERN?
A new report from Mintel highlights the anger and frustration experienced by consumers
when faced with an automated telephone service. Latest research from Mintel reveals time
spent on hold as being the greatest cause for concern for consumers phoning call centres.
Despite figures forecasting a double in the market size by 2003, nearly 24
million adults miss the personal touch offered by a branch or office.
Anger and frustration for over 28 million adults
Almost 60% of the 1,946 adults questioned, accounting for over 28 million adults, get
angered or frustrated with the service they receive when using automated telephones.
Of greatest annoyance is the time they spend on hold, which is cause for concern
for 44% of adults, followed by the music played, which annoys a further 36% of consumers.
Those living in Scotland are considerably more patient than Londoners, with just
30% resenting time spent on hold compared to half of those living in London.
Nearly one fifth of adults claim to hang up frequently or all the time after being
caught up in an automated telephone system of a financial services provider. Another
24% of adults sometimes hang up.
Issues causing anger and frustration for automated telephone service users,
November 1999
Base: 1,946 adults aged 15+
All adults
%
The time I spent on hold
44
The music played
36
Not finding the option I need 29
The synthetic/automated voice 27
Missing the option I want
23
The sales messages heard
18
No, none of these
42
Source: NOP/Mintel
700 million calls to be made this year.
Mintel estimates that in 2000 around 700 million calls will be made from UK residential
phone lines to call centres working in financial service sectors, equating to 2% of all
calls made from UK homes. Calls to other non-finance, call centres will account for a
further 6% of all call volumes. This equates to an average of 15 calls per person
being made to finance call centres in 2000.
Some 48% of adults had a telephone banking facility available in 1999. In 1995,
around 6% of adults used their telephone banking facility, growing to over 18% in 1999.
In terms of telephone usage, 22% of all adults use the telephone to make general enquiries
into financial services and/or products. Nearly one fifth use the phone to obtain
account balances, while 16% use the telephone to pay bills and look at account debits and
credits. Around 27% of respondents aged 25-34 buy financial service products like motor
and home insurance over the phone, while another 32% use the phone to arrange credit in
the form of a personal loan or credit card.
Half of adults miss the personal touch
Despite the widespread use of call centres, 49% of respondents or around 23.6 million
adults agree they miss the individual service that going to a branch or office
offers. The majority of consumers - almost 70%, do not appreciate incoming sales calls.
In fact only 15% of adults are actually willing to listen to incoming calls
offering services on behalf of various institutions. Those aged 15-19 are the most
tolerant to sales calls with 25% of this age group accepting calls, in contrast to under
10% of those aged 65 plus.
There is a higher level of tolerance for listening to sales calls when making
outgoing calls, compared to listening to sales messages from incoming calls. Some 24% of
adults, or around 11.6 million people, said they would welcome news of products their main
current account provider is willing to offer when they contact them by telephone.
Call centres to make up 1.6% of work force by 2003
Mintel estimates that by 2003 there will be 270,000 employees working in the call centre
sector, equating to around 1.6% of the full-time work force. Many of these employees
will be working in the financial services sector.
Mintel estimates that around 37% of call centres in the UK are financial services
operators. Currently, only 5-10% of financial service companies outsource some of their
call centre function to a bureau, with the rest having their own call centres.
However, it is forecast that more financial services providers will outsource call centre
functions in the future.
Telephone banking will double by 2003
Mintel forecasts that by 2003, 32% of adults will use phone banking, just over double the
current penetration. Around 28% of mortgages, and 2% of life policies will be sold
directly, using call centres, this will usually be combined with the Internet and post for
signatures. The most successful finance products to be sold directly will be those that
combine simplicity with value for money. Products like motor insurance and current
accounts will all achieve at least over 10% of sales by direct channels.
"Even providers that are entirely Internet-based need a customer service function,
which will inevitably require human interaction" comments Sarah Watkins - Finance
Journal Manager.
The 'Call Centres' Research is available from Mintel. Price: Pound Sterling
1,500
Contact : www.mintel.co.uk or voice +44 171 600
5703. Fax: +44 171 606 5932
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