Chapter 4: Working in a Customer Contact Center

Call Center Versus Contact Center

A traditional call center is an office that is designed to handle a large volume of phone calls, especially for taking orders and providing customer service. It is focused on voice calls. Even if a call center provides some multi-channel customer service, the interactions are siloed in the individual channels. This does not provide a clear view of the full customer journey. On the other hand, a modern contact center, as the name indicates, allows customers to contact a company not just via phone calls, but across whatever channel they choose.^[1]

“A contact center is the central point from which all customer contacts are managed. This requires the coordination and integration of people, processes, and technology across the business. Contact center agents, for instance, need to be trained in the best practices of each channel for engaging customers.” ^[2]

Watch the “Contact Center vs Call Center: What’s the difference?” YouTube video below to learn the difference between contact centers and call centers.^[3] Transcript for “Contact Center vs Call Center: What’s the difference?” Video [PDF–New Tab]. Closed captioning is available on YouTube.

Contact Center Agent

“A Customer Service Representative (CSR) – also called an agent – is a person who works in a call or contact center and helps customers with their issues. They may do this using a variety of channels, including virtual or in-person meetings; phone, chat, or email conversations; and by using social media. Customer service representatives (CSRs) play an important role in influencing the customer experience.”^[4] The role of the customer service representative (CSR) is to offer outstanding service to customers in order to maintain satisfaction by meeting or exceeding customer expectations. A CSR must have many skills including good communication skills, excellent problem-solving skills, and strong interpersonal skills.

Customer Service Representatives have the ability to help retain existing customers, as well as, help obtain new customers, so it is a highly valuable position for any company. You may be wondering if a position as a contact center representative is the right job to begin your career.

Most likely you have interacted with a contact center at some point in your life, but you may wonder what a day in the life of a customer service representative may include. “To work in a call center, you’ll need to be motivated by customer success. Call center agents are tenacious problem-solvers who are committed to enhancing customers’ experience with a company or brand. A call center agent’s workday is typically fast-paced and requires them to manage a handful of different responsibilities. Oftentimes, agents need to be flexible with their workflow and capable of handling unexpected roadblocks. While this causes their workday to look different each day, agents will still perform the same core call center duties regardless of the task they’re completing.”^[5]

Agent Duties

The job of a contact center agent can be quite varied and interesting. Responsibilities may include the following.^[6]

• Answering inbound phone calls.
• Making outbound phone calls.
• Answering emails.
• Engaging in live chats.
• Responding to short SMS queries.
• Responding to support tickets filled out over a web form.
• Collecting and reporting on customer feedback.
• Managing and updating customer databases.
• Identifying and escalating issues to supervisors.
• Providing product and service information to customers.
• Researching, identifying, and resolving customer complaints using applicable software.
• Processing orders, forms, and applications using applicable software.
• Documenting all call information according to standard operating procedures.
• Recognizing, documenting, and alerting the management team of trends in customer calls.
• Following up on customer calls where necessary.
• Upselling or cross-selling products and services.
• Working with colleagues when necessary to resolve customer complaints.
• Learning about the company products to be able to answer any questions from customers.
• Training and onboarding new call center agents.

Agents may have to deal with a wide variety of issues including the following.

• Pre-sales
• Inbound sales and service
• Outbound sales and service
• General account queries
• Bill payments
• Complaints
• Technical support
• Warranty claims
• Product returns
• Account upgrades
• Account closures
• Appointment bookings or reminders

Agents must make sure that they do the following.

• Answer calls within a specific period of time.
• Answer the call correctly, usually giving their name, the company they represent, and the department.
• Resolve most calls on the first contact or refer them to the correct department.
• Ensure that the customer is happy and that they do not have any other queries.
• Log the nature of the call accurately against the customer’s account.
• Handle an appropriate number of calls per day (or at the very least be in the ‘ready’ state to accept calls for the right amount of time, if call volumes are low).

Some call center agents work in-house, directly for their employer while others may be employed by an outsourcing company working in a call center that accepts calls for a range of clients. Some agents work from home (also known as virtual agents), while others work from a central office and commute to work each day.  Some companies operate their own contact centers while others outsource their contact center operations, or part of it, to an agency.

Depending on the specialization of the agent, they may handle calls falling into several of the above categories, or they may be focused on one or two specific areas.  Some companies, such as financial companies, may assign high-value clients a designated “account advisor” agent who will answer the majority of their calls. This helpful customer retention strategy ensures that the customer interacts with someone who knows the status of their account and who can answer their questions promptly. For complex issues and high-value accounts, this kind of continuity is essential.^[7]

All companies benefit from contact center computerized systems that pull together customer information into a reporting system (usually a customer relationship management (CRM) database) which makes it easy for any agent on the team to locate the customer’s history with the company, orders pending and filled, interactions such as complaints, and notes left by other agents before and during an interaction with the customer.  This makes for a positive customer experience and aids in customer retention.

Agent Training

Most organizations train their contact center representatives during the first few weeks on the job. Representatives need to become familiar with the company’s mission and vision and specifics around the image the company wishes to portray to customers.  After a few weeks of training, the manager will often coach and monitor new representatives on the job, correcting any service issues they observe. As new technology is introduced into the call center, customer procedures change, trends in service change, or legal or company policies change, representatives may need to be trained on the changes.  Once an agent is trained they may be offered additional training to grow their skills and knowledge so as to work in multiple departments, for multiple customers, or learn more about selling or servicing various products.

Watch the “How to Survive Your Call Center Training” YouTube video below for information call center trainees will want to know.^[8] Transcript for “How to Survive Your Call Center Training” Video [PDF–New Tab]. Closed captioning is available on YouTube.

Agent Workload

Contact center agents may be working in very busy environments and be expected to answer 50 or more calls per day.  An agent may be working in an inbound center or an outbound center. Inbound centers are usually for customer service calls coming into the company from customers seeking information, looking for product support, returning products, or paying bills.  Outbound centers are usually for calls initiated by the company going out to customers either attempting to make a sale, provide information about a promotion, improve customer relationships, or solicit new business.

An agent not only takes phone calls but also works with various channels responding to customer inquiries and solving customer issues. Some issues take time and must be researched, reviewed with a manager, or collaborated on with other departments so an agent must set aside time for these tasks and follow up with the customer later in the day or the next day (as agreed upon). Even if there is no resolution to the problem, the agent should contact the customer at the agreed-upon time to provide a status update and let them know the problem is still being worked on.

“Depending on the nature of the calls, working in a call center can be quite repetitive. Agents who work in departments doing bill payments or inbound sales need to be good typists since they must record addresses and card details quickly and accurately. Those working in support roles need to be able to complete ticket information accurately, demonstrate good listening skills, and communicate instructions clearly.”^[9]

Being flexible and adaptable may help an agent overcome the boredom of the repetition of similar calls. Agents may be asked to work in both inbound and outbound centers, offer support on more than one product, answer bilingual calls, or swap between different communication channels. Having agents who can work in different areas and on different systems is a benefit for the employer too as it means less agent downtime.

“Call center work can be stressful if the callers become hostile, but it can also be quite rewarding if the callers are polite and are grateful for the help that they are given. Outbound sales agents, and those who do outbound surveys, can sometimes face hostile responses from call recipients. A good call center agent will handle it gracefully and remove the recipient from the database so they don’t get called again.”^[10]

Watch the “Mock Call Sample Recording With Call Flow Guide” YouTube video below for examples of customer calls in the call center.^[11] Transcript for “Mock Call Sample Recording With Call Flow Guide” Video [PDF–New Tab]. Closed captioning is available on YouTube.

Agent Wages

Many contact center agents earn minimum wage, but agents with multiple skills or who speak multiple languages often earn higher pay rates than those who handle only one type of customer call.  Agents working in technical support, medical, or financial areas often receive higher pay rates.  Agents working in sales roles will usually earn a commission on top of their regular salary.^[12]

“Because of the relatively low rate of pay for the entry-level positions, the turnover rate for office-based call center work is high. Virtual call center agents usually enjoy better job satisfaction, and a better pay rate in real terms, since they do not have to commute to work and don’t have to worry about packed lunches, eating out, or buying work clothes. Since they work from home, their work day feels shorter and they may enjoy more leisure time while still getting the same rate of pay for the hours they work.”^[13]

Quality Service

No matter how experienced you are, never assume you know more about the customer’s needs than they do. These types of assumptions can lead to miscommunication and frustration for both of you. Instead, communicate thoughtful, personalized solutions. No two customers are alike. Each one has their own unique needs and goals that are specific to their situation. Recognizing these differences and adapting your communication to align with each customer is a great way to build rapport.^[14]

To stand out from competitors, you need to do more than just provide the right answer. Exceeding customer expectations and providing positive, memorable experiences help retain customers and make them loyal advocates which means more revenue for the company. When customers have questions, they want answers quickly. That means you need to be organized and capable of thinking on your feet. It also means that you need to be proficient with call center technology. Most agents will receive training during onboarding or orientation on how to use the computerized systems. You need to document and respond to tickets (issues to respond to) efficiently.

Observe recurring patterns or customer roadblocks.  If several customers complain about the same thing then this may be a significant problem and you should report these issues to management.  The company can then correct the issue whether it be a processing problem or a product flaw.  Correcting the issue early means avoiding future angry customers and ensuring a better customer experience.  This makes your job as an agent easier too.

It’s tempting to provide a customer with an easy, short-term solution; however, it’s important to solve the customer’s long-term needs, and not for your own convenience. Customers will recognize the difference and will remain loyal to your business if you truly go above and beyond for them.^[15]

Stay calm under pressure, especially when dealing with angry customers. Your professionalism may be tested when dealing with angry customers, but doing a quality job means actively listening to complaints, calming the situation, and resolving the issue as effectively and efficiently as possible.  This may mean following up with the customer after you have done some research on their problem.  Sometimes you need to transfer the customer to a manager when you do not have the authority needed to solve the issue. Other times it may mean working with another department to get the customer issue resolved.  All you can do is remain calm, work diligently, and reassure the customer that you are working in their best interest and trying to solve their issue quickly and effectively.

Watch the “How to Deal With Angry Customers” YouTube video below to learn some tips for dealing with angry customers.^[16] Transcript for “How to Deal With Angry Customers” Video [PDF–New Tab]. Closed captioning is available on YouTube.

References

(Note: This reference list was produced using the auto-footnote and media citation features of Pressbooks; therefore, the in-text citations are not displayed in APA style).