Call Center Call Queuing
Good call center design has two basic goals.
- Keep customers from hanging up before you can answer their call.
- Keep them happy while they wait so your eventual human interaction with them is productive.
To acomplish this, you provide four things we call "P-E-E-R".
- Progress: Your customers need to feel the on hold "line is moving".
- Entertainment: Provide them music and useful messages while they wait and they will wait longer.
- Expectations: Your customers need to know how long they will wait until they are rewarded.
- Reward: Once your customers get a live human on the phone, they need your staff's full attention. Your staff can't put them back on hold to answer another call until the service or product is delivered.
You have already experienced good PEER design in your life.
| Industry | Good PEER | Poor PEER |
|---|---|---|
| Airline travel | Planes stacked every 1000’ to land. Air traffic control tells you your plane will be the 3rd to land. Comfort drinks may be served. | Jammed runways. Diverted to another airport “This is your Captain speaking.” We can’t land in Richmond so we are diverting to Norfolk. Have a nice day”. |
| Grocery shopping | Martin's deli & bakery counter You are holding ticket 57 and the sign say’s “Now serving 54”. You know where you stand and when you will be served. Comfort comes from tasty samples and gazing at the food display case. | Food Lion or Walmart. It’s a fight for service but the price is low. |
| Travel to Beach | Take 664 or 460. It’s longer but you will always be moving and it’s a nice drive. | Go through the tunnel only to get to a dead stop. |
| Dr's Waiting Room | Signup sheet with check-off tells you if things are backing up. Read magazines, watch TV, look at the fish. Nurse queues you in the exam room and takes your blood pressure where you wait just a few minutes more. | Waiting for ever. Stale magazines. Shuttled to exam room and you wait another 30 minutes. Doctor is in a hurry and looks at his watch often. |
| Meals | Topeka’s Steak House takes your reservation, states it will be 15 minutes, and a gives you a pager. You can take a walk. Upon sitting, "comfort" drinks and bread are quickly served. Salad next. "Your dinner will be right out". Finally, a tasty steak! | Bad drive through. How many times have you gone inside the resturant just to control PEER as the last drive through took forever and rewarded you with the wrong order.. |
|
Click here for a movie on Call Center Que
Status Lights. |
 |
