ASA v/s Service level

[yooo]

Hi !

Somewhere in this discussion forum, someone mentioned that using average answer speed as the benchmark rather than service level is less costly. Please explain what are the cost parameters that make ASA less costly than Service Level?

Thanks a lot.

[Erlang]

I dont know about the cost comparison, but I can tell you NOT to use ASA as your measurement. ASA does not give a good description of what your customer's experience, because the average in the data set does not describe the average customer's experience. Most customers will get answered well BEFORE the average, and the rest will get answered well AFTER the average.

Stick with SL, this gives you the most accurate description of what your customers are experiencing when they call you.

[smack]

The only reduction in cost that I can see is that you could staff less if ASA was your criteria because you would be able to effect the average over the course of a business day. High call volumes, higher ASA; low call volumes, lower ASA. The trick would be call volume.

Whereas, service level would require the site to be staffed throughout the day to provide the same level of service. Even service level has its averages though.