Wait Time Messaging

[dougf]

I manage a Contact Center for a large Medical Outpatient Clinic.

We serve six different "internal" Clients that are Family Practice Clinics.

We are still working at reducing our wait times, but the reality is that sometimes they can exceed 10 mins. 2.5 - 5.0 minutes is not all that unusual.

We currently have a system that announces wait times as long as they are NOT longer than four minutes. After four minutes, the caller gets the standard, "Sorry for the delay, your call will be answered,,,. (you know the one...) This system has sometimes beem problematic and temperamental in calculating things properly which actually frustrates waiting callers.

We are considering dropping the wait time estimate message all together and just sticking with the standard, "Sorry for the delay" message.

Does anyone know of any preferences on these wait time messages from a customer service perspective? Experiences, studies, surveys, etc...

I'd like to drop the wait time frankly, but wanted to see if there were pros and cons available on the subject to help aid in the decision making process. If these time estimates are a strong positive, we'll certainly keep it going.

Thank you in advance for any help you may be!

Doug

[TheTerminator]

I found that the wait time estimates work well for increased customer satisfaction. Too long they call back later. Short enough they hang on.

Your problem is the wait time attendant does not estimate well. You've got a problem that needs fixing. Why don't you have enough agents to reduce wait time?

[LindaH]

Wait time message systems calculate the wait time based on many factors, such as number of calls in queue, agents logged on, longest wait in queue, how long the last call waited in queue and provides the best estimate to the caller. Here's how the estimate can be off and somewhat annoying to customers. Agents go into not ready after a call - go to break, lunch, etc. so the estimate given to the caller is no longer valid.

If you don't have enough agents or a method of forecasting and scheduling agents to handle the calls quickly and are getting a lot of complaints, then you might be better of with a basic delay message. The wait time announcers are great for letting the customer decide if they want to continue to hold or call back later.

[GinaD]

Why not try a Call manager. Which allows the caller to keep their place on hold and get a call back and not letting them stay on the phone holding.

Let me know if you want info on this

Gina Dohna
InContact.com
gina.dohna@incontact.com
801-386-8353