Call Center Tales from the Ball Diamond

It is estimated that up to 4% of the U.S. workforce is employed in call centers. With the growth in the number of call centers this isn’t surprising. We hear people talking about call centers with more frequency and understanding. The branding of the term “call center” has taken time but it is now a more commonplace term. We can hardly wait for the first Hollywood screen play that is about ‘call centers’. It shouldn’t have come as a surprise that with the growth in call centers, sooner or later we would hear call center tales at the ball diamond. We heard it and we were still surprised.

The call center tale: We overheard a CSR (customer service rep.) telling a group of parents, who were watching their juniors play peewee baseball, about life in a call center (your call center?). This CSR is a storyteller indeed. Laughs galore about the call center environment and particularly about the rigid and inflexible management of the call center that made it “a lousy place to work”. The stories of confused customers always make for a great call center yarn and good laughs. The tales of poor call center management don’t.

The story-telling CSR outlined, in humor, the denial of breaks, the insensitivity when the CSR just had a “Mr. Screaming Customer” call; the inability to take time off phones if the CSRs were losing their voices; the lack of recognition when a CSR constantly over-performed the stated CSR goals — the story-telling CSR is right. What a lousy call center to work in.

A test. “What are your CSRs saying about your call centers at the ball diamond?”

Would they be telling the humorous customer stories and how great it is to work in a call center? Would they be like this CSR, which left you thinking that the management at their call center was from the Dark Ages?

Running a call center is a difficult job. Balancing the pressures of serving customers in real-time, managing changing business demands and keeping staff motivated — it is more of an art than a science. The most critical element of any call center, regardless of what function it serves, are the staff on the phones (or web chat or email). “As it goes with your CSRs so goes it with your customers.” The call center tale from the ball diamond reflects some fundamental problems with the call center operation that CSR works in - the focus isn’t on the most important aspect of the operation - the CSRs.

At CallCenterOps, we get several questions a week about CSR retention. One solution to CSR retention: give your CSRs the ability to be a talking commercial at the ball diamond. CSRs will not only want to stay but they will attract others to come and join your real-time operation.

 

Posted: January 27th, 2007 under Leadership.
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