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Customer Service Information |
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Quality vs. Quantity
There is a battle in Call Centers. The teams are Quality vs. Quantity; two performance factors that don't seem to get along. ? Representative Super Speedy says, "I've taken more calls than anyone on the team today. My average handle time is the lowest on the floor." Coach Level Head breaks it down for him, "But your quality scores are below everyone else on your team." ? Representative Detailed Dan says, "My quality scores are top notch. I give every one of my customers the detailed attention they deserve." Coach Level Head breaks it down again, "Your Average Handle time is through the roof, and there are customers waiting in queue for attention to their needs. Where is the happy medium? True quality means being effective and efficient; meeting the customer's needs fully in a reasonable amount of time. As a call center supervisor in a Customer Service department I managed a team of 20 representatives. Like many teams there were "top performers" or super stars, "middle of the road performers" or most of the team and "low performers" or the folks that needed help to the middle of the road. My goal was to work with everyone to bring them up to the next level and ensure quality and efficiency as a group. I remember one team member who fell into the low performer category. She was very detailed, very good with customers and her quality scores were outstanding. So, what put her in the low performer category? The amount of time she spent on each call. In one work day she would complete only half the number of calls completed by her team members. Her average handle time was off the charts. We had to work on this as soon as possible. I coached her on several occasions and we found ways for her to cut time off of her calls. She did more typing while she talked to the customer; she learned the system more thoroughly so she could offer the answers to the customer's billing questions. Still her efficiency was not there. So, we continued the coaching. Her argument was that her quality scores were so high that the quantity should not matter. She would receive 95% to 100% on each monitoring score. She was providing the customer with a quality interaction. They would go away feeling good about the company and the services they purchased. So, why did it matter if she took a long time talking with each customer? This discussion changed my explanation of quality and quantity forever. I explained to her (and everyone else, on every team I ever coached going forward) that Quantity is not a separate goal from Quality. Quantity is actually efficiency, and efficiency is part of Quality. Instead of focusing on the number of calls we took in a day, we must talk about this performance goal in terms of how efficiently we took those calls. Did we use the time we had with them appropriately? We can not say that we offered the customer a Quality Interaction if we kept them on the phone for 25 minutes trying to solve their issue. On each call we owe the customer courtesy, information, honesty, answers and EFFICIENCY. A customer who received the answer they called looking for in 3 to 4 minutes will be happier than one who reaches their answer after 10 minutes. In addition to the individual call, the time one representative spends on a call with one customer can also affect the perspective of the customer who is waiting in queue. I'm not suggesting that team members rush through calls to answer the next, but it is important to be aware of the impact of the time you spend on each call. The more efficient you are on each call, the more effective the department will be as a whole. We ensure the efficiency part of Quality by being prepared for each call. Preparation includes knowing the tools and systems we use to answer the customer's needs, being up to date on new products, services or issues the customers may be calling about, and having our best Customer Service attitude ready to talk to each customer. All this has become my Quality message. I have been known to pull up a soap box in the break room and spread this good word. Quality is built on quantity or efficiency. Offer clear, helpful, efficient customer interactions. My team learned it and improved in each one of their performance goals. Let the Quality vs. Quantity battle end. Your customers will thank you. About the Author Jenny Kerwin is a writer and member of http://www.CallCenterCafe.com Members of http://www.CallCenterCafe.com have access to articles like Partnering for Performance and materials related to Call Center Management, Training, Human Resources and Quality. The Café is full of resources for Call Center Professionals including a staff waiting to answer your questions. Take a 1 day test drive starting today.
MORE RESOURCES: AI Chatbots Are Ready to Talk to Customers. Sort of. The Wall Street Journal Pricing, AI, DPA, Customer Service Tools; Bill Emerson Interview; Training This Week; STRATMOR CD Workshop Mortgage News Daily Samsung Electronics Canada Customer Service Wins Bronze in âBest Use of Omni Channel' at International CX Awards 2024 Yahoo Finance Qme secures $3M funding to streamline customer service across Africa Techpoint Africa Building Competitive Advantage in Customer Care Through AI The Business of Fashion 311 Customer Service Center City and County of San Francisco FTC Finalizes Order with H&R Block Requiring Them to Pay $7 Million and Overhaul Advertising and Customer Service Practices for 2025 and 2026 Tax Seasons Federal Trade Commission News Ikea expands integration with assembly services platform Chain Store Age JEA is inviting bids for 19-story downtown tower that used to be its headquarters The Florida Times-Union Consumers Demand Enterprises Modernize to Improve Ailing Customer Experience, Says Research Business Wire American Lamprecht Enhances Visibility for Air and Ocean Shipments Using Descartes Solution Supply Chain Dive Women in Fintech: A Conversation About Loyalty Ecosystems in Financial Services with Becky Hill Finovate Neterra Enhances Its Customer Service Monitoring System Total Telecom Gladly Named a Leader in Constellation ShortList⢠for Digital Customer Service and Support PR Newswire QueueKioskâ˘: Saving Thousands of Active-Duty Man Hours & Improving Customer Service at the MPF Office Kiosk Marketplace Finally, hard data on a real-world AI business use case: Itâs huge for customer service Sherwood News Liverpool reinvents customer service through digital platform ComputerWeekly.com CSPI & Nutrition Action Customer Service CSPI Newsroom Firm to expand customer service in Yorkshire with new service centre Golf Business News Textron Aviation to Open New Service Facility at Essendon Fields Airport, Expanding Capabilities in Australia Pittsburg Morning Sun Help Department of Taxation and Finance Six Game-Changing AI Customer Service and CX Strategies Hospitality Net Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program (CDPAP) New York State Department of Health Cigna's customer-centric strategy could ripple across the sector Modern Healthcare Major AI Success Story: Giftify Achieves 40% Faster Customer Response Times with Enterprise AI StockTitan Contact Us About Your Bill myclearwater.com Customer Service Center apps.tampagov.net 311 - Birminghamâs Customer Service Center City of Birmingham (.gov) Palm Coast Utility Department Celebrated for Enhanced Customer Service City of Palm Coast DESCO's meeting held to enhance customer service and power reliability The Business Standard 70% of customer service to rely on AI by 2028: Gartner Outsource Accelerator Customer Service & Support Hillsborough County (.gov) My experience as a Customer Service and Sales Intern Toby Shapiro's Experience at A.D. Sutton and Sons Chapman University 3 Ways To Quickly Make $50 GOBankingRates Deltaâs annual profit-sharing day spotlights âpeople firstâ strategy The Atlanta Journal Constitution Welcome to Riverside Public Utilities City of Riverside (.gov) Celebrate Customer Service Week City of Riverside (.gov) Which companies have the best customer service? Amazon, Shein, Costco among top-rated brands USA TODAY Con Edison Proposes Investments to Meet Growing Demand for Clean Energy, Enhance Customer Support T&D World Fulton County Recognized as a 2024 National Customer Service All Star Fulton County Government Contact Reverb Support Reverb Charter Names Robyn Tolva Senior Vice President, Customer Service Reliability | Charter Charter Communications America's Best Customer Service 2025 Newsweek 8 strategies for using AI for customer service in 2025 Sprout Social Attorney General Bonta Demands Better Customer Service for Californians California Department of Justice AI for Customer Service Market worth $47.82 Billion by 2030 - Exclusive Report by MarketsandMarkets⢠PR Newswire Can artificial intelligence rescue customer service? The Economist Permitsâcustomer services King County Lifeline Support for Affordable Communications Federal Communications Commission Shep Hyken, HPU Customer Service Expert, Mentors Students and Staff High Point University Department of Transportation Governor Tom Wolf President Biden Announces New Customer Service Actions, Targets Subscriptions and âDoom Loopsâ CX Today 11 key elements of excellent customer service Business.com Launch of New Districtwide Customer Service Platform The School District of Philadelphia Summer EBT | Department of Human Services Governor Tom Wolf Video Quick Take: Intercomâs Brian Donahue on How AI Agents Can Be Your First Tier of Customer Service Support HBR.org Daily |
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