If you're like me and see a job ad for a call center agent, you probably think, "Call centers still exist?"
You'd think people would choose a different way to get help after being on hold for 25 minutes. But in many cases, a customer would rather pick up the phone and get immediate help than wait for an email or live chat response. For this reason, many companies still have a strong team on the phone to take care of customers.
Research shows that the number of customer service representative jobs will increase by 36% between 2016 and 2026. Customer service representatives are able to attract and retain new customers, so this position is extremely valuable to any business. But even though it's an important position for a company, you're probably still wondering if this is the right job to start your career in customer service.
We've all dealt with a call center at one time or another, but we often don't know what the day-to-day responsibilities of a call center are. That's why, below, we've summarized the daily duties and responsibilities of a call center agent and what you should look for if you think a job in telephone customer service might be right for you.
Working in a call center
Call centers are an essential part of customer service teams and are often the primary means of communication between a company and its customers. To work in a call center, you must be motivated by customer success. Call center agents are tenacious problem solvers who are dedicated to improving customers' experiences with a company or brand.
A call center agent's workday is typically fast-paced and requires them to handle a handful of different tasks. Often, agents need to be flexible in their workflow and be able to deal with unexpected obstacles. Even though this means their workday looks different every day, agents perform the same core call center tasks regardless of the task they are completing.
Call Center Tasks
Help customers across all customer service mediums: phone (main channel), email, and chat (if needed).
Communicate thoughtful, personalized solutions to ensure the customer can successfully move on.
Provide a positive customer experience that aligns with the brand's tone and values.
Tailor the experience and support style you adopt to the customer's role, personality, and background.
Document and respond to web tickets efficiently and route issues to the appropriate teams within the company.
If you're considering a job in a call center, it's helpful to understand these basic tasks and why they're important to a company. Regardless of the industry to which the call center belongs, all of the tasks listed above are essential to the short- and long-term success of a customer service team. By consistently performing these core tasks, customer service departments can provide a positive customer experience in nearly every interaction.
To accomplish these tasks, call center agents must work together as a team to create a system that meets customer service needs. Customer service managers lead this initiative by developing a strategy for handling and distributing inbound and outbound calls. Before you decide to take a
call centre jobs Durban, it's important that you understand how a call center works in detail and why this process is so effective.
How a call center works
A call center is a voice communication channel through which customers submit inquiries or complaints to a company. Customer service representatives who work in a call center take calls from customers who need help resolving a specific issue. They then strive to resolve the customer's issue either during the initial interaction or in a subsequent email or phone call.
Although all call centers differ in some ways, most operate on a similar, responsive system. In short, customers report a problem to the customer service department, after which the call center responds to the report and resolves the issue.
While this is a simple explanation of how call centers work for different
call centre vacancies Durban, if you are considering a career in customer service, you will need a more detailed description of the call process. To help you with this, we've broken down the anatomy of a support or service call into three steps.
1. The customer calls
The calling process begins when a customer either calls or requests a call from a customer service team. Calls can either be made directly to the call center or through a connected product or app. Some call centers even offer outbound calls, where the customer signals to the company that they need help and the call center schedules an appointment for the agent to call the customer.
Once the call is connected to the phone line, it can be filtered and routed by a proactive support service. The filter may be software or even a live agent who assesses the customer's problem and then routes the call to a specific agent. This is especially handy for call centers that use specialists to handle complex or specific problems. Routing calls to the right agent is a great way for customer service teams to reduce resolution times and improve the customer experience.
2. Representative works on the customer's problem
After the call is routed to the right representative, the customer service representative works to resolve the customer issue. Successful reps have a mix of experience, product knowledge, and communication skills that help them meet customer needs. Good employees know not only what questions to ask, but when to ask them and how to phrase them. Customer service isn't always as simple as figuring out the right answer - and sometimes you have to rephrase solutions a few times to make sure the customer understands or believes them.
3. Follow up
While the customer service representative strives to solve the problem on the first call, that goal can't always be achieved. Sometimes, customer service representatives have no choice but to end the call and follow up once they have more information. You might think that this creates the risk of churn mentioned earlier, but this move is beneficial to both the customer and the employee.
The customer is already distracted by a problem with your product or service, and talking to your team on the phone is just another interruption to their workflow. If you get the customer off the phone, they can move on to other things while the employee investigates the problem. It also allows the customer to cool off if they are frustrated during the call.
Working in a Call Center: Here's What You Need to Know
