Top customer frustrations when calling customer service

Level: Intermediate

Using a product or service less frequently, not purchasing additional services in the future, and speaking negatively about the brand are all consequences of a poor customer service experience.

A recent Gartner report on the behaviour of new generations warns the industry that now, more than ever, it needs to invest in improving the customer experience (CX).

Fortunately, contact centre professionals are taking the demands of new consumers very seriously, and 86% of customer service leaders will prioritise improving the customer experience in 2024.

“86% of customer service leaders will prioritise improving the customer experience in 2024”.

– Gartner

The question many are now asking is: how do we improve the customer experience? In this post, we’ll outline five processes that need immediate improvement, whether it’s configuring features in contact centre software or integrating artificial intelligence tools for customer service.

1. POOR SOUND QUALITY AND DROPPED CALLS

Customer service is the visible face of the brand; even when dealing with a BPO, consumers believe they are speaking directly to the company. We cannot afford poor sound quality.

Hearing background noise and not understanding what the agent is saying can be extremely frustrating, as can dropping the call halfway through due to poor call quality.

Having noise-cancelling microphones so the customer can’t hear what’s happening around the agent is essential, as is having customer service software with the right features.

Providers that develop their own contact centre software (CCaaS) and are also telecom operators offer all-in-one solutions that simplify operations and administrative management.

2. LONG WAITING TIMES

According to Spanish news channel La Sexta, insurance companies take between 6 and 36 minutes to answer a call, while energy companies take an average of 16 minutes.

Waiting in a queue for an eternity is a universal frustration that inevitably makes us think “we are off to a bad start”. Being put on hold for more than ten minutes in an emergency is undoubtedly very damaging to CX.

The forthcoming Spanish customer service law, which will require customers to be dealt with within three minutes, is about to be passed. To avoid fines of up to €100,000 and not ruin our customers’ experience, there are three solutions we can apply:

1. Integrate a bot that allows users to hang up without losing their place in the queue and receive a callback when they reach the top position. This bot is quick to implement and gets to the root of the problem.
2. Automate the handling of frequently asked questions with an AI bot that can qualify the user’s intent, resolve their query, and reserve agents for more complex inquiries.
3. Enable new customer service channels to reduce call volumes. Millennials and Generation Z, the digital savvy, prefer to interact via their preferred platforms, such as web chat or WhatsApp.

3. REPEATING THE REASON FOR THE CALL

Being passed from one agent to another and having to repeat the problem is frustrating. If the customer does not have a ticket number or is not connected to an expert on the first call, they will inevitably have to repeat the reason for their call.

To avoid this, we can:

1. Implement a skills-based routing system that recognises the user’s need and directs them to the right department.
2. Use artificial intelligence to identify the customer, review their call history, and connect them with the agent they spoke to previously.

Integrating customer service software with a customer management programme (CRM or ERP) allows agents to have customer information with every call, enabling a more personalised experience.

4. DROPPED CALLS DUE TO QUEUE OVERLOAD

Another major frustration when contacting customer service is when the call is dropped because the queue has run out of time.

Therefore, in the configuration of the customer service software, we need to change the rule that causes this to happen.

Alternatively, we can place users in another queue when the current one is about to overflow or, as mentioned in the second point, use callback bots and automate responses to common call reasons.

5. AUTOMATED RESPONSES THAT END THE CALL

At the pinnacle of the worst customer experience are automated systems that do not provide personalised attention. We’re talking about IVR systems that ask users to press numbers on a keypad and play only prerecorded messages without transferring the call to an agent.

The aforementioned Spanish customer service law also prohibits the exclusive use of these systems, penalising companies that do not provide accessible and human customer service.

If we receive a high volume of calls and/or have a small team of agents, we can leverage personalised service with artificial intelligence that automates responses to simple queries.

Unlike automated responders, AI bots can provide the same level of service as an agent, but only for queries that do not require emotional intelligence, such as sending an invoice, explaining the return process or resolving an issue outlined in a manual.

DOES YOUR CONTACT CENTRE SOFTWARE ALLOW YOU TO OPTIMISE THESE PROCESSES?

Discover how Omnichannel Contact Center features are designed to improve your customers’ experience, and how it uses artificial intelligence to reduce waiting times and assist your agents.