Most consumers, shoppers, clients and customers today assume that calling into a larger business, medical facility, corporation or company will result in some type of interaction with technology.
This may be in the form of auto attendants or IVR (Interactive voice response) system, but they rarely expect to actually speak to a live operator with the initial interaction.
Most companies and facilities using these services assume these options are good choices. After all, the call is answered promptly and the customer is provided with an extensive menu of selections to choose from. Hopefully this provides the information they need to get to the right individual or department.
The reality is that many of the auto attendants in use today may actually be driving away customers and users. Those users that are calling in and becoming frustrated with the system may be simply moving to another company to do business with or circling around the system and continuing to overload live operators with basic calls.
The Endless Menu
All of the auto attendants use a menu type of option. This means that each department or area in the facility has its own unique code that the user must enter. For some customers, listening to endless lists of numbers and options is confusing as well as frustrating.
This often results in the caller simply pressing zero to talk to a live operator. Not only is this an ineffective use of your live operators, but it actually makes the automated system a cost plus option rather than a cost savings option.
Doing away with menus and having the caller simply tell the system what is required is the ideal option. These systems, which used Natural Language Processing technology, allow the computer to understand what the caller wants and make the necessary connection.
Faster Service
Without the need to listen to the menu the caller is also moved more quickly through the system. This increases caller satisfaction with the experience, which is a positive reflection on your corporate brand.
Additionally, with this advanced type of language recognition technology, callers never get stuck in those endless loops that seem to happen all too often with the menu choices offered by the traditional types of automated systems. At any time, the caller can simply state where they want to go or whom they need to talk to and the system makes the connection, saving frustration and streamlining the experience for everyone involved.
