Automatic Callback technology is a feature of your ACD that enables customers facing long wait times in your queue (on the rare times that would happen..…) to request a call back when the next available agent is ready rather than staying on hold.
This free’s up the customer to continue to go about their life without having to stay connected on the phone.
Benefits of using Automatic Callback
“Hey this is awesome, I’ve been stuck on hold for 20 minutes and this hold music is just incredible!” said no one ever.
If your WFM planning (you do that right?) is a little off and you find yourself with large volumes of callers stuck in your call centre queue, using Automatic Callback can be a great solution for your customer.
Instead of physically having to stay connected to the call centre, the customer can opt to receive a call back at a later time when the call centre has capacity.
This frees the customer up to get back to their lives, reduces abandoned calls and has been shown to improve customer satisfaction.
You also have full control over when to activate the technology.
For example, you may decide to switch it on only when wait times exceed 20 minutes.
Risks of using Automatic Callback
It’s not a silver bullet!
One of the problems with Automatic Callback technology is that the system will only automatically dial the customer back when there are zero calls in the queue and there is an agent available.
In a busy call centre where there is always long wait times, it is likely that there will never be a time when there are zero calls in the queue so the customers waiting for the call back will never receive one 🙁
As such, it makes it quite unreliable for both the call centre and the customer.
Alternatives to Automatic Callback technology
Whilst Automatic Callback is better than no callback function, as I mentioned above it has its downsides.
A more modern approach is to use Intelligent Callback which provides customers with options as to when they would like to receive a callback.
Of course, the other alternative is to reduce the likelihood of customers being placed in a queue in the first instance.
No matter which callback technology you use, customers would still rather their call be answered at the time they are calling you.
Not surprisingly, the time they are calling you is already the most convenient for the customer.
That’s why they called you in the first place so anything less than being served right at that point is still inconvenient.
Where can you get Automatic Callback?
Automatic CallBack technology is typically a feature of your call centre ACD.
Of course, not all ACDs offer this function and if yours doesn’t, maybe it’s time to move a new solution given the vast amount of cost-effective options available today, especially with cloud-based technology.
- Learn: View our specialist courses for call centres
- Read: 5 Benefits of call centre technology
- Calculate: Download our Call Centre Calculator to work out how many agents you need to meet your Service Levels
- Search: Find a list of all the industry suppliers for automatic callback and other technology including:
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