Answering Service Blog | American Inbound

Anyone could tell you this.  It’s pretty obvious.  No one wants to have to resort to email to solve a service issue.  There is great uncertainty in getting a response, and when and if you get a response, who is to say it will fix your issue.   After sending back and forth email, it may be over a week before your  problem is solved.

Researchers at Transversal have come to the same conclusion.  They have found that only 46 percent of emailed questions receive an accurate reply, with the average response time being 46 hours. Transversal also showed that 28 percent of businesses do not respond at all.

If all your business has for tech support and customer service is an email,  it’s clear your customers are calling for changes.

The fourth quarter of 2007 showed a decrease in the number of Americans satified with customer service experiences. 

The Peformance Improvement Blog attributes this to a weakened economy.  Businesses simply have less to spend on their customer service options.   If you’re in customer service, it’s time to buckle down.

I was not aware of the growing sms virus problem, but a google search revealed there have been many sms viruses over the years.

The good news is that Rising, a Chinese anti-virus software company, has released an anti-virus service for cell phones. So, if you’ve got sensitive data on your cell phone, maybe you should give it a try!

TMCnet has another report about what to expect this year in the call center industry. It will be hardest for the many large contact centers who are updating their equipment. However, they stress that this may be the what is needed to reduce overall operating costs. They also point out a trend of specification and the need to corner your market.

Here’s an article about answering services on a camping site! That’s right. Do you like to camp? Well then, this person believes you should get an answering service. So do I!

Also here’s a nice directory with a bunch of blogs in it for all of you blog lovers.
Blogs Directory

Imagine a world where instead of talking on the phone, you think on the phone.  If you are hearing-impaired this technology would be a godsend.  Imagine never having to call a relay center again.  It would allow the hearing-impaired to have complete independance over the telephone. While this idea may still be a ways away, the framework for the technology is already in place.

It takes the form of a neckband worn by the ‘thinker’ which captures the signals being sent from the brain to the vocal chords. See the video below for a demonstration! Apparently, the company who makes this, Audeo, has also created a thought-driven wheelchair. Kudos to them for being so ‘forward-thinking!’

New Scientist has the full story.

Nettel Holdings, Inc.’s (OTCBB: NTTL) has launched a new service for texters.  They allow you to send text messages to cell phones, home phones, email, and fax machines.  Even more shocking, you can set it up so that it automatically translates your messages in over 30 languages!

This all a little hard to believe, so here is the company’s demo.

Vodafone and Telecom, the two main cell phone companies, have joined the Green party.  While this move certainly has ramifications in the political world, it may also affect you.

The green party is a major advocate of banning cell phone use while driving.  The main article explains that drivers using cell phones are 4 times more likely to be involved in an auto accident. 

It would be nice if the tobacco industry showed such concern for their customers health!

In a related story, a small village in British Columbia, Canada has decided that they don’t need cell phones at all.  In a 117 to 110 vote they declined an initiative to introduce mobile service there.  They cite studies linking cell phone radiation to brain tumors as a main concern.  They also like their peace and quiet.  So if you’re looking for a remote and relaxing place to vacation, there it is.  I may move there myself!

Ah, headsets.

Our answering service is in the market for headsets, but we’re having a rough go of it.  We have tried several, but all have had problems. 

CRM news explains that the most important factor you need to look at (other than price, I suppose) is durability.  They explain that headsets go through great beatings at call centers.   Headsets are also traded around call centers and adjusted several times a day.  This constant strain can lead to breakage.

I would like to add to this.  Firstly, try to get a headset with an external mute button.  When an operator has a sudden sneezing fit, the mute button is the first place they go.  They would never put a customer on hold just to sneeze. 

Another nice feature you can find is volume limiters.  If you answer phones for businesses, you know that many of the calls you get are intended for fax machines.  You know this because there is an ear peircing ‘BEEP’ followed by modem chitter-chatter.  However, if your headset is filtered, you will only hear a small, tiny, heartwarming  ’beep.’   These limiter are very effective and trust me, your eardrums will thank me.

Video Answering Services are in the near future.  But how would these features be used?  Most call center clients would have no need for this.  However, many would. Think about the last work meeting that you could not make.  If you happened to have a video based answering service, you could call your service, and they could patch you and your video through to the board room.  Board meeting crisis averted. 

Another situation: for property maintenance.  You’ve got a problem tennet.  One that calls every night about one thing or another.  Now she has a pipe leaking under her sink.  She has definitely called in false alarms before so you are wary.  Well if you had a video answering service, you could have video of the leak in real time.  It turns out that the leak was a just a small drip… and from the faucet!  She can wait until the morning.

As this becomes more and more of a reality, more uses for this technology are sure to appear.  There have already been a couple of skype based answering service start ups this year.  It would not take many changes on their end to enable these kind of video services.  However they have not offered any as of yet. 

Here is another article dealing with video answering services.