Overflow Call Center Services – A Plus For You And Your Customers

Posted by Leonard Scales

/ June 19, 2013 /

Typically, outsourced call centers are able to balance their service level goals and provide consistent services and rapid response times to customers. Sometimes, however, customer demands outstrip a call center’s ability to deliver the first-class customer support services they strive to achieve.

Long wait times and hang-ups by frustrated customers not only disappoint the customer, but also the call center agents who are unable respond within a reasonable timeframe. Depending on services your call center delivers, long wait times and abandoned calls could equate to lost revenue opportunities – and most certainly contributes to customer dissatisfaction.

When you can’t handle your high call volume or calls received during your peak busy seasons, call center overflow services could be the best option.

Overflow services avoid disruption to your center, including the rush to recruit large numbers of qualified agents, training those agents, and quickly preparing them to respond to your customers.

With a culturally and technically aligned overflow partner, you have assurance that when call volume is beyond your capacity to respond quickly, you have available options through your partner.

You’ll provide your outsourced call center ally with the same training and scripting your agents use, and align technologies between your organizations. Your overflow call center partner will be there to support your callers according to your protocols, with the same level of expertise your agents deliver.

For example, calls may be set to automatically route to your overflow partner if a phone rings seven times in your center – or routed to your overflow service if a customer waits for more than a minute on a call.

You decide when to initiate the overflow service. It’s your decision based on the customer satisfaction levels you’ve pledged to deliver. Your overflow partner will help assure communications and opportunities are not lost.

Overflow services are not limited to simple customer inquiry calls. If needed, your call center overflow partner can deliver services that are more complex, such as order entries that require credit card processing, Tier 1 customer support, and other call center services.

After interviewing and selecting a partner, run a month long pilot to review their capabilities and processes. 

Your overflow call center partner can deliver: 

• Overflow services during peak times, avoiding lost calls and lost revenue. 
• Direct response support for advertising campaigns, such as special events and promotions. 
• High quality, 24/7/365 overflow support. 
• Support for in-house teams distressed with equipment and personnel limitations. 
• Additional call center services, e.g., email management, live chat, text messaging, web forms management, and social media customer support, as needed by your center. 

Overflow call center agents are there when needed, allowing your in-house team to relax and respond professionally to each customer contact.