Published : August 13, 2021According to research, long calling queues are the 3rd most irritating service issue, following the absence of a human representative and the complexity of the procedure. For this reason, call center managers must keep a close eye on call queueing and take the appropriate steps to reduce waiting time and the dropped call rate.
Long queues can be caused by a variety of factors, including unskilled agents and outdated technology. Whatever the reasons, our goal should be to keep it under control anyhow. But, before we get into the causes of calling queues and the benefits of the call queuing system, let us first learn what call queuing is in the first place.
What Is Call Queuing?
Call queuing is a technology used by call centers to manage inbound calls. When a customer calls a contact center, the call is routed to an available agent. But what if all of the agents are on the phone or busy for some reason? This is where the call queueing phone system comes in handy. As the name implies, the calling queue is nothing more than a virtual waiting area where all unattended but active customer calls are parked until call center agents address them.
Until the customer is connected with an agent, they will be greeted with welcome messages, ads, and information about the company’s current or upcoming products or services and kept engaged. However, Regardless of what you do to entertain customers and alleviate their frustration, a long call queue creates an unfavorable impression of the organization most of the time.
That is why it must be prevented at all costs. However, in order to altogether avert it, we must first understand why it happens in the first place.
4 Key Reasons For Long Call Queues In Call Center
The 4 reasons for the long call queue are as follows. Let’s take a quick look at it.
1 ) Understaffed Customer Support Department
The 1st major cause of long call queues is an understaffed customer care department. For example, suppose you started a business and expected 30 customers’ calls per day, so you hired 2 agents. After 3 months, the number of calls has increased to 100, but you still have 2 agents to manage all of those calls and inquiries.
Is this a viable situation? Obviously not. Such a working arrangement frequently results in a long call queue as well as overburdening the existing agents with too much work to handle. So, if you want to eliminate the long call queue, you must hire a sufficient workforce.
2 ) Outdated Contact Center Technologies
Another significant cause of long call queues is the use of traditional or outdated contact center technologies. For this reason, it is expected that you invest in and adopt advanced call center technologies such as a VoIP phone system, auto-attendant, power dialers, call routing system, Interactive Voice Response (IVR) software, and call tracking software, among others, in order to manage call queues for customer service & support effectively and to improve agent performance.
All of these cutting-edge tools and technologies will synchronize all data across the channels, redirect call queues to voicemail, automatically take notes, estimate the exact waiting time, and connect customers with the right agents to ensure a quick resolution.
3 ) Peak or Festival Season
Another reason for long call queues is peak or festival season. Every business has several peak days or seasons throughout the year. For example, the hospitality industry has a peak season during holidays, while eCommerce has a peak season during the festival sale, and so on.
This is why call centers experience significantly higher call volumes on these days than on other days. The best approach to deal with the increased call flow is to hire more contact center agents. Failure to do so will result in long call queues, poor customer experience, and damage to your reputation.
4 ) Unskilled Staff
We strongly believe that it is always better to be understaffed than to have an unskilled workforce. Unskilled employees not only impact productivity but also create a negative image of the organization. In addition, incompetent representatives can be a key contributor to the long call queue as well.
For example, suppose a company hires new agents during peak season and asks them to manage customer calls without providing them with the appropriate training. In that case, the agents will fail to handle the customers, resulting in long call duration and long calling queues. Therefore, always provide proper training to your team before letting them handle calls.
These are the four most common causes of a long call queue. Now, let’s take a look at how call queuing systems can help eliminate long call queues.
4 Exceptional Benefits of Call Queuing System
Following are the four benefits of implementing call queuing systems and how they reduce long call queues.
1 ) Reduce Call Abandonment Rate
The first key advantage of employing a call queuing system is that it significantly minimizes the call-drop rate. In addition, since this system gives accurate data on estimated pickup time, callers will know they won’t have to hold on for too long and will not disconnect the call.
Moreover, entertaining customers with personalized music or promotional ads when they are on hold is also a great way to keep callers engaged while also promoting your schemes, services, and products to them.
2 ) Enhance Customer Satisfaction
A call queue system is an excellent approach to show your customers that you value their time. With innovative call center technologies and a solid process flow in place, you can entertain most of the customers on time by reducing waiting time– resulting in increased customer satisfaction.
Moreover, a call queuing system will direct inbound calls to the appropriate representatives who are professionals in resolving that specific subject of queries. Ultimately, this will not only increase the First Call Resolution (FCR) rate but also makes the consumer happy. Even if they fail to provide a solution on the first call, they may always arrange a call back and provide the resolution.
3 ) Reduce Average Call Handling Time
Since this call queuing software directs callers to the right agents who are trained to handle those specific types of queries, it significantly reduces average call handling time as callers get connected to the right agent without making them hop from one department to another. This will also help them receive a quick resolution.
In addition, because the system organizes and distributes calls to each agent in a systematic manner, agents will have information about the next caller, their phone number, issue, and can also examine their record to be prepared with the ideal solution. All of this will reduce the customer handling time.
4 ) Increase Agent Productivity
Call queuing systems will boost not just customer experience but also agent productivity. Since calls are distributed automatically among all agents, no individual agent gets overburdened, as with manual distribution.
Additionally, call routing ensures that representatives are only assigned customers who have queries that are aligned with the agent’s skills or position, reducing the possibility of call transfers and ensuring quick resolution on the first call. Besides, call analytics also help them find their strengths and weaknesses.
These 4 advantages of call queuing software explain why you need one. Check out this list of the best VoIP number providers, compare their features and services, and pick the best VoIP system with the finest call queuing feature.
Summing Up
Time is indeed money in today’s fast-paced world. No one enjoys spending valuable time listening to business commercials for minutes while waiting in a call queue. Fortunately, with a call queue management system, you can dramatically minimize call waiting time and rescue your consumers from a bad experience. In addition, call queuing systems will boost agent productivity, increase customer satisfaction, and help firms in developing a customer-friendly brand image. In a nutshell, it’s a win-win situation for all the parties involved!
Updated : October 29, 2024
Paras Kela brings a wealth of IT knowledge to his writing, with a strong focus on technical content. In recent years, he has specialized in virtual telephony solutions, creating clear and insightful content. His passion for technology, experience in the IT field, and dedication to learning new trends make complex topics easy to understand.
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