Enough With the Excuses, Just Fix It!

In our last post, we discussed why companies should first fix their Rotten Call
current channels before rushing into providing customer service via social media. Internet sites have been up for over fifteen years for most companies, yet even the best sites are not integrated with the company’s voice channel, thereby increasing customer effort to receive service that the site could not provide.

Here is the typical scenario, and I experience it weekly:

  1. Attempt to self serve on the website, and fail for any number of reasons

  2. Call company support (and aren’t many companies sneaky about making it difficult to find their phone number?)

  3. Drop into an IVR that asks you to re-authenticate even though you authenticated on the website, then asks you to listen to a menu of reasons of why you are calling

  4. Eventually drop out to hopefully the correctly skilled customer service representative who asks you for the information you supplied to the website and then again to the IVR

So I almost always ask myself, “Why use the website? I should just call in next time.”  Then I remember, “Oh yeah, their IVR is so horrendous, I’ll do anything to stay out of it.”

I have been very vocal about companies not addressing this problem for many years.  Mostly the responses I receive are:
“too expensive” and “too complex.”

Now there is no excuse!

Fonolo provides an extremely easy Web Rescue solution that deploys in days and doesn’t require a massive IT project.  And this hosted solution is so cost effective, even small businesses are deploying it. A new, simplified pricing plan to be announced very soon. We will post it here.

Customers requiring help click on a button appropriately labeled to speak with your support representatives. Typically the most the widget will request the customer to complete is name and phone number.  Dependent on where the customer is on the website, different customer service skills can be targeted; e.g., billing vs. technical support.

Fonolo makes an inbound call to the call center, silently navigates the IVR on behalf of the customer, then waits on hold.
So it looks like a regular inbound call to the call center. When the customer service representative answers, Fonolo calls the customer, bridges the two calls, so when the customer answers, there is already a fully informed customer service representative, ready to assist. No IVR menu pain, no re-authenticating and then being prompted for the same information
yet again.  And no expensive, complicated multi-vendor integration.

As a customer who is sick and tired of dealing with these ridiculous scenarios, I say:
“So enough with the excuses, just fix it!”

Web Rescue

Enable customers to seamlessly transition from web to live assistance. Offer them a call-back and let them fast-track the IVR with just one click.

Connects Easily: With just a few lines of code, add a widget to your website that allows customers to request a call-back.

Works with Your IVR: Automatically navigate callers through the IVR based on their web context. No need to install additional hardware or software.

Empowers Agents: Pass customer information from web sessions to your agents and improve their efficiency.Fonolo Web Widget

Success Story: Optus – My Australian mobile carrier, great service!

Companies who have either deployed mobile applications, or are planning to,  need to think about integrating their voice channel with their mobile self service apps.

Fonolo’s Mobile Rescue solution works like their Web Rescue solution, and takes the pain out of customers contacting your customer support and then trying to look at their mobile app while providing IVR authentication such as account numbers.  The solution makes a seamless call carrying relevant information to inform your customer support staff of who the customer is, where they were in the mobile app when they decided to call, and can also provide relevant transaction details.

Who wouldn’t continue to use your mobile app when it’s so easy to get voice support when you really need it?

I have a few really great mobile apps (Vanguard Mutual Funds, Southwest Airlines) and quite a few really poor apps. What they have in common is that not a single company provides mobile app integration with their voice channel.  With Fonolo’s simplicity, speed to deliver, and unbelievably reasonable cost, there simply are no excuses not to offer it to your customers!

Mobile Rescue

Let customers easily connect to a live agent, directly from within your mobile app. With one tap on their smartphone they can request a call-back and avoid hold time.

Easy to Use: Give mobile customers a simple and intuitive way to request a call-back
from a live agent. Fonolo Mobile

Works with any App: Offer customers live assistance from within any mobile application on any platform.

Connects to Your IVR: Automatically navigate callers through the IVR. No need to install any additional hardware or software.

Success Story: 1st United Services Credit Union – Credit unions are customer owned, and customer focused

Think your company is customer focused and modern because you offer a mobile app?  Sounds much like the first days of being on the Internet, and we’ve all seen that just is not good enough. “So enough with the excuses, just fix it!”
The direction is clear, the time is now!


Image originally posted on Zengage, The Zendesk Blog