How to curb longest delay in queue

“Longest delay in queue” (LDQ) describes the longest time period that a customer in a queue waits before either connecting with an agent or hanging up.  LDQ is tracked through two categories in call center metrics:

i) Longest delay to answer:

This is the longest delay for a caller before being managed by a call center agent.

ii) Longest delay to abandon:

It refers to the maximum time a caller waited for agent interaction before hanging up.

Queue
Queue

Delay, whether long are short is not at all good for a company’s success and reputation as well. So, the managers handling the customer care section of a company need to identify and employ effective strategies to curb these issues. In this post, we have mentioned some of the most effective strategies that can be employed to keep customers happy during unexpected service delays, such as being short on staff:

1.Transparency:

The managers should give customers clear and conservative information that will help them estimate their wait time. This reduces their anxiety level caused by the uncertainty of the situation

2. Deliver more than you promise:

Delivering more than what you promise is a clever strategy. Let’s take an example of a restaurant where the host can give customers a longer than expected waiting time, say 25 minutes. If customers end up waiting just 15 minutes, they will be delighted as they expected a longer delay.

3. Try to keep your customers busy while they wait:

You can consider giving customers something to do while they wait. It can help cover the issue and keep them distracted and can seem like time goes by faster. Some examples of this strategy are offering magazines or free wifi access to your customers

4. Admit delays rather than apologizing:

When you inform the customers about the expected wait time beforehand, they can be mentally prepared for it. This is far better than apologizing to the customers time and again about additional delays as it will only piss them off.

 

ACD and its integration with IVR technology

As discussed earlier, IVR is a technology that allows users to obtain information from a phone system without the assistance of an operator. On the other hand, ACD technology automatically routes calls to phone agents based upon organizational rules.

IVR
IVR

ACD stands for automatic call distributor or automated call distribution system. It is a device or system that distributes incoming calls to a specific group of terminals or agents based on the customer’s selection, customer’s telephone number, selected incoming line to the system, or time of day the call was processed. In most cases it is a part of a computer telephony integration (CTI) system.

ACD
ACD

ACD system is meant for routing incoming calls which employs a routing strategy that determines how the calls are handled inside a system. This strategy is a rule-based set of instructions based on an algorithm that determines the best available employee or employees to respond to a given incoming call. Additional data are solicited and reviewed to find out the customers’ requirements and help make a match accordingly.

Routing incoming calls
Routing incoming calls

Integration of ACD and IVR technology:

After IVR and call distribution integration the system works as follows:

i) ACD system uses the DNIS (Dialed Number) to check the necessary rules for processing a call on the number as soon as it receives a call.

ii) Further an associated IVR program is invoked by the ACD.

iii) The IVR client process then invokes a server process on the application server and starts a two-way communication with the respective IVR Server.

iv) An IVR program controls the flow of the IVR script by prompting the caller and requesting key input or directing the caller to another ACD call routing path, extension, or voice mail.

v) The respective IVR program can perform customer information lookup, transaction processing or initiate outbound calls and prompt the called individual with the same messages and accept phone key input from this individual as well. Hence, the caller and called individual can be connected.

An example of ACD and IVR integration
An example of ACD and IVR integration