1. A call center is a centralised office used for the purpose of
receiving and transmitting a large volume of requests by
telephone.
2. Dynamics
• Types of calls are often divided into outbound and inbound. Inbound calls are calls
that are made by the consumer to obtain information, report a malfunction, or ask
for help. These calls are substantially different from outbound calls, where agents
place calls to potential customers mostly with intentions of selling or service to the
individual. It is possible to combine inbound and outbound campaigns
3. System
• Call centre staff are often organised into a multi-tier support system for a more
efficient handling of calls.
• The first tier in such a model consists of operators, who direct inquiries to the
appropriate department and provide general directory information.
• If a caller requires more assistance, the call is forwarded to the second tier, where
most issues can be resolved.
• In some cases, there may be three or more tiers of support staff. If a caller requires
more assistance, the caller is forwarded to the third tier of support; typically the
third tier of support is formed by product engineers/developers or highly skilled
technical support staff of the product.
4. Types of Call Centres
Some variations of call centre models are listed below:
• Contact centre – Supports interaction with customers over a variety of media,
including but not necessarily limited to telephony, e-mail and internet chat.
• Inbound call centre - Exclusively or predominantly handles inbound calls (calls
initiated by the customer).
• Outbound call centre - One in which call centre agents make outbound calls to
customers or sales leads.
• Blended call centre - Combining automatic call distribution for incoming calls with
predictive dialling for outbound calls, it makes more efficient use of agent time as
each type of agent (inbound or outbound) can handle the overflow of the other
5. Customer Service
• Customer service representatives provide a valuable link between customers and
the companies who produce the products they buy and the services they use.
• They are responsible for responding to customer inquiries and making sure that
any problems they are experiencing are resolved.
• Although most customer service representatives do their work by telephone in call
centers, some interact with customers by e-mail, fax, post, or face-to-face.
6. Types of Complaints
• customer service inquiries involve simple questions or requests. For instance a
customer may want to know the status of an order or wish to change his or her
address in the company’s file.
• However, some questions may be somewhat more difficult, and may require
additional research or help from an expert. In some cases, a representative’s main
function may be to determine who in the organization is best suited to answer a
customer’s questions.
• Some customer inquiries are complaints which generally must be handled in
accordance with strict company policies
8. • Reputation:
And if that customer feels bad about how he or she has been treated, she will tell
her friends about it. Or even worse, drop a note in a user group or other forum
that is heavily trafficked.
• Lifetime Customers:
On the other hand, if you deliver legendary customer support, this same
mechanism could work really well for you. In the meantime, you're converting
ordinary customers into lifetime customers, just by delivering extraordinary
service.