Working in a call center is like a roller coaster ride: agents are required to put their best game forward in order to be considered competent at what they do. For them, time is the most important thing, and its management can make or break their career as call center agents. Slacking at any point is not an option, especially when it comes to peak hours. Also, clients must be guided and spoken with in a professional and courteous manner, and this is something that should not be compromised on even if the working hours have been long and tiring.
Many call center agents all over the world face similar problems, and go through situations that others from their field can very easily related to. Let’s look at some of them below.
The moment when your manager announces that systems are back up
This is the announcement that all call agents detest, since it takes away from them the few precious moments of relaxation that miraculously appeared due to the system being down. Once calls begin pouring in, call center agents find themselves on their toes again until the end of shift.
A client’s inability to communicate properly
This can be a call center agent’s worst nightmare, since they can’t even be impatient with the person who is on the other side of the phone as that would put their firm’s repute at stake. When such a situation arises, the best way out is to politely ask the client to explain again, and end the call on a positive note.
Failing both anxious and relieved during the time in between calls
This is something that all call center agents experience. It is due to the fact that this time is so unpredictable in its duration that agents are torn between doing and not doing even the most mundane of things while their phone doesn’t ring, such as starting a conversation or eating a sandwich.
Dreading the long shift that lies ahead
This is absolutely normal, since call center work is quite monotonous and gets arduous at times too, and no one wants to spend ten hours in a stretch dealing with all kinds of callers.
When your system betrays you right in the middle of an interaction
Again, this is a total nightmare for most call agents, since they are forced to converse with the client on hold regarding things that do not concern them while the system retrieves itself. No one wants that, especially when the client on call is not interested even a bit!
Realizing that some of your colleagues have been working in this call center for longer than you were born!
There is nothing worse than realizing that you will be spending the rest of your attending calls, and answering questions regarding a firm’s products and services. However, it would be best for you to just hang in there, and takes things one day at a time!
So what can call center managers do to improve this? They should make use of AI algorithms designed by companies such as RosponseAI and make the lives of their agents easy and hassle-free. With automated chatbots that can send generic messages to clients, these call center agents will be able to take some time off!