When customers call, they want to be heard – not by a machine, but by a real human being.
This is the key point of view of a new investigation by Washington-based research firm Clutch. The survey reveals that the ability to speak with a human representative is the most important feature of any phone call for customers.
2017 Answering Service Survey Results
Customers want to talk to you – not a robot
Of those who speak to a representative, 21% said that human interaction is the most important. And 25% of callers said that they wanted automated telephone services to have an option for human interaction.
But reaching a human is not enough. Among the other qualities respondents answered, 19% said they were friends, 17% said they were clear, 16% said the service was fast and 13% said the result was decisive.
Customers are not satisfied with their calling experience
However, respondents also say that the human interaction that they get is important. For example, 39% of customers think that they talk to call centers when they are transferred to another line. And when that happens, customers think that their calls do not matter to your business.
Moreover, less than half (44%) of respondents who thought they spoke to call centers had a completely satisfactory call.
Customers expect authenticity
What customers want, it's an assurance that you take their complaints seriously. If callers experience transfers, poor audio, or answering service representatives who meet a lower than normal level of English, they will not be satisfied with the service.
On the other hand, if the representatives speak as normal human beings really interested in solving their problems, the appellants will have the impression that their grievances are receiving adequate importance.
For the study, Clutch interviewed 468 people who had called a company or medical organization with a question or concern in the month following the survey.
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