Us Brits sure love talking about the weather, but the past week the weather has headlined the news non-stop. Burst water pipes, flooding, snow and sink holes appearing because of the weather has left thousands of people in distress, unable to commute, some without water and sewage facilities, cut off from the rest of the world.
Jerry White, Head of Water Production at Thames Water said that last Saturday has been the busiest day of the winter so far for the company, when their customer centre received 2,500 calls, with 3,000 calls over the weekend as a whole - 30 times more than the daily average. A spokesperson for the company added that it had received more tweets in two days than it normally would in two weeks.
However, it’s not just utility companies receiving an influx of contact. Emergency services, charities, defence, and retail organisations are all under pressure as the chaotic weather continues to disrupt lives. And listening and reading the news, some companies are better than others when having to inform and respond to contact with some companies heavily criticised for their lack in keeping people informed.
With most of us today expecting the majority of customer service interaction to happen in an online environment, one would think it makes sense for companies to invest in web self-service, virtual agent, or live chat facilities to answer customer queries, leaving contact centre agents to deal with more complex issues. However, in this world where we use our smartphones and tablets to update us on the news, to query the time it will take to commute to work, to keep in touch and to ‘survive’ in this digital age, many companies still struggle to live up to customer expectations when it comes to support.
Expanding support into multiple online channels not only allows companies to offer real-time, consistent, and up to date information in a cost-effective manner but reduces the stress levels in contact centres.
Why not download these short, handy, and free guides that offer insight for businesses wanting to invest in effective digital support channels?
Multi-channel Online Customer Service for Dummies
Virtual Agents for Dummies
Web chat - 5 killer reasons why you are doing it wrong
Virtual agents - to bot or not?
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