Call center dispatchers are the bridge between your customer experience and your staff. Dispatching is one of the most important elements of successful call center outsourcing. Call center dispatching combines a caller’s urgent needs with the appropriate on-call staff member to meet the customer’s expectations meaning if your customers have issues, the call center is responsible for connecting them with the best staff member on your end to handle it.
Since just about every business dispatches for different reasons, everything from connecting hot sales leads to your closer or time-sensitive customer service requests, the range of dispatching requests are vast. These can include emergency repairs, high-value contract customers, medical emergencies, sales, and more.
How is a Dispatch part of your Call Center Protocol?
For dispatch to be part of your call center protocol, it needs to be programmed into your script. Specifically, you need to communicate with your call center which situations warrant a dispatch, and which ones don’t. And, you’ll need to specify which staff member to reach out to for which issues. As an example, if you’re using a call center for your apartment complex, the center will probably reach out to your plumber for plumbing emergencies, your locksmith for lock-outs, and your security service for any reports of suspicious activity.
In the call center environment, the dispatchers rely on the call center software to map out who to contact and for what. It’s the responsibility of businesses to make sure their dispatching schedules are up-to-date and the dispatching contact numbers are working. If this data isn’t updated each time there’s a change, it creates room for error and dispatching delays. Having all data programmed into the call center system itself automates dispatching and optimizes calls. This means shorter call times, happier customers, lower call center bills, and happier staff.
Customer Service with Call Center Dispatching
When you add dispatching to your call center protocol, you’re ready to take on emergencies, urgent requests, and other after-hours issues your customers may have. Call center dispatching allows you to truly be a 24/7 company.
1- Schedule in advance
Most call centers can schedule up to a year in advance. When programming your on-call staff, always keep your schedule updated as far in advance as possible. For efficiency, we recommend updating your on-call schedule with your call center as soon as you have it finalized. If you update your schedule every month, update the call center at the same time. When you treat your call center as a department within your own business, it’s much easier to keep everyone on the same page.
2- Keep staff happy with rule-based dispatching
No employee likes to be contacted after hours if there’s not a good reason for doing so. To avoid unhappy staff and stay efficient, set up rules based on dispatching within your script so operators only reach out for actual emergencies.
A good way to do this is through adding screening questions to help route calls appropriately. For example, a property management company may only want to be reached if a unit is flooded or the heat goes out in the middle of winter. Operators at your call center can ask the caller about the issue, and based on options, can follow the protocol. If the caller is locked out, the operators may direct them to call a locksmith. If the caller’s microwave isn’t working, the operators may instruct them to call back during business hours. However, if the caller’s kitchen sink is overflowing, the operators can reach out to the on-call tech if you’ve defined that as an emergency.
Call center scripts and dispatching protocols can be customized based on your company’s needs. Furthermore, adding screening questions allows operators to have more control over what gets dispatched and what can’t.
3- Reduce customer wait time for urgent issues
If a customer is dealing with an emergency, they’re not going to be happy about sitting on hold or leaving a voicemail and waiting for a return call. Using dispatching to reduce the time between the initial request and the resolution is essential. We recommend you:
Add automation
An upfront greeting that directs callers to press 1 for emergencies or 2 for all other calls is a simple way to cut down on operator talk time. It allows customers in an emergency situation to get help right away. Businesses may also want to include what constitutes an emergency in their recorded greeting. As a result, not everyone needs to press 1 just to talk to someone.
Add a driving question
A driving question is a question call center operators can ask in your initial greeting which helps drive the call. For example, an operator may say: “Hello, and thank you for calling ABC Plumbing. Are you having an emergency?” If the caller says yes, the operator can then ask what the issue is. Furthermore, if an actual emergency, we can dispatch the call accordingly. If the caller’s issue is not an urgent issue, they can take a message to have their call returned when the office re-opens.
Add an emergency phone number
Some businesses may even want to keep urgent requests and normal queries totally separate by using two different numbers. For example, one number may be advertised on a business’s website for new customers to call, and existing customers may be given an alternate number to call for urgent matters. Having two different numbers helps streamline urgent calls, and makes it easier to differentiate between new and existing customer messages.
What is call center dispatching?
The ability to dispatch calls is something just about any call center does. Whether the call center agent is dispatching a call to another group inside the call center (think a sales call turned into a service call so the agent transfers to another queue) or to your staff member, it means a better customer experience and improved productivity.
