For a customer, there are few things worse than being told to call one number to address a certain complaint, only to be later informed to call a different one. While communication gaps between different companies are perhaps somewhat inevitable, a good live answering service has enough information on hand to help correct a problem right away, or at the very least, avoid further confusion.
One example can be taken from Boston.com’s story of a commuter attempting to access wireless internet on a train who was directed by a customer service representative over the phone to call the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority’s (MBTA) internet provider, only to be directed back to the MBTA after.
Though the first representative stated that the lack of service was due to an outstanding bill between the two companies, a later conversation between the writer of the piece and the different parties involved revealed that this wasn’t actually true, and that this was a mistake on the part of the internet provider, Waav, whose president gave an official apology.
While both parties may have been able to coordinate their responses better, this stands as an example of the kinds of problems that can be made worse when the staff of answering services is inefficient. A better-prepared service would have found a way to answer the initial complaint truthfully without dodging the customer, or leaving them without any compensation for their inconvenience.
A live answering service has a special responsibility to help a company maintain a consistent reputation in the eyes of its customer base. One of the easiest ways to ensure this is for a company to contract an answering service that is all “on the same page” regarding important recent events involving that business.
