When we call or communicate with a contact center, we want and expect accurate information from the agent to whom we talk or ‘correspond’ (i.e., chat, email, text, etc.). Whether for financial information, healthcare or our order for flowers, we want to know that we can trust and rely on the agent’s word when he/she tells us something about the product, service or anything that is associated with it.
Is this a fair expectation? And is there any recourse if that information is not correct, and causes or could cause significant financial or other consequences? I ask this question less from a legal and more from a business perspective. Should the contact center train, manage, coach and support that belief and indeed commitment to its customers? And in fact how many companies are committed to that objective? I suspect there are many companies that would like this to be the case; we know that many customers would like it as well. But is it actually done and supported in a disciplined and internally accountable way? I don’t have a data-based answer to this question; and I would say that my experience working with hundreds of contact/call centers over the last 25 years would say, not too many do.
For example, if I call my healthcare insurance company and ask the agent if my annual vision check-up is covered when I go to a specific provider, I want to be sure that the answer I get will be accurate; and if it is not, then I want to feel sure that the insurance company will stand by what the agent said (and cover that provider), and not tell me to read the “fine print” in my insurance contract; and that they do not accept responsibility for what their agents say or don’t say. Right now I am not at all comfortable that that is how the average insurance company or any company will act.
One way to understand if this is or is not the case is to see what process and expectations companies have in-place to live up to this customer expectation.
If your contact center lives by this principle how do you do it? Is it a function of a strong and clear culture, is it supported by processes that strengthen the principle at the core of this belief? What goes into to making this real and sustainable and how do you handle it when it requires taking that responsibility seriously and making the customer whole?
I think this is a standard that our industry (contact centers) needs to start discussing, taking seriously and making real and widespread. I have not seen much discussion on this issue publicly but I believe strongly that, starting with industry pacesetters, the time to act is now.
S. Bloomfield
Triadic Group 