{"id":12475,"date":"2020-11-24T10:00:17","date_gmt":"2020-11-24T10:00:17","guid":{"rendered":"\/gb\/en\/blog\/?p=12475"},"modified":"2023-01-16T17:31:05","modified_gmt":"2023-01-16T17:31:05","slug":"the-definitive-guide-to-call-avoidance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"\/gb\/en\/blog\/the-definitive-guide-to-call-avoidance\/","title":{"rendered":"The Definitive Guide to Call Avoidance: What is Call Avoidance? Policies and Strategies"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you\u2019ve spent any time working in a call centre, you\u2019ll have spent more than your fair share dealing with irate customers at the other end of the line. Of course, people may have legitimate reasons to be angry. Put yourself in their shoes: you\u2019ve probably had bad customer experiences of your own, so you\u2019ll know how enraging it can sometimes be.<\/span><\/p>\n

At the same time, it\u2019s also important to see this from the perspective of <\/span>contact centre agents<\/span><\/a>. Having to deal with angry customers, themselves looking for someone to take their frustrations out on, is hardly likely to be a pleasant experience for them. Quite the contrary, it\u2019s often draining and demoralising, and over time, it can take a real toll on their mental health. This is all too often overlooked by service providers.<\/span><\/p>\n

What\u2019s more, customer frustrations are incredibly widespread. According to <\/span>the 2020 Customer Rage study<\/span><\/a> in the United States, two-thirds of households surveyed had experienced some sort of problem with a product or service over the preceding 12 months. To make matters worse, more than half of these (58 per cent) found that complaining got them nowhere. Unsurprisingly, then, 65 per cent said they had experienced customer rage.<\/span><\/p>\n

It shouldn\u2019t come as a surprise, then, that for some call centre agents<\/a>, all this simply gets a bit too much. Some, therefore, succumb to the temptation simply to avoid calls. Again, try to see it from their vantage point. You\u2019ve had a hard day of dealing with high inbound call volumes and service requests. Mostly, you’re talking to infuriated customers, trying to placate them to little avail, only to be faced with the prospect of another one towards the end of your shift. It\u2019s no wonder some agents simply dodge some calls.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Source: <\/span><\/i>Customer Rage Study 2020<\/span><\/i><\/a><\/p>\n

But of course, for the businesses that employ these call centre agents, it pours petrol on the flames when operatives avoid taking certain types of calls. Customers who have a bone to pick, and who are already simmering, are not likely to be impressed if they can\u2019t get through to your <\/span>contact centre<\/span><\/a>. Or if they\u2019re left in the queue via an interactive voice response (IVR) for an unreasonable amount of time. It also means that more than likely, they\u2019ll be taking their custom elsewhere in future. That, thus, completely undermines your <\/span>customer retention strategies<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

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This problem is known as call centre avoidance. It\u2019s not enough to assume that your contact centre is immune and that all your staff will resist the temptation. Call centre avoidance is simply a fact of life. This can encompass a range of different behaviours and take a variety of forms, which we\u2019ll come on to discuss in this guide.<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s important to recognise the nature of this problem and take active steps to mitigate it. In other words, you need a call avoidance strategy. The more effective your call avoidance policy, the higher your standards of customer interaction. With better levels of service each time a customer contacts you, overall customer satisfaction will also rise. And ultimately, this will show up in your company\u2019s all-important bottom line.<\/span><\/p>\n

What is Call Avoidance?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

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First, we need to start by defining and explaining the problem of call avoidance. In a nutshell, the term \u2018call avoidance\u2019 is used to mean when a call centre operative avoids taking phone calls. That’s when a call is the best way to solve a customer’s issue. It doesn’t mean directing someone to self-service solutions or FAQs if they can provide a satisfactory solution.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

There\u2019s a number of ways in which an agent or help desk employee might duck calls. These include the following:<\/span><\/p>\n