Customer Service
...nsider the minimum requirements for customer service staff to handle this new and improved sophisticated technology. In other words, intelligent technology-enabled customer service can have a tremendously positive impact on the bottom line and greatly enhance a company's competitive position. Effective customer service operations depend heavily on a variety of call center technologies, including automated call distribution (ACD) switches, interactive voice response (IVR), computer telephony integration (CTI) and call monitoring/recording functions. Using these technologies, companies can efficiently distribute incoming calls to minimize wait-times and to ensure calls are routed to customer service representatives with specific expertise. They can identify callers by their phone number and "pop-up" informative screens so they get a complete picture of the customers they're helping at the moment. They can implement touch-tone and/or voice prompts that let customers provide information about the reason for their call, or even lead them to find answers to their own questions without the need for personal assistance. To develop, maintain and expand credibility and provide true value, customer service providers must satisfy a complex array customer needs and demands. It can be difficult for internal service providers to adequately respond to these needs and demands in an environment shaped largely by high expectations for flexibility, quality, responsiveness, and results. Some of these forces include external competitors seeking a larger "piece of the pie", changing of internal business and business unit goals an...