Comments on: Finding Value in Details

By: Jacob Rios

Jacob Rios — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 02:38:51 +0000

no problem. the biggest takeaway i had from that project is that you have to look at all your metrics holistically. for example, let’s say you’re focused on a metric like % of calls resolved and you notice that this % starts going down. this might not be a bad thing. if your company put a lot of effort into solving customers problems ahead of time, then you’re more likely to see this % decrease. the reason is because now it’s only the more difficult customers who are calling in to get there problems resolved. this can also be true with a metric like AHA (average handle time). just because it goes up is not a bad thing as long a metrics like # of calls are decreasing. again, that’s probably an indication that only more difficult questions are coming thru and you’re doing a better job of answering easier questions online or thru some other method.

again, just make sure you’re looking at everything. don’t get focused on just one metric.

i hope this helps some.

By: Dan Graham

Dan Graham — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 05:32:30 +0000

I may take you up on that, Jacob. It’s always interesting to talk about how these issues affect other companies and what their recommended steps forward are.

By: Jacob Rios

Jacob Rios — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 05:20:40 +0000

I did a whole project on call centers while at Accenture looking at metrics like ASA, AHT, Abandonment rate, Call volume, % of calls resolved, etc.

I don’t remember too much but let me know if you ever want to chat.

By: EJ

EJ — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 23:33:30 +0000

When I think about customer service and call volume, I wonder how much effort it would take to reduce call volume to near zero. Identify the reasons for the call, and find ways to solve them.

Is it better descriptions of all products, and how-tos on using them?

More automated messages about the status of an order?

More up front information on the site?

And then how many resources would be expended on fixing the issues, the resource cost, and the opportunity cost.