The Call Centre of the Future... on your SmartPhone

TECHNOLOGY - Imagine a job where you can go for a walk, go to the gym, go shopping, etc. and get paid every time your SmartPhone rings and you help out a customer?

In the very near future there will be an app for that.

Customer service will be quantified and measured so that personal service (as opposed to talking to those damn automated machines) will be paid on both the quantity of the calls and the quality of customer service, helping customers to reach a satisfactory conclusion with everything from billing errors to tech support.

But its the fact these customer service reps won't need to be in a call centre any more that is interesting to me. They will be able to answer calls from wherever they are located... just so as long as there's no distracting background noise and there is a good strong wireless connection.

Whenever the CSR knows they are ready to receive calls they turn on the application on their SmartPhone and are connected to the Call Centre's mobile network, allowing them to receive calls. A built in program can terminate the call if there is too much static or background noise, switching the caller to another CSR with better reception.

The advantage here is that it allows people to work from home, but maintain mobility so they're not just sitting all day as their body goes waste. The company in turn saves money on building costs, less offices to buy/rent, less computers to buy and the SmartPhone application network keeps track of everything with rare need for managerial interference.

If customers ask to speak to a manager the CSR just has to press a button, briefly describe the problem and leave a voice message for the manager or higher ranker CSR who will be waiting on the following line... likely out walking their dog or playing golf.

I am not saying its an improvement, but its definitely the future.

See Also: The Future of Phones