We apologize for the experience you’ve had. We will definitely help you get this issue resolved.

Your refund has been processed. It will reflect in your bank account in the next 3-5 days.

I will ensure that your issue is resolved in the next 24 hours. Be rest assured.

What if customer experiences in the contact center could always be like the ones above?

For enterprises, the contact center is the heart of customer engagement. It’s a tough job and a demanding one - for both agents and supervisors. One minute everything is fine but in the next, anything can go wrong. Especially when agents face a sudden spike in the volume of customer interactions coming in.

Planned spikes are bound to take place when a marketing promotion or a discount sale is proposed to hit the market. The factors are understood and predictable. This is most evident during shopping seasons when your contact center transforms into a battle zone, where volumes can cross 200% of peak capacity.

With such a staggering number of interactions heading the agent’s way, it may not be possible to cater to every interaction. And this goes against the adage – “Leave no customer behind”. Subsequently, when agents handle customer interactions during spikes, the resolution time elongates, following a domino effect. But when a random technical outage takes down the operations, that’s when the contact center turns into a bed of thorns.

A seasonal spike is perhaps the lesser evil when compared to the dreaded unplanned spike. They are uncalled for and come as a shock to the system. It can lead to revenue losses and additional stress on customer service. It can also prove to be a deal-breaker to your customers and make them switch their loyalties.

As the holiday season approaches, retailers and e-commerce giants are busy prepping. Particularly for those last-minute shopping escapades. With spike management essentially an integrated organizational effort, what strategy do you put in place to ensure customer experience doesn’t suffer?

Read our comprehensive 9-step guide to manage spikes in your contact centerDownload