|
 A call centre is a centralised office of a company that answers incoming telephone calls from customers or that makes outgoing telephone calls to customers (telemarketing). Such an office may also responds to letters, faxes, e-mails and similar written correspondence.
Call centres are generally set up as large rooms, with work stations that include a computer, a telephone set(or headset) hooked into a large telecom switch and one or more supervisor stations. It may stand by itself or be linked with other centres. It may also be linked to a corporate data network, including main frames, microcomputers and LANs. Increasingly, the voice and data pathways into the centre are linked through a set of new technologies called computer telephony integration (CTI).
Most major businesses use call centres to interact with their customers. Examples include utility companies, mail order catalogue firms, and customer support for computer hardware and software. Some businesses even service internal functions though call centres. Examples include help desks and sales support.
An efficient integrated call center can provide long term customer satisfaction by increasing revenues both for the client as well as the service provider. Most call centers are stand alone operations, handling marketing or customer service functions with little or no contact with the other business units such as accounting, manufacturing and distribution. The advantage of a call center is that it offers a broad range of transactions which are conducted over the phone. All customer solutions are offered via a sophisticated tele-network.
When ATMs first come in, there was huge excitement at the idea of obtaining cash against the depositor's bank account at any time - day or night. A person with an account in a bank in Delhi could withdraw cash from Mumbai or Bangalore if he fell short of cash. There was a limit to how much he could encash but he was not stuck for money. So far so good. But what happens when the computer develops a snag at the counter, failing to transact the business and the 'instant cash' fails to get delivered. Now if the ATM had a voice and video, it would have the ability to speak with a representative working in a multichannel customer interaction center. The person would have completed his transaction and gone back happily satisfied. Call center business go that extra step further, making the entire business of technology more relevant, fool proof and instantaneous.
 Call centers are expected to employ over 2.5 million people by the year 2007-8. Most centers have project managers who provide a dedicated point of client contact ensuring that systems get installed with minimum disruption to business, ensuring smooth transition and successful implementation. From need analysis and presale consultancy through to implementation and ongoing post sale activity, support and connectivity are the key issues. The ideal call center provides the customer choices to meet individual behaviors and communication preferences. In order to accommodate these increasingly sophisticated consumers, call centers must evolve what is known as customer interaction centers. This should then support multiple channels of access and also integrate with the entire company by using technologies like document imaging, internet telephony and video browser based thin client computers.
|
|
