Edgars Club`s customer service department has expanded its call centre facility to accommodate 86 000 new members, in the form of the children`s magazine Planet E. The department, which manages up to 12 000 calls each month, has been able to accommodate the new young members with little disruption, using CallSmart from Ixchange.
Customer services manager Cathy Crafford says service levels maintained by her team of six telephone operators have improved dramatically since installing an automated call centre management system.
"We now lose very few queued calls due to callers having to wait for an operator to assist them. An extra 86 000 members added to our list will, I believe, have little impact now that we have the correct tools to assist us."
Crafford says the CallSmart system from Ixchange ensures callers are treated on a strict first-come-first-served basis. "In each monthly issue of our Club magazine we have various special offers, such as movie tickets, competitions, workshop courses and so on. Tickets are always limited, and we had to ensure that whoever called first could book tickets.
"In addition, the system allows us to monitor the call volumes, and we can put extra operators on duty to manage peak flows. In this way our manpower is optimised yet customer service is improved," Crafford says.
Edgars Club was started 11 years ago as a customer relationship exercise, and to foster customer loyalty. The scheme, according to Crafford, has been highly successful, which prompted the launch of a similar children`s magazine, Planet E. The magazine is run in a similar way to the Edgars Club magazine, with special offers, discount vouchers, competitions and events.
The call centre, says Crafford, is pivotal to maintaining high-quality, on-going customer contact. "Not only do customers call in for special offers, but also to report problems with the magazine, or to lodge complaints. By monitoring the type of complaint or comment, we can determine which areas of our magazine production need improvement, or look at enhancing the special offers we make to readers."
On the management side, Crafford has a daily audit trail of all calls received, and can determine the efficiencies of each operator.
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