Pretoria-based personnel and payroll software systems specialist VIP, which supplies telephone support on contract to more than 7000 clients countrywide, has implemented a customer help desk management system based on Pastel Resolve software.
VIP improved its response times by not allocating clients to specific consultants but found that all consultants, in order to manage queries from any client on any topic at any time, had to have knowledge of each individual client `s history.
"This was an impossible task," said Monika Roode, VIP`s call centre manager. "Somehow we had to establish a facility that would make all client information, including a full history of client events and who at VIP had dealt with previous queries, instantly available to consultants. Only by achieving this could we guarantee superior services."
Roode added that initially VIP commissioned a custom-developed solution to log and track incidents. This system worked well until the company expanded and exceeded the system`s structural capabilities.
"At that stage, we needed to find a stable, secure solution that could be used on a national basis. This system had to provide not only what we had previously developed, but additional feature sets as well," said Roode.
After a thorough investigation into available help desk-type systems, VIP was introduced to Pastel Resolve, a powerful, comprehensive and affordable help desk software solution from accounting and business solutions software specialist Pastel Software, a Softline company. Pastel Resolve allows businesses to track, manage and escalate day-to-day messages and contacts with all existing and potential customers.
"The Pastel Resolve team met with us on conceptual terms to determine our exact needs and requirements. They allowed a lot of input and suggestions from VIP, which we felt was essential to ensure the product met our needs on an ongoing basis," added Roode.
Today, VIP has implemented the Resolve solution nationally, with branches in Pretoria, Johannesburg, Durban, Cape Town and Port Elizabeth all coming on board.
There are some 150 agents countrywide using the Pastel Resolve system simultaneously. VIP now logs each and every interaction with a client, including sales leads, consultation data, support calls, PR calls, late payments, liquidations, additional purchases and training course information, through the program.
"Since the implementation of Resolve, productivity and consultant efficiency levels have improved dramatically, with a corresponding reduction in time taken to respond to client queries," said Roode. "The reports and charts are a great management tool, and a real morale booster for consultants when comparing closed incident statistics. I can truly say that Resolve has redefined the way we do business."
Glenn Miller, Resolve manager at Pastel Software, said it was an established fact that it costs considerably more to win a new customer than to retain an existing customer.
"It is for this reason that companies have realised the importance of offering quality service to their existing customer base. For large companies, customer relationship management (CRM) systems help solve the problem. For companies with fewer staff and resources, it`s not been that easy.
"Our experience has shown that traditional CRM products have primarily been focused on and utilised in the sales function of businesses and have, to an extent, neglected the ultimate objective of true customer relations. But our Resolve solution focuses on the help desk aspect of customer interface across the entire spectrum of the business."
Share
Editorial contacts