Call Centre
Content
Call centre
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A very large collections call centre inLakeland, Florida.
A call centre or call center[1] is a centralised office used for the purpose of receiving and transmitting a large volume of requests bytelephone. A call centre is operated by a company to administer incoming product support or information inquiries from consumers. Outgoing calls for telemarketing, clientele, product services, and debt collection are also made. In addition to a call centre, collective handling of letters,faxes, live chat, and e-mails at one location is known as a contact centre. A call centre is often operated through an extensive open workspace for call centre agents, with work stations that include a computer for each agent, a telephone set/headset connected to a telecom switch, and one or more supervisor stations. It can be independently operated or networked with additional centres, often linked to a corporate computer network, including mainframes, 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 catalog retailers, and customer support for computer hardware and software. Some businesses even service internal functions through call centres. Examples of this include help desks, retail financial support, and sales support. A contact centre, also known as customer interaction center is a central point of any organization from which all customer contacts are managed. Through contact centers, valuable information about company are
routed to appropriate people, contacts to be tracked and data to be gathered. It is generally a part of company¶s customer relationship management (CRM). Today, customers contact companies by calling, emailing, chatting online, visiting websites, faxing, and even instant messaging.
Contents
[hide]
1 Technology 2 Patents 3 Dynamics 4 Varieties 5 Criticism and performance 6 Outsourced Bureau Contact Centres 7 Unionisation 8 Standardisation 9 Mathematical theory 10 See also 11 References 12 Further reading
[edit]Technology
An Indian call center
Call t t l i j tt i t and innovations. Some of t ese technologies incl de speech ecognition soft are to allow computers to handle first level of customer support, text mining and natural language processing to allow etter customer automatic mining of est practices from past handling, agent training interactions, support automation and many other technologies to improve agent productivity and customer satisfaction.[2] Automatic lead selection or lead steering is also intended to improve efficiencies, [3] oth for inbound and outbound campaigns, whereby inbound calls are intended to uickly land with the appropriate agent to handle the task, whilst minimi ing wait times and long lists of irrelevant options for people calling in, as well as for outbound call s, where lead selection allows management to designate what type of leads go to which agent based on factors including skill, socioeconomic factors and past performance and percentage likelihood of closing a sale per lead. he concept of the Universal Queue standardi es the processing of communications across multiple technologies such as fax, phone, and email whilst the concept of a Virtual ueue provides callers with an alternative to waiting on hold when no agents are available to handle inbound call demand.
Premise-based Call Center Technology Historically, call center have been built on PBX equipment that is owned and hosted by the call center operator. he PBX might provide functions such as Automatic Call Distribution, Interactive Voice esponse, and skills-based routing. he call center operator would be responsible for the maintenance of the equipment and necessary software upgrades as released by the vendor. Virtual Call Center Technology[4] ith the advent of the Software as a service technology delivery model, the virtual call center has emerged. In a virtual call center model, the call centers operator does not own, operate or host the equipment that the call center runs on. Instead, they subscribe to a service for a monthly or annual fee with a servi ce provider that hosts the call center telephony equipment in their own data center. Such a vendor may host many call centers on their equipment. Agents connect to the vendor's equipment through traditionalPS telephone lines, or over Voice over IP. Calls to and from prospects or contacts originate from or terminate at the vendor's data center, rather than at the call center operator's premise. he vendor's telephony equipment then connects the calls to the call center operator's agents.
Virtual Call Center Technology allows people to work from home, instead of in a traditional, centralized, call center location, which increasingly allows people with physical or other disabilities that prevent them from leaving the house, to work.[5]
Cloud Computing for Call Centers Cloud computing for call centers extends cloud computing to Software as a service, or hosted, ondemand call centers by providing application programming interfaces (APIs) on the call center cloud computing platform that allow call center functionality to be integrated with cloud-based Customer relationship management, such as Salesforce.com and leads management and other applications.
The APIs typically provide programmatic access to two key groups of features in the call center platform: Computer Telephony Integration (CTI) APIs provide developers with access to basic telephony controls and sophisticated call handling on the call center platform from a separate application. Configuration APIs provide programmatic control of administrative functions of the call center platform which are typically accessed by a human administrator through a Graphical ser Interface (G I). [edit]Patents
Call centre floor during shift.
There is a large number of patents covering various aspects of call centre operation, automation, and technology. One of the early inventors in this field, Ronald A. Katz, personally holds over 0 patents covering inventions related to toll free numbers, automated attendant, automated call distribution, voice response unit, computer telephone integration and speech recognition.[6]
A report on the performance of an outbound call centre agent.
Customizable reports to measure call results at call center, campaign and agent levels
[edit]
ynamics
Types of calls are often divided into outbound and inbound . Inbound calls are calls that are made by the consumer to obtain information, report a malfunction, or ask for help. These calls are substantially different from outbound calls, where agents place calls to potential customers mostly with intentions of selling or service to the individual. (See telemarketing). It is possible to combine inbound and outbound campaigns[7]. Call centre staff are often organised into a multi-tier support system for a more efficient handling of calls. The first tier in such a model consists of operators, who direct inquiries to the appropriate department and provide general directory information. If a caller requires more assistance, the call is forwarded to the second tier, where most issues can be resolved. In some cases, there may be three or more tiers of support staff. If a caller requires more assistance, the caller is forwarded to the third tier of support; typically the third tier of support is formed by product engineers/developers or highly skilled technical support staff of the product.
Call centres have their critics, some of which argue that the work atmosphere in such an environment is de-humanising.[8] Others point to the low rates of pay and restrictive working practices of some employers.[9][10] There has been much controversy over such things as restricting the amount of time that an employee can spend in the toilet.[11] Furthermore, call centres have been the subject of complaints by callers who find the staff often do not have enough skill or authority to resolve problems,[1 ] while the dehumanised workers very often exhibit an attitude of apathy to even the most abusive customer. [1 ] Owing to the highly technological nature of the operations in such offices, the close monitoring of staff activities is easy and widespread.[1 ]This can be argued to be beneficial, [15] to enable the company to better plan the workload and time of its employees. Some people have argued that such close monitoring breaches human rights to privacy.[16] [edit]Varieties Some variations
[17]
of call centre models are listed below:
Contact centre ± Supports interaction with customers over a variety of media, including but not necessarily limited to telephony, e-mail and internet chat. Inbound call centre - Exclusively or predominantly handles inbound calls (calls initiated by the customer). Outbound call centre - One in which call centre agents make outbound calls to customers or sales leads. Blended call centre - Combining automatic call distribution for incoming calls with predictive dialling for outbound calls, it makes more efficient use of agent time as each type of agent (inbound or outbound) can handle the overflow of the other.
[edit]Criticism
and performance
This article's Criticism or Controversy section(s) may mean the article does not present aneutral point of view of the subject. It may be better to integrate the material in those sectionsinto the article as a whole.
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¢
Criticisms of call centres generally follow a number of common themes, from both callers and call centre staff. rom callers, common criticisms include:[ ]
perators working from a script on-expert operators call screening) Incompetent or untrained operators incapable of processing customers' requests effectively [ ] verseas location, with language and accent problems ouch tone menu systems and automated queuing systems Excessive waiting times to be connected to an operator Complaints that departments of companies do not engage in communication with one another Deceit over location of call centre such as allocating overseas workers false English names) equiring the caller to repeat the same information multiple times
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]
Common criticisms from staff include: [2
Close scrutiny by management e.g. frequent random call monitoring) ow compensation pay and bonuses) estrictive working practices some operators are required to follow a pre-written script) High stress: a common problem associated with front-end jobs where employees deal directly with customers epetitive job task Poor working conditions e.g. poor facilities, poor maintenance and cleaning, cramped working conditions, management interference, lack of privacy and noisy) Impaired vision and hearing problems ude and abusive customers
he net-net of these concerns is that call centres as a business process exhibit levels of variability. he experience a customer gets and the results a company achieves on a given call are almost totally dependent on the quality of the agent answering that call. [2 ] Call centres are beginning to address this by using agent-assisted voice solutions to standardise the process all agents use. [22] Anton and Phelps have provided a detailed H to conduct the performance evaluation of
£
£ ¤
the business, [23] whereas others are using various scientific technologies to do the jobs.[24][2 ][2 ] However more popular alternatives are using personality and skill based approaches. [2 ][2 ] he various challenges encountered by call operators are discussed by several authors.[2 ][3 ][3 ][32][33] [edit]
utsourced Bureau Contact Centres
utsourced bureau contact centres are a model of contact centre that provide services on a "pay per use" model. he overheads of the contact centre are shared by many clients thereby supporting a very cost effecive model especially for low volumes of calls. Bureau contact centres provide an opportunity for:
Pilot schemes - perform test of concept for new models for communications, sales or customer services before investing in staff and infrastructure lexible solutions for S E's - small or medium-si e enterprises can benefit from a flexible service that can evolve with the businss Best of breed systems/technology - clients can benefit from considerable investment into communications technology, leveraging benefits without having to invest in large cap-ex projects.
[edit]Unionisation Unions in orth America have made some effort to gain members from this sector, [34] including the Communications orkers of America[3 ] and the United Steelworkers. In Australia, the Call Centre orkers Union represents unionised workers; their activities form part of the Australian labour movement. [3 ] In Europe, Uni lobal Union of Swit erland is involved in assisting unionisation in this realm. [3 ] [edit]Standardisation Currently, there are no universally bracketable international standards, other than IS series, available for the industry to follow up. However, some of the relevant standards are loosely published by IS with the division of ICS 33. 4 .3 [3 ]. ost of the standards under this division have not been reviewed thoroughly, but there are some guidelines and standing operating procedures available on the internet.[3 ]
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[edit]Mathematical
theory
ueuing theory is a branch of mathematics in which models of queuing systems have been developed. A call centre can be seen as a queuing network.[ 0][ 1] The models can be applied to answer queueing questions for call centres. The most widespread queueing model used is the Erlang C Forumla. Call centre operations have been supported by mathematical models beyond queueing, with operations research, which considers a wide range of optimisation problems. [edit]See
also
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Call centre
Operator messaging Business process outsourcing in India Call management List of call centre companies Automatic call distributor Call Centre Industry in the Philippines Erlang distribution Skills based routing ueue management system Virtual queue
[edit]References
1. ^ see spelling differences . ^ L Venkata Subramaniam ( 008-0 -01). Call Centers of the Future (P F). i.t. magazine. pp. 8±51. Retrieved 008-05- 9. . ^ S Patent 70 5699 - ualified and targeted lead selection and delivery system . Patent Storm. 006-0 - 5. Retrieved 008-05- 9. . ^ M. Popovic and V. Kovacevic. An Approach to Internet-Based Virtual Call Center Implementation . niversity of Novi Sad, Yugoslavia. 5. ^ avid S. Joachim. Computer Technology Opens a World of Work to isabled People . New York Times.
6. ^ Bednarek et al., "Kat Patent eexamination: A Change in omentum avoring AK argets", ShawPittman, une , 2 4 . ^ reeman, aura ; hitfield, Hilary C 6). "Setting up for integrated inbound/outbound telemarketing" . B E . etrieved 2 -0605. . ^ " orking conditions and health in Swedish call centres" . European oundation for the Improvement of iving and orking Conditions . 2005-04-2 . etrieved 2008-06-05. . ^ "Hourly ate Survey eport for Industry: Call Center". PayScale. etrieved 2008-06-05. 0. ^ "Advice regarding call centre working practices" PD ). Health and Safety Executive. etrieved 2008-06-05. . ^ "Hazards 81 extended briefing: oilet breaks: ive us a break!". Hazards. etrieved 2008-06-05. 12. ^ Shaw, ussell 2006-01-30). " one-deaf to customer complaints, Dell opens yet another call center in India" . ZD et. etrieved 2008-06-05. 13. ^ Ahmed, Zubair 2006-02-22). "Abuse rattles Indian call centre staff". BBC ews. etrieved 2008-06-05. 14. ^ "Call Centre onitoring". Management. callcentrehelper.com. etrieved 2008-06-05. 15. ^ " he Call Center Answer eam reaches out to the industry for to crack a tough nut". Q&A: H w Many Calls Sh l I Monitor. callcentermagazine.com. 2003 -07-30. etrieved 2008-06-05. 16. ^ " ho¶s on the ine? omen in Call Centres Project" PD ). Atlanti Centre of Ex ellence for Women's Health. Health Canada. etrieved 2008-06-05. 17. ^ aik Stolletz 2003). Performance Analysis and Optimization of Inbound Call Centers. Springer-Verlag. ISB 783540008125. 18. ^ Ali, S. 2006 "If you want to scream, press..." all Street ournal http://online.wsj.com/google_login.html?url=http%3A%2 %2 o nline.wsj.com%2 article%2 SB116171027921802238.html%3 mod%3 Dgooglenews_wsj 19. ^ Adsit, D. 2007) Do Call Centers eed to Carry alpractice Insurance? In Queue, http://www.nationalcallcenters.org/pubs/In_Queue/vol2no24.ht ml
^ P aylor, P Bain "'An assembly line in the head': work and employee relations in the call centre" Industrial elations ournal, 1999. 21. ^ leming, ., Coffman, C., Harter, . 2005) anage Your Human Sigma, Harvard Business eview 22. ^ Patel, S. 2008) How to win a no-sin situation. In Queue. http://www.nationalcallcenters.org/pubs/In_Queue/vol3no12.ht ml#How_to_Win_a_No-Win_Situation 23. ^ Anton, on; Dru Phelps. "How to conduct a call center performance audit: A to Z" PD ). etrieved 1 uly 2008. 24. ^ Paprzycki, arcin et al. 2004). Data Mining Approach for Analyzing Call Center Performance. Berlin: Springer. doi:10.1007/b97304. ISBN 9783540220077. ^ "Evaluation of the Performance of customer service 25. representatives in a call center using DEA/Network odel/ ussy Sets" . etrieved 1 uly 2008. 26. ^ Srinivasan, aj et al.; alim, é ome; Wang, inting 2004). "Performance analysis of a call center with interactive voice response units". TOP Springer Berlin) 12 1): 91±110.doi:10.1007/B 02578926. ^ Skyrme, Pamela et al.. "Using personality to predict outbound call center job performance" PD ). etrieved 1 uly 2008. 28. ^ Stolletz, aik; Stefan Helber 2004). "Performance analysis of an inbound call center with skills -based routing". OR Spectrum 26 3): 331±352. doi:10.1007/s00291-004-0161-y.
20.
27.
29.
^ Witt, . A. et al. 2004). "When Conscientiousness Isn¶t Enough: Emotional Exhaustion and Performance Among Call Center Customer Service epresentatives". Journal of Management 30(1): 149± 160. doi:10.1016/j.jm.2003.01.007. 30. ^ Aguir, Salah et al.; Karaesmen, ikri; Aksin, . Zeynep; Chauvet, abrice (2004). " he impact of retrials on call center performance". OR Spectrum 26 (3): 353±376. doi:10.1007/s00291-0040165-7. 31. ^ urthy, Nagesh N. et al.; Challagalla, . N.; Vincent, . H.; Shervani, . A. (2008). " he Impact of Simulation raining on Call Center Agent Performance: A ield-Based Investigation".Mnagement Science 54 (2): 384±399. doi:10.1287/mnsc.1070.0818.
^ Armony, or; Itay urvich. "When promotions meet operations: cross-selling and its effect on call-center performance" (PD ). etrieved 1 uly 2008. 33. ^ oldberg, .S.; A.A. randey. "Display rules versus display autonomy: emotion regulation, emotional exhaustion, and task performance in a call center simulation" . etrieved 1 uly 2008. 34. ^ ed. by Pradeep Kumar ...; Pradeep Kumar, Christopher obe rt Schenk (2006). Paths to Union Renewal. Broadview Press. ISBN 155193-058-7. 35. ^ "A & obility Workers rganize in klahoma City". Uni lobal Union. etrieved 2008-09-27.[dead link] ^ "Call Centre Union Busters et Wake-Up Call". Workers 36. nline. etrieved 2008-07-08. 37. ^ "Uni lobal Union's call centre organising campaigns" . Uni lobal Union. etrieved 2008-07-08. 38. ^ IS . "33.040.35: elephone networks". etrieved 30 August 2009. 39. ^ ochester Institute of echnology. "Internal Call Center Standing perating Procedures". etrieved 3 uly 2008. [dead link] ^ Call Center athematics | A scientific method for understanding 40. and improving contact centers by er Koole 41. ^ Queueing odels of Call Centers: An Introduction er Koole
32.
[edit]
urther reading
Kennedy I., Call centres , School of Electrical and Information Engineering, University of the Witwatersrand, 2003. asi D. .B., ischer . ., Harris C. ., Numerical Analysis of Routing Rules for Call centres , elecommunications eview, 1998. http://www.noblis.org/Publications/ 98_8.doc HSE Web site at www.hse.gov.uk/lau/lacs/94-2.htm for guidelines about call centre working * practices. eena Patel, Working the Night Shift: Women in India's Call Center Industry (Stanford University Press; 2010) 219 pages; traces changing views of "women's work" in India under globalization. luss, Donna, " he eal-Time Contact centre", 2005 A ACOM
Wegge, ., van Dick, ., isher, ., Wecking, C., & Moltzen, K. (2006, anuary). Work motivation, organisational identification, and well-being in call centre work. Work & Stress, 20(1), 60-83.
Operator messaging
rom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Operator Messaging is the term, similar to Text Messaging and Voice Messaging, applying to an answering service call center who focuses on one specific scripting style that has grown out of the alphanumeric pager history.
Contents
[hi
1 Earl hi t ry 2 M age Center becomes Al ha-dispatch 3 Di erence bet een full Answering Service 4 Operator Messaging Extends to Text Messaging 5 Rise of Operator Messaging in the 21st Century 6 See also 7 References
[edit]Early
history
In the 1970s and early 1980s, the cost of making a phone call decreased and more business communication was done by phone. As corporations grew and labor rates increased, the ratio of secretaries to employees decreased. The initial solution to the phone communication problem for businesses was the ³message center.´ A message center or ³message desk´ was a centralized, manual answering service inside a company manned by a few people answering everyone¶s phones. Extensions that were busy or rang ³no answer´ would forward to the message center onto a device called a ³call director´. The call director had a button for each extension in the company which would flash when that person¶s extension forwarded to the message center. A little label next to the button told the operator whose extension it was.
As wireless communication technologies increased in the late 1980s, the Pager service providers created a subscription service offered in a variety of plans and options to meet the needs of a subscriber and the type of device used. In general, all pagers are given unique telephone numbers so that callers could dial in and send a numeric message, such as their callback number or a numerically coded special message, such as room numbers to report to, etc. [1] However, alphanumeric pagers could only receive text messages when the message sender had installed software on their PC to dial in to the publicly-accessible modems operated by the paging service provider to then transmit their message over-the-air through the network of radio towers. [2] [edit]Message
Center becomes Alpha-dispatch
Alpha Dispatch service is best described as enhanced numeric paging.[3] It is a service that consists of live operators who answer incoming calls and input the callers' messages on a computer, then transmit the message using the Telocator Alphanumeric input Protocol to the paging provider's radio towers. Alphanumeric pagers receive the messages in the form of words and numbers. Messages are sequentially numbered and archived for later reference if required to be re-sent. PageNet was one of the larger paging providers who offered this service add-on to their alphanumeric pager customers. [edit]Difference
between full Answering Service
Alpha-dispatch was never designed to replace a full-service answering service. Although both services will answer calls in a customer's name and advise the caller that the customer is unavailable, a full-service answering service will usually have additional information about the customer that they are encouraged to share with the caller such as business summary, website information, personal schedule, and other informational details. An alpha-dispatch service operator usually has no knowledge of the subscriber, except for their first and last name or company name, and serves only as a messaging "bridge" between the caller and the subscriber with the caller dictating what the operator should type as a message to the subscriber. [4] Because of this difference, minimal training and supervising is required of the call center employees and therefore operator messaging service is much less
expensive than full-service answering services. The low cost makes operator messaging an affordable alternative to voicemail. [edit]Operator
Messaging Extends to Text
Messaging
As the use of alphanumeric pagers declined in the mid-1990s and cell phone text messaging availability and reliability increased ever since, these well-established alpha-dispatch call centers adjusted their technology to allow live operators' messages to be transmitted to cellular service providers in the same way as to pager service providers. Operators still follow the same answering procedures and have no idea if the subscriber is receiving the text message on a cell phone or a pager. The operator still serves as a "relay" or "bridge" for the caller to dictate their message to the operator messaging subscriber's device. [edit]
ise of Operator Messaging in the 21st Century
Although e-mail capabilities have been extended to alphanumeric pagers and cellular text messaging, the operator messaging services are used by individuals who are not located near a computer or where sending a text message may be dangerous or impractical. ive operator messaging marries the technologies of voice messaging and text messaging as an alternative to voicemail service by using call forwarding features to redirect callers of your cell phone automatically to the operator messaging service after three or four unanswered rings. Operator messaging service providers remain profitable because the average call length is under 30 seconds and employees are often paid less than full-service answering service employees due to the limited training required. [edit]See
also
Call center Pager Answering service
[edit]
eferences
1. ^ [Informa ealthcare http://informahealthcare.com/doi/abs/10.1080/1090 1 0 909 66 6] . ^ [RCR Wireless, ec 1997 http://www.rcrwireless.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AI /19971 /S B/71 0711/-1/ARC IVES/correction] . ^ [I SC http://www.idsc.net/alphadispatch.asp] . ^ [Phonewire, Inc. http://www.ringalice.com] Categories: On-line chat Pagers Radio paging Telephony
Call management
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article does not cite any references or sources.
Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (December 2009)
In telecommunications, call management is the process of designing and implementing rules and parameters governing the routing of inbound telephone calls through a network. These rules can specify how calls are distributed according to the time and/or date of the call as well as the location of the caller (usually defined by the outbound Caller I ). Call Management also involves the use of Calling Features such as Call ueues, IVR Menus, unt Groups and Recorded Announcements to provide a customised experience for the caller and to maximize the efficiency of inbound call handling. Call management is most effective when a call logging software tool is used.
Contents
[hide]
1 Network types 2 Calling features 3 Call records 4 See also
[edit]Network
types
Call Management is performed on varying degrees of scale, from an individual screening unwanted calls from a residential landline to an international call carrier routing calls to different worldwide locations by percentage. Systems for governing Call Management can be in the form of hardware, such as a PBX Telephone System attached to an ISDN30 or a hostedsoftware-based system. [edit]Calling
features
Calls are routed according to the setting up of calling features within the given system. Common examples of Calling eatures include:
Translation ± The automatic routing of inbound calls from one telephone number to another. Hunt Group ± A directory containing one or many destination numbers which, on receiving an incoming call, is programmed to ring them in a particular order, simultaneously or simply in the order in which they have most recently answered before being sent to a final destination if still unanswered. Call Queue ± A directory similar to a Hunt roup that keeps the caller on hold until one of the destination numbers becomes available. Auto Attendant ± A large directory of extension numbers which can be chosen by the caller, each with its own specific routing behaviour. Location-Based Routing ± ules programmed in at particular points in a system to route the call on to different destinations depending on the location of the caller. Time and Date-Based Routing ± ules programmed in at particular points in a system to route the call on to different destinations depending the time or date of the call. Call Whisper ± A message played to an agent after answering a call that can give them information about the call in advance based on the Caller ID, number dialled or route taken through the system. Interactive voice response ± A sound recording device to allow a caller to give information to the system verbally about what services or support they require. Fax to Email ± A Device for routing inbound fax calls to one or more email addresses, usually as attachments.
[edit]Call
records
Systems often retain information about received calls which can be stored, analysed and interpreted by the system administrator.
Call etail ecords (C Rs) ± Records of all received calls, usually including time, date, duration, calling number and called number. osted services can also show pricing information. Call ecording ± Many systems have the ability to record and store calls for future reference. Voice and Fax ailboxes ± Inbound faxes and voicemail messages can be stored on systems also.
[edit]See
also
n ± o Not isturb (Telecommunication)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected from n - o Not isturb (Telecommunication))
This article is an orphan, as few or no other articles link to it. Please introduce links to this page from related articles; suggestions are available. (February 2008) Do Not Disturb ( N ) is a common feature in enterprise telecommunications. When it is enabled, it prevents the telephone from ringing. The implementation of this features is vendor-specific. In some cases, the ringer just does not ring and the called party is thus not alerted. sually, though, the phone just acts as being busy. epending on the infrastructure, the caller may end up on the called party's voice mailbox, sometimes after a certain delay.
Some special configurations combine N with other features like call forwarding, where calls to a party with N on are forwarded to another phone.
irect inward dialing
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected from irect Inward ialing)
This article does not cite any references or sources.
Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (December 2007)
Direct inward dialing (DID), also called direct dial-in (DDI) in Europe and Oceania, is a feature offered by telephone companies for use with their customers' private branch exchange(PBX) systems. In I service the telephone company provides one or more trunk lines to the customer for connection to the customer's PBX and allocates a range of telephone numbersto this line (or group of lines) and forwards all calls to such numbers via the trunk. As calls are presented to the PBX, the dialed destination number ( NIS) is transmitted, usually partially (e.g., last four digits), so that the PBX can route the call directly to the desired telephone extension within the organization without the need for an operator or attendant. The service allows direct inward call routing to each extension while maintaining only a limited number of subscriber lines to satisfy the average concurrent usage of the customer.
I trunks must be powered by the customer premises equipment. The central office equipment detects the power state of the line and disables service if the circuit is not powered up. This is the reverse arrangement from standard plain old telephone service (POTS) lines which are powered by the central office. In the nited States the feature was developed by AT&T in the 1960s, patterned upon the earlier IK service of the eutsche Bundespost. I service is usually combined with direct out ard dialing ( O ) allowing PBX extensions direct outbound calling capability with identification of their I number.
Contents
[hide]
1 Use in FAX services 2 DID in Voice over Internet Protocol communications 3 Sellers 4 Direct outward dialing 5 See also
[edit]Use
in AX services
This system is also used by fax servers. A telephone line is terminated in a computer running fax server software and fax modem cards. A set of digits of the assigned phone numbers are used to identify the recipient of the fax. This allows many recipients to have an individual fax number, even though there is only one fax machine. [edit]DID
in Voice over Internet Protocol communications
Direct inward dialing service has similar relevance for Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) communications. To reach users with VoIP phones, DID numbers are assigned to acommunications gateway connected by a trunk to the public switched telephone network (PSTN) and the VoIP network. The gateway routes and translates calls between the two networks for the VoIP user. Calls originating in the VoIP network will appear to users on the PSTN as originating from one of the assigned DID numbers. [edit]Sellers In the United States, DID numbers and services can be purchased in bulk from a Competitive ocal Exchange Carriers (CLECs). International DID numbers can be purchased in bulk from international providers. A number of DID resellers also offer DID numbers for individuals and small enterprises. [edit]Direct
outward dialing
The corresponding service to DID for outgoing calls from a PBX to the central office exchange is called direct outward dialing (DOD) or Direct Dial Central Office (DDCO). This service is often combined with DID service and allows direct dialing of global telephone numbers by every extension covered by the service without the assistance of an operator. The caller line identification (CLI) or caller-id of extensions for outgoing calls is often set to the extension DID number, but may be the organization's central switch board number. [edit]See
also
ialed Number Identification Service ial plan
Automatic call distributor
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Line hunting . (Discuss) This article does not cite any references or sources.
Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (December 2009)
In telephony, an Automatic Call Distributor ( ACD), also known as Automated Call Distribution, is a device or system that distributes incoming calls to a specific group of terminals that agents use. It is often part of a computer telephony integration (CTI) system. Routing incoming calls is the task of the AC system. AC systems are often found in offices that handle large volumes of incoming phone calls from callers who have no need to talk to a specific person but who require assistance from any of multiple persons (e.g., customer service representatives) at the earliest opportunity. The system consists of hardware for the terminals and switches, phonelines, and software for the routing strategy. The routing strategy is a rule-based set of instructions that tells the AC how calls are handled inside the system. Typically this is an algorithm that determines the best available employee or employees to respond to a given incoming call. To help make this match, additional data are solicited and reviewed to find out why the customer is calling. Sometimes the caller's caller I or ANI is used; more often a simple Interactive voice response is used to ascertain the reason for the call. Originally, the AC function was internal to the Private Branch Exchange of the company. owever, the closed nature of these systems limited their flexibility. A system was then designed to enable common computing devices, such as server PCs, to make routing decisions. For this, generally the PBX would issue information about incoming calls to this external system and receive a direction of the call in response.
An additional function for these external routing applications is to enable CTI. This allows improved efficiency for call center agents by matching incoming phone calls with relevant data on their PC via screen pop. A common protocol to achieve this is CSTA; however, almost every PBX vendor has its own flavor of CSTA, and CSTA is quite hard to program because of its complex nature. Various vendors have developed intermediate software that hides these complexities and expedites the work of programmers. Also, these protocols enable call centers consisting of PBXs from multiple vendors to be treated as one virtual contact center. All real-time and historical statistical information can then be shared amongst call center sites. One of the first large and separate AC s was a modified 5XB switch used by New York Telephone in the early 1970s to distribute calls among hundreds of -1-1 information operators. [edit]See
also
Call center Skills-based routing ip tone
ueue area
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected from ueue management system)
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For ot er u e , ee Queue (di ambiguation). This article includes a list of references, related reading or external links, but its sources remain
! ! ! !
unclear because it lacks inline citations. Please improve this article by introducing more precise citations where appropriate. (June 2008)
A queue area at a food store in New York City.
Queue areas are places in which people in line (first-come, first-served) wait for goods or services.[1] Examples include checking out groceriesor other goods that have been collected in a self service shop, in a shop without self service, at an ATM, at a ticket desk, a city bus, or in ataxi stand.
ueueing[ ] is a phenomenon in a number of fields, and has been extensively analysed in the study of queueing theory. In economics, queueing is seen as one way to ration scarce goods and services.
Contents
[hide]
"
1 Types of queues o 1.1 Physical queue o 1.2 Virtual queue o 1.3 Mobile queue 2 Queue ethics 3 Physical queue design 4 Queue delays 5 See also 6 References
7 External links
[edit]Types [edit]P
of queues
This section does not cite any references or sources.
Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (November 2007)
sical queue
A queue of people waiting for a Michael Jackson concert in Germany (1988).
Organized queue areas are commonly found at amusement parks. The rides have a fixed number of guests that can be served at any given time, so there has to be some control over additional guests who are waiting. This led to the development of formalized queue areas²areas in which the lines of people waiting to board the rides are organized by railings, and may be given shelter from the elements with a roof over their heads, inside a climate-controlled building or with fans and misting devices. In some amusement parks - isney Parks being a prime example queue areas can be elaborately decorated, with holding areas fosteringanticipation, thus shortening the perceived wait for people in the queue by giving them something interesting to look at as they wait, or the perception that they have arrived at the threshold of the attraction. ueues are generally found at transportation terminals where security screenings are conducted. Large stores and supermarkets may have dozens of separate queues, but this can cause frustration, as different lines tend to be handled at
different speeds; some people are served quickly, while others may wait for longer periods of time. Sometimes two people who are together split up and each waits in a different line; once it is determined which line is faster, the one in the slower line joins the other. Another arrangement is for everyone to wait in a single line [citation needed]; a person leaves the line each time a service point opens up. This is a common setup in banks and post offices. [edit]Virtual
ueue
Physical queueing is sometimes replaced by virtual queueing. In a aiting room there may be a system whereby the queuer asks and remembers where his place is in the queue, or reports to a desk and signs in, or takes a ticket with a number from a machine. These queues typically are found at doctors' offices, hospitals, town halls, social security offices, labor exchanges, the Department of Motor Vehicles, the Department of Immigration, free internet access in the state or council libraries, banks or post offices and Call Centres. Especially in the United Kingdom, tickets are taken to form a virtual queue at delicatessens and children's shoe shops. In some countries such as Sweden, virtual queues are also common in shops and railway stations. A display sometimes shows the number that was last called for service. estaurants have come to employ virtual queueing techniques with the availability of application-specific pagers, which alert those waiting that they should report to the host to be seated. Another option used at restaurants is to assign customers a confirmed return time, basically a reservation issued on arrival. [edit]Mobile
ueue
All of the above methods, however, suffer from the same drawback: the person arrives at the location only to find out that they need to wait. ecently, queues at DMVs[3], colleges, restaurants[4], healthcare institutions[5], government offices[6] and elsewhere have begun to be replaced by mobile queues or queue-ahead, whereby the person queueing uses his/her phone, the internet, a kiosk or another method to enter a virtual queue, optionally prior to arrival, is free to roam during the wait, and then gets paged at his/her mobile phone when his/her turn approaches. This has the advantage of allowing users to find out the
wait forecast and get in the queue before arriving, roaming freely and then timing their arrival to the availability of service. This has been shown to extend the patience of those in the queue and reduce noshows[7]. Mobile queueing is more environmentally friendly than application-specific pagers, which require special-purpose batteries and hardware, and healthier from a public health perspective, as there is no shared device changing hands [citation needed]. [edit]
ueue ethics
Citizens of the People's Republic of Poland queuing for basic goods, 1980s.
Since queueing can be a boring and time-consuming activity, but one that may also have high stakes (e.g. attempting to purchase a good or product with a limited availability, such as a concert ticket), people can become angry when the unwritten rules of queueing are broken. For example, in Britain it is unacceptable to queue-jump (to push in, skip, or cut in line), although it is sometimes acceptable for one member of a party, waiting in the queue, to allow a second member of the party to join the first halfway through the queuing process, without the second member having to join the back of the queue. [citation needed] In the nited States, the above example from Britain (second member of a party) would also generally be accepted. It is acceptable for waiting persons to leave the queue briefly (to use the bathroom, etc.) and return to their original place, without having to ask neighbours to hold their place or to be allowed to return (however, many individuals would still tell their neighbours in the queue). It is also common to allow others to jump to the front of the queue in a train station to buy a ticket if their train is about to leave and if waiting from the back of the queue would cause them to miss their train.[citation needed] [edit]Physical
queue design
When designing queues, planners attempt to make the wait as pleasant and as simple as possible. They employ several strategies to achieve this, including:
Expanding the capacity of the queue, thus allowing more patrons to have a place. This can be achieved by: Increasing the length of the queue by making the queue longer Increasing the size of the lanes within the queue Increasing the length of the queue by designing the line in a "zigzag" shape that holds a large amount of guests in a smaller area. This is used often at amusement parks. Notable rides have a large area of this kind of line to hold as many people as possible in line. Portions of the line can be sectioned off and bypassed by guests if the queue is not crowded. "In-line" entertainment can be added. This is popular at amusement parks like Walt Disney World, which uses TV screens and other visuals to keep people in the queue area occupied. Secondary queue areas for patrons with special tickets, like the FASTPASS system at Disney park, or the Q-bot as used in Legoland Windsor.
[edit]Queue
delays
Sometimes, often at amusement parks, there will be a modifiable sign at the start of the queue or halfway point in the queue informing people approximately how long their wait will be. [edit]See
also
Consumer goods in the Soviet Union (for information on queues in the Soviet Union) Cutting (in line) Call centre
[edit]
eferences
1. ^ Such a group of people is known as a queue (British usage) or line (American usage), and the people are said to be waiting or standing in a queue or in line, respectively. (In some areas of the
U.S., especially New York City, the phrase on line is used instead.) learnersdictionary.com. etrieved 2009-4-29. 2. ^ Also spelled queuing. askoxford.com. etrieved 2009-4-29. 3. ^ http://treasurer.jocogov.org/tre/doc/qlessonline.pdf 4. ^ http://vator.tv/news/show/2010-01-14-exit-waiting-in-line-enterqless 5. ^ http://blogs.aafp.org/fpm/noteworthy/entry/could_your_practice_s _waiting 6. ^ http://vator.tv/news/show/2010-01-14-exit-waiting-in-line-enterqless 7. ^ http://vator.tv/news/show/2010-01-14-exit-waiting-in-line-enterqless
Maister, D.H. (1988). Managing Services: Marketing, Operations and Human Resources . Prentice-Hall. Mercer, David. Redefining marketing in the multi-channel age. Wiley.
[edit]External
links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A very large collections call centre inLakeland, Florida.
A call centre or call center[1] is a centralised office used for the purpose of receiving and transmitting a large volume of requests bytelephone. A call centre is operated by a company to administer incoming product support or information inquiries from consumers. Outgoing calls for telemarketing, clientele, product services, and debt collection are also made. In addition to a call centre, collective handling of letters,faxes, live chat, and e-mails at one location is known as a contact centre. A call centre is often operated through an extensive open workspace for call centre agents, with work stations that include a computer for each agent, a telephone set/headset connected to a telecom switch, and one or more supervisor stations. It can be independently operated or networked with additional centres, often linked to a corporate computer network, including mainframes, 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 catalog retailers, and customer support for computer hardware and software. Some businesses even service internal functions through call centres. Examples of this include help desks, retail financial support, and sales support. A contact centre, also known as customer interaction center is a central point of any organization from which all customer contacts are managed. Through contact centers, valuable information about company are
routed to appropriate people, contacts to be tracked and data to be gathered. It is generally a part of company¶s customer relationship management (CRM). Today, customers contact companies by calling, emailing, chatting online, visiting websites, faxing, and even instant messaging.
Contents
[hide]
1 Technology 2 Patents 3 Dynamics 4 Varieties 5 Criticism and performance 6 Outsourced Bureau Contact Centres 7 Unionisation 8 Standardisation 9 Mathematical theory 10 See also 11 References 12 Further reading
[edit]Technology
An Indian call center
Call t t l i j tt i t and innovations. Some of t ese technologies incl de speech ecognition soft are to allow computers to handle first level of customer support, text mining and natural language processing to allow etter customer automatic mining of est practices from past handling, agent training interactions, support automation and many other technologies to improve agent productivity and customer satisfaction.[2] Automatic lead selection or lead steering is also intended to improve efficiencies, [3] oth for inbound and outbound campaigns, whereby inbound calls are intended to uickly land with the appropriate agent to handle the task, whilst minimi ing wait times and long lists of irrelevant options for people calling in, as well as for outbound call s, where lead selection allows management to designate what type of leads go to which agent based on factors including skill, socioeconomic factors and past performance and percentage likelihood of closing a sale per lead. he concept of the Universal Queue standardi es the processing of communications across multiple technologies such as fax, phone, and email whilst the concept of a Virtual ueue provides callers with an alternative to waiting on hold when no agents are available to handle inbound call demand.
Premise-based Call Center Technology Historically, call center have been built on PBX equipment that is owned and hosted by the call center operator. he PBX might provide functions such as Automatic Call Distribution, Interactive Voice esponse, and skills-based routing. he call center operator would be responsible for the maintenance of the equipment and necessary software upgrades as released by the vendor. Virtual Call Center Technology[4] ith the advent of the Software as a service technology delivery model, the virtual call center has emerged. In a virtual call center model, the call centers operator does not own, operate or host the equipment that the call center runs on. Instead, they subscribe to a service for a monthly or annual fee with a servi ce provider that hosts the call center telephony equipment in their own data center. Such a vendor may host many call centers on their equipment. Agents connect to the vendor's equipment through traditionalPS telephone lines, or over Voice over IP. Calls to and from prospects or contacts originate from or terminate at the vendor's data center, rather than at the call center operator's premise. he vendor's telephony equipment then connects the calls to the call center operator's agents.
Virtual Call Center Technology allows people to work from home, instead of in a traditional, centralized, call center location, which increasingly allows people with physical or other disabilities that prevent them from leaving the house, to work.[5]
Cloud Computing for Call Centers Cloud computing for call centers extends cloud computing to Software as a service, or hosted, ondemand call centers by providing application programming interfaces (APIs) on the call center cloud computing platform that allow call center functionality to be integrated with cloud-based Customer relationship management, such as Salesforce.com and leads management and other applications.
The APIs typically provide programmatic access to two key groups of features in the call center platform: Computer Telephony Integration (CTI) APIs provide developers with access to basic telephony controls and sophisticated call handling on the call center platform from a separate application. Configuration APIs provide programmatic control of administrative functions of the call center platform which are typically accessed by a human administrator through a Graphical ser Interface (G I). [edit]Patents
Call centre floor during shift.
There is a large number of patents covering various aspects of call centre operation, automation, and technology. One of the early inventors in this field, Ronald A. Katz, personally holds over 0 patents covering inventions related to toll free numbers, automated attendant, automated call distribution, voice response unit, computer telephone integration and speech recognition.[6]
A report on the performance of an outbound call centre agent.
Customizable reports to measure call results at call center, campaign and agent levels
[edit]
ynamics
Types of calls are often divided into outbound and inbound . Inbound calls are calls that are made by the consumer to obtain information, report a malfunction, or ask for help. These calls are substantially different from outbound calls, where agents place calls to potential customers mostly with intentions of selling or service to the individual. (See telemarketing). It is possible to combine inbound and outbound campaigns[7]. Call centre staff are often organised into a multi-tier support system for a more efficient handling of calls. The first tier in such a model consists of operators, who direct inquiries to the appropriate department and provide general directory information. If a caller requires more assistance, the call is forwarded to the second tier, where most issues can be resolved. In some cases, there may be three or more tiers of support staff. If a caller requires more assistance, the caller is forwarded to the third tier of support; typically the third tier of support is formed by product engineers/developers or highly skilled technical support staff of the product.
Call centres have their critics, some of which argue that the work atmosphere in such an environment is de-humanising.[8] Others point to the low rates of pay and restrictive working practices of some employers.[9][10] There has been much controversy over such things as restricting the amount of time that an employee can spend in the toilet.[11] Furthermore, call centres have been the subject of complaints by callers who find the staff often do not have enough skill or authority to resolve problems,[1 ] while the dehumanised workers very often exhibit an attitude of apathy to even the most abusive customer. [1 ] Owing to the highly technological nature of the operations in such offices, the close monitoring of staff activities is easy and widespread.[1 ]This can be argued to be beneficial, [15] to enable the company to better plan the workload and time of its employees. Some people have argued that such close monitoring breaches human rights to privacy.[16] [edit]Varieties Some variations
[17]
of call centre models are listed below:
Contact centre ± Supports interaction with customers over a variety of media, including but not necessarily limited to telephony, e-mail and internet chat. Inbound call centre - Exclusively or predominantly handles inbound calls (calls initiated by the customer). Outbound call centre - One in which call centre agents make outbound calls to customers or sales leads. Blended call centre - Combining automatic call distribution for incoming calls with predictive dialling for outbound calls, it makes more efficient use of agent time as each type of agent (inbound or outbound) can handle the overflow of the other.
[edit]Criticism
and performance
This article's Criticism or Controversy section(s) may mean the article does not present aneutral point of view of the subject. It may be better to integrate the material in those sectionsinto the article as a whole.
¡
¢
Criticisms of call centres generally follow a number of common themes, from both callers and call centre staff. rom callers, common criticisms include:[ ]
perators working from a script on-expert operators call screening) Incompetent or untrained operators incapable of processing customers' requests effectively [ ] verseas location, with language and accent problems ouch tone menu systems and automated queuing systems Excessive waiting times to be connected to an operator Complaints that departments of companies do not engage in communication with one another Deceit over location of call centre such as allocating overseas workers false English names) equiring the caller to repeat the same information multiple times
¦ £ ¥
]
Common criticisms from staff include: [2
Close scrutiny by management e.g. frequent random call monitoring) ow compensation pay and bonuses) estrictive working practices some operators are required to follow a pre-written script) High stress: a common problem associated with front-end jobs where employees deal directly with customers epetitive job task Poor working conditions e.g. poor facilities, poor maintenance and cleaning, cramped working conditions, management interference, lack of privacy and noisy) Impaired vision and hearing problems ude and abusive customers
he net-net of these concerns is that call centres as a business process exhibit levels of variability. he experience a customer gets and the results a company achieves on a given call are almost totally dependent on the quality of the agent answering that call. [2 ] Call centres are beginning to address this by using agent-assisted voice solutions to standardise the process all agents use. [22] Anton and Phelps have provided a detailed H to conduct the performance evaluation of
£
£ ¤
the business, [23] whereas others are using various scientific technologies to do the jobs.[24][2 ][2 ] However more popular alternatives are using personality and skill based approaches. [2 ][2 ] he various challenges encountered by call operators are discussed by several authors.[2 ][3 ][3 ][32][33] [edit]
utsourced Bureau Contact Centres
utsourced bureau contact centres are a model of contact centre that provide services on a "pay per use" model. he overheads of the contact centre are shared by many clients thereby supporting a very cost effecive model especially for low volumes of calls. Bureau contact centres provide an opportunity for:
Pilot schemes - perform test of concept for new models for communications, sales or customer services before investing in staff and infrastructure lexible solutions for S E's - small or medium-si e enterprises can benefit from a flexible service that can evolve with the businss Best of breed systems/technology - clients can benefit from considerable investment into communications technology, leveraging benefits without having to invest in large cap-ex projects.
[edit]Unionisation Unions in orth America have made some effort to gain members from this sector, [34] including the Communications orkers of America[3 ] and the United Steelworkers. In Australia, the Call Centre orkers Union represents unionised workers; their activities form part of the Australian labour movement. [3 ] In Europe, Uni lobal Union of Swit erland is involved in assisting unionisation in this realm. [3 ] [edit]Standardisation Currently, there are no universally bracketable international standards, other than IS series, available for the industry to follow up. However, some of the relevant standards are loosely published by IS with the division of ICS 33. 4 .3 [3 ]. ost of the standards under this division have not been reviewed thoroughly, but there are some guidelines and standing operating procedures available on the internet.[3 ]
§ © ¨
©
¨ §
[edit]Mathematical
theory
ueuing theory is a branch of mathematics in which models of queuing systems have been developed. A call centre can be seen as a queuing network.[ 0][ 1] The models can be applied to answer queueing questions for call centres. The most widespread queueing model used is the Erlang C Forumla. Call centre operations have been supported by mathematical models beyond queueing, with operations research, which considers a wide range of optimisation problems. [edit]See
also
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Call centre
Operator messaging Business process outsourcing in India Call management List of call centre companies Automatic call distributor Call Centre Industry in the Philippines Erlang distribution Skills based routing ueue management system Virtual queue
[edit]References
1. ^ see spelling differences . ^ L Venkata Subramaniam ( 008-0 -01). Call Centers of the Future (P F). i.t. magazine. pp. 8±51. Retrieved 008-05- 9. . ^ S Patent 70 5699 - ualified and targeted lead selection and delivery system . Patent Storm. 006-0 - 5. Retrieved 008-05- 9. . ^ M. Popovic and V. Kovacevic. An Approach to Internet-Based Virtual Call Center Implementation . niversity of Novi Sad, Yugoslavia. 5. ^ avid S. Joachim. Computer Technology Opens a World of Work to isabled People . New York Times.
6. ^ Bednarek et al., "Kat Patent eexamination: A Change in omentum avoring AK argets", ShawPittman, une , 2 4 . ^ reeman, aura ; hitfield, Hilary C 6). "Setting up for integrated inbound/outbound telemarketing" . B E . etrieved 2 -0605. . ^ " orking conditions and health in Swedish call centres" . European oundation for the Improvement of iving and orking Conditions . 2005-04-2 . etrieved 2008-06-05. . ^ "Hourly ate Survey eport for Industry: Call Center". PayScale. etrieved 2008-06-05. 0. ^ "Advice regarding call centre working practices" PD ). Health and Safety Executive. etrieved 2008-06-05. . ^ "Hazards 81 extended briefing: oilet breaks: ive us a break!". Hazards. etrieved 2008-06-05. 12. ^ Shaw, ussell 2006-01-30). " one-deaf to customer complaints, Dell opens yet another call center in India" . ZD et. etrieved 2008-06-05. 13. ^ Ahmed, Zubair 2006-02-22). "Abuse rattles Indian call centre staff". BBC ews. etrieved 2008-06-05. 14. ^ "Call Centre onitoring". Management. callcentrehelper.com. etrieved 2008-06-05. 15. ^ " he Call Center Answer eam reaches out to the industry for to crack a tough nut". Q&A: H w Many Calls Sh l I Monitor. callcentermagazine.com. 2003 -07-30. etrieved 2008-06-05. 16. ^ " ho¶s on the ine? omen in Call Centres Project" PD ). Atlanti Centre of Ex ellence for Women's Health. Health Canada. etrieved 2008-06-05. 17. ^ aik Stolletz 2003). Performance Analysis and Optimization of Inbound Call Centers. Springer-Verlag. ISB 783540008125. 18. ^ Ali, S. 2006 "If you want to scream, press..." all Street ournal http://online.wsj.com/google_login.html?url=http%3A%2 %2 o nline.wsj.com%2 article%2 SB116171027921802238.html%3 mod%3 Dgooglenews_wsj 19. ^ Adsit, D. 2007) Do Call Centers eed to Carry alpractice Insurance? In Queue, http://www.nationalcallcenters.org/pubs/In_Queue/vol2no24.ht ml
^ P aylor, P Bain "'An assembly line in the head': work and employee relations in the call centre" Industrial elations ournal, 1999. 21. ^ leming, ., Coffman, C., Harter, . 2005) anage Your Human Sigma, Harvard Business eview 22. ^ Patel, S. 2008) How to win a no-sin situation. In Queue. http://www.nationalcallcenters.org/pubs/In_Queue/vol3no12.ht ml#How_to_Win_a_No-Win_Situation 23. ^ Anton, on; Dru Phelps. "How to conduct a call center performance audit: A to Z" PD ). etrieved 1 uly 2008. 24. ^ Paprzycki, arcin et al. 2004). Data Mining Approach for Analyzing Call Center Performance. Berlin: Springer. doi:10.1007/b97304. ISBN 9783540220077. ^ "Evaluation of the Performance of customer service 25. representatives in a call center using DEA/Network odel/ ussy Sets" . etrieved 1 uly 2008. 26. ^ Srinivasan, aj et al.; alim, é ome; Wang, inting 2004). "Performance analysis of a call center with interactive voice response units". TOP Springer Berlin) 12 1): 91±110.doi:10.1007/B 02578926. ^ Skyrme, Pamela et al.. "Using personality to predict outbound call center job performance" PD ). etrieved 1 uly 2008. 28. ^ Stolletz, aik; Stefan Helber 2004). "Performance analysis of an inbound call center with skills -based routing". OR Spectrum 26 3): 331±352. doi:10.1007/s00291-004-0161-y.
20.
27.
29.
^ Witt, . A. et al. 2004). "When Conscientiousness Isn¶t Enough: Emotional Exhaustion and Performance Among Call Center Customer Service epresentatives". Journal of Management 30(1): 149± 160. doi:10.1016/j.jm.2003.01.007. 30. ^ Aguir, Salah et al.; Karaesmen, ikri; Aksin, . Zeynep; Chauvet, abrice (2004). " he impact of retrials on call center performance". OR Spectrum 26 (3): 353±376. doi:10.1007/s00291-0040165-7. 31. ^ urthy, Nagesh N. et al.; Challagalla, . N.; Vincent, . H.; Shervani, . A. (2008). " he Impact of Simulation raining on Call Center Agent Performance: A ield-Based Investigation".Mnagement Science 54 (2): 384±399. doi:10.1287/mnsc.1070.0818.
^ Armony, or; Itay urvich. "When promotions meet operations: cross-selling and its effect on call-center performance" (PD ). etrieved 1 uly 2008. 33. ^ oldberg, .S.; A.A. randey. "Display rules versus display autonomy: emotion regulation, emotional exhaustion, and task performance in a call center simulation" . etrieved 1 uly 2008. 34. ^ ed. by Pradeep Kumar ...; Pradeep Kumar, Christopher obe rt Schenk (2006). Paths to Union Renewal. Broadview Press. ISBN 155193-058-7. 35. ^ "A & obility Workers rganize in klahoma City". Uni lobal Union. etrieved 2008-09-27.[dead link] ^ "Call Centre Union Busters et Wake-Up Call". Workers 36. nline. etrieved 2008-07-08. 37. ^ "Uni lobal Union's call centre organising campaigns" . Uni lobal Union. etrieved 2008-07-08. 38. ^ IS . "33.040.35: elephone networks". etrieved 30 August 2009. 39. ^ ochester Institute of echnology. "Internal Call Center Standing perating Procedures". etrieved 3 uly 2008. [dead link] ^ Call Center athematics | A scientific method for understanding 40. and improving contact centers by er Koole 41. ^ Queueing odels of Call Centers: An Introduction er Koole
32.
[edit]
urther reading
Kennedy I., Call centres , School of Electrical and Information Engineering, University of the Witwatersrand, 2003. asi D. .B., ischer . ., Harris C. ., Numerical Analysis of Routing Rules for Call centres , elecommunications eview, 1998. http://www.noblis.org/Publications/ 98_8.doc HSE Web site at www.hse.gov.uk/lau/lacs/94-2.htm for guidelines about call centre working * practices. eena Patel, Working the Night Shift: Women in India's Call Center Industry (Stanford University Press; 2010) 219 pages; traces changing views of "women's work" in India under globalization. luss, Donna, " he eal-Time Contact centre", 2005 A ACOM
Wegge, ., van Dick, ., isher, ., Wecking, C., & Moltzen, K. (2006, anuary). Work motivation, organisational identification, and well-being in call centre work. Work & Stress, 20(1), 60-83.
Operator messaging
rom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Operator Messaging is the term, similar to Text Messaging and Voice Messaging, applying to an answering service call center who focuses on one specific scripting style that has grown out of the alphanumeric pager history.
Contents
[hi
1 Earl hi t ry 2 M age Center becomes Al ha-dispatch 3 Di erence bet een full Answering Service 4 Operator Messaging Extends to Text Messaging 5 Rise of Operator Messaging in the 21st Century 6 See also 7 References
[edit]Early
history
In the 1970s and early 1980s, the cost of making a phone call decreased and more business communication was done by phone. As corporations grew and labor rates increased, the ratio of secretaries to employees decreased. The initial solution to the phone communication problem for businesses was the ³message center.´ A message center or ³message desk´ was a centralized, manual answering service inside a company manned by a few people answering everyone¶s phones. Extensions that were busy or rang ³no answer´ would forward to the message center onto a device called a ³call director´. The call director had a button for each extension in the company which would flash when that person¶s extension forwarded to the message center. A little label next to the button told the operator whose extension it was.
As wireless communication technologies increased in the late 1980s, the Pager service providers created a subscription service offered in a variety of plans and options to meet the needs of a subscriber and the type of device used. In general, all pagers are given unique telephone numbers so that callers could dial in and send a numeric message, such as their callback number or a numerically coded special message, such as room numbers to report to, etc. [1] However, alphanumeric pagers could only receive text messages when the message sender had installed software on their PC to dial in to the publicly-accessible modems operated by the paging service provider to then transmit their message over-the-air through the network of radio towers. [2] [edit]Message
Center becomes Alpha-dispatch
Alpha Dispatch service is best described as enhanced numeric paging.[3] It is a service that consists of live operators who answer incoming calls and input the callers' messages on a computer, then transmit the message using the Telocator Alphanumeric input Protocol to the paging provider's radio towers. Alphanumeric pagers receive the messages in the form of words and numbers. Messages are sequentially numbered and archived for later reference if required to be re-sent. PageNet was one of the larger paging providers who offered this service add-on to their alphanumeric pager customers. [edit]Difference
between full Answering Service
Alpha-dispatch was never designed to replace a full-service answering service. Although both services will answer calls in a customer's name and advise the caller that the customer is unavailable, a full-service answering service will usually have additional information about the customer that they are encouraged to share with the caller such as business summary, website information, personal schedule, and other informational details. An alpha-dispatch service operator usually has no knowledge of the subscriber, except for their first and last name or company name, and serves only as a messaging "bridge" between the caller and the subscriber with the caller dictating what the operator should type as a message to the subscriber. [4] Because of this difference, minimal training and supervising is required of the call center employees and therefore operator messaging service is much less
expensive than full-service answering services. The low cost makes operator messaging an affordable alternative to voicemail. [edit]Operator
Messaging Extends to Text
Messaging
As the use of alphanumeric pagers declined in the mid-1990s and cell phone text messaging availability and reliability increased ever since, these well-established alpha-dispatch call centers adjusted their technology to allow live operators' messages to be transmitted to cellular service providers in the same way as to pager service providers. Operators still follow the same answering procedures and have no idea if the subscriber is receiving the text message on a cell phone or a pager. The operator still serves as a "relay" or "bridge" for the caller to dictate their message to the operator messaging subscriber's device. [edit]
ise of Operator Messaging in the 21st Century
Although e-mail capabilities have been extended to alphanumeric pagers and cellular text messaging, the operator messaging services are used by individuals who are not located near a computer or where sending a text message may be dangerous or impractical. ive operator messaging marries the technologies of voice messaging and text messaging as an alternative to voicemail service by using call forwarding features to redirect callers of your cell phone automatically to the operator messaging service after three or four unanswered rings. Operator messaging service providers remain profitable because the average call length is under 30 seconds and employees are often paid less than full-service answering service employees due to the limited training required. [edit]See
also
Call center Pager Answering service
[edit]
eferences
1. ^ [Informa ealthcare http://informahealthcare.com/doi/abs/10.1080/1090 1 0 909 66 6] . ^ [RCR Wireless, ec 1997 http://www.rcrwireless.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AI /19971 /S B/71 0711/-1/ARC IVES/correction] . ^ [I SC http://www.idsc.net/alphadispatch.asp] . ^ [Phonewire, Inc. http://www.ringalice.com] Categories: On-line chat Pagers Radio paging Telephony
Call management
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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In telecommunications, call management is the process of designing and implementing rules and parameters governing the routing of inbound telephone calls through a network. These rules can specify how calls are distributed according to the time and/or date of the call as well as the location of the caller (usually defined by the outbound Caller I ). Call Management also involves the use of Calling Features such as Call ueues, IVR Menus, unt Groups and Recorded Announcements to provide a customised experience for the caller and to maximize the efficiency of inbound call handling. Call management is most effective when a call logging software tool is used.
Contents
[hide]
1 Network types 2 Calling features 3 Call records 4 See also
[edit]Network
types
Call Management is performed on varying degrees of scale, from an individual screening unwanted calls from a residential landline to an international call carrier routing calls to different worldwide locations by percentage. Systems for governing Call Management can be in the form of hardware, such as a PBX Telephone System attached to an ISDN30 or a hostedsoftware-based system. [edit]Calling
features
Calls are routed according to the setting up of calling features within the given system. Common examples of Calling eatures include:
Translation ± The automatic routing of inbound calls from one telephone number to another. Hunt Group ± A directory containing one or many destination numbers which, on receiving an incoming call, is programmed to ring them in a particular order, simultaneously or simply in the order in which they have most recently answered before being sent to a final destination if still unanswered. Call Queue ± A directory similar to a Hunt roup that keeps the caller on hold until one of the destination numbers becomes available. Auto Attendant ± A large directory of extension numbers which can be chosen by the caller, each with its own specific routing behaviour. Location-Based Routing ± ules programmed in at particular points in a system to route the call on to different destinations depending on the location of the caller. Time and Date-Based Routing ± ules programmed in at particular points in a system to route the call on to different destinations depending the time or date of the call. Call Whisper ± A message played to an agent after answering a call that can give them information about the call in advance based on the Caller ID, number dialled or route taken through the system. Interactive voice response ± A sound recording device to allow a caller to give information to the system verbally about what services or support they require. Fax to Email ± A Device for routing inbound fax calls to one or more email addresses, usually as attachments.
[edit]Call
records
Systems often retain information about received calls which can be stored, analysed and interpreted by the system administrator.
Call etail ecords (C Rs) ± Records of all received calls, usually including time, date, duration, calling number and called number. osted services can also show pricing information. Call ecording ± Many systems have the ability to record and store calls for future reference. Voice and Fax ailboxes ± Inbound faxes and voicemail messages can be stored on systems also.
[edit]See
also
n ± o Not isturb (Telecommunication)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected from n - o Not isturb (Telecommunication))
This article is an orphan, as few or no other articles link to it. Please introduce links to this page from related articles; suggestions are available. (February 2008) Do Not Disturb ( N ) is a common feature in enterprise telecommunications. When it is enabled, it prevents the telephone from ringing. The implementation of this features is vendor-specific. In some cases, the ringer just does not ring and the called party is thus not alerted. sually, though, the phone just acts as being busy. epending on the infrastructure, the caller may end up on the called party's voice mailbox, sometimes after a certain delay.
Some special configurations combine N with other features like call forwarding, where calls to a party with N on are forwarded to another phone.
irect inward dialing
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(Redirected from irect Inward ialing)
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Direct inward dialing (DID), also called direct dial-in (DDI) in Europe and Oceania, is a feature offered by telephone companies for use with their customers' private branch exchange(PBX) systems. In I service the telephone company provides one or more trunk lines to the customer for connection to the customer's PBX and allocates a range of telephone numbersto this line (or group of lines) and forwards all calls to such numbers via the trunk. As calls are presented to the PBX, the dialed destination number ( NIS) is transmitted, usually partially (e.g., last four digits), so that the PBX can route the call directly to the desired telephone extension within the organization without the need for an operator or attendant. The service allows direct inward call routing to each extension while maintaining only a limited number of subscriber lines to satisfy the average concurrent usage of the customer.
I trunks must be powered by the customer premises equipment. The central office equipment detects the power state of the line and disables service if the circuit is not powered up. This is the reverse arrangement from standard plain old telephone service (POTS) lines which are powered by the central office. In the nited States the feature was developed by AT&T in the 1960s, patterned upon the earlier IK service of the eutsche Bundespost. I service is usually combined with direct out ard dialing ( O ) allowing PBX extensions direct outbound calling capability with identification of their I number.
Contents
[hide]
1 Use in FAX services 2 DID in Voice over Internet Protocol communications 3 Sellers 4 Direct outward dialing 5 See also
[edit]Use
in AX services
This system is also used by fax servers. A telephone line is terminated in a computer running fax server software and fax modem cards. A set of digits of the assigned phone numbers are used to identify the recipient of the fax. This allows many recipients to have an individual fax number, even though there is only one fax machine. [edit]DID
in Voice over Internet Protocol communications
Direct inward dialing service has similar relevance for Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) communications. To reach users with VoIP phones, DID numbers are assigned to acommunications gateway connected by a trunk to the public switched telephone network (PSTN) and the VoIP network. The gateway routes and translates calls between the two networks for the VoIP user. Calls originating in the VoIP network will appear to users on the PSTN as originating from one of the assigned DID numbers. [edit]Sellers In the United States, DID numbers and services can be purchased in bulk from a Competitive ocal Exchange Carriers (CLECs). International DID numbers can be purchased in bulk from international providers. A number of DID resellers also offer DID numbers for individuals and small enterprises. [edit]Direct
outward dialing
The corresponding service to DID for outgoing calls from a PBX to the central office exchange is called direct outward dialing (DOD) or Direct Dial Central Office (DDCO). This service is often combined with DID service and allows direct dialing of global telephone numbers by every extension covered by the service without the assistance of an operator. The caller line identification (CLI) or caller-id of extensions for outgoing calls is often set to the extension DID number, but may be the organization's central switch board number. [edit]See
also
ialed Number Identification Service ial plan
Automatic call distributor
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Line hunting . (Discuss) This article does not cite any references or sources.
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In telephony, an Automatic Call Distributor ( ACD), also known as Automated Call Distribution, is a device or system that distributes incoming calls to a specific group of terminals that agents use. It is often part of a computer telephony integration (CTI) system. Routing incoming calls is the task of the AC system. AC systems are often found in offices that handle large volumes of incoming phone calls from callers who have no need to talk to a specific person but who require assistance from any of multiple persons (e.g., customer service representatives) at the earliest opportunity. The system consists of hardware for the terminals and switches, phonelines, and software for the routing strategy. The routing strategy is a rule-based set of instructions that tells the AC how calls are handled inside the system. Typically this is an algorithm that determines the best available employee or employees to respond to a given incoming call. To help make this match, additional data are solicited and reviewed to find out why the customer is calling. Sometimes the caller's caller I or ANI is used; more often a simple Interactive voice response is used to ascertain the reason for the call. Originally, the AC function was internal to the Private Branch Exchange of the company. owever, the closed nature of these systems limited their flexibility. A system was then designed to enable common computing devices, such as server PCs, to make routing decisions. For this, generally the PBX would issue information about incoming calls to this external system and receive a direction of the call in response.
An additional function for these external routing applications is to enable CTI. This allows improved efficiency for call center agents by matching incoming phone calls with relevant data on their PC via screen pop. A common protocol to achieve this is CSTA; however, almost every PBX vendor has its own flavor of CSTA, and CSTA is quite hard to program because of its complex nature. Various vendors have developed intermediate software that hides these complexities and expedites the work of programmers. Also, these protocols enable call centers consisting of PBXs from multiple vendors to be treated as one virtual contact center. All real-time and historical statistical information can then be shared amongst call center sites. One of the first large and separate AC s was a modified 5XB switch used by New York Telephone in the early 1970s to distribute calls among hundreds of -1-1 information operators. [edit]See
also
Call center Skills-based routing ip tone
ueue area
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(Redirected from ueue management system)
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For ot er u e , ee Queue (di ambiguation). This article includes a list of references, related reading or external links, but its sources remain
! ! ! !
unclear because it lacks inline citations. Please improve this article by introducing more precise citations where appropriate. (June 2008)
A queue area at a food store in New York City.
Queue areas are places in which people in line (first-come, first-served) wait for goods or services.[1] Examples include checking out groceriesor other goods that have been collected in a self service shop, in a shop without self service, at an ATM, at a ticket desk, a city bus, or in ataxi stand.
ueueing[ ] is a phenomenon in a number of fields, and has been extensively analysed in the study of queueing theory. In economics, queueing is seen as one way to ration scarce goods and services.
Contents
[hide]
"
1 Types of queues o 1.1 Physical queue o 1.2 Virtual queue o 1.3 Mobile queue 2 Queue ethics 3 Physical queue design 4 Queue delays 5 See also 6 References
7 External links
[edit]Types [edit]P
of queues
This section does not cite any references or sources.
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sical queue
A queue of people waiting for a Michael Jackson concert in Germany (1988).
Organized queue areas are commonly found at amusement parks. The rides have a fixed number of guests that can be served at any given time, so there has to be some control over additional guests who are waiting. This led to the development of formalized queue areas²areas in which the lines of people waiting to board the rides are organized by railings, and may be given shelter from the elements with a roof over their heads, inside a climate-controlled building or with fans and misting devices. In some amusement parks - isney Parks being a prime example queue areas can be elaborately decorated, with holding areas fosteringanticipation, thus shortening the perceived wait for people in the queue by giving them something interesting to look at as they wait, or the perception that they have arrived at the threshold of the attraction. ueues are generally found at transportation terminals where security screenings are conducted. Large stores and supermarkets may have dozens of separate queues, but this can cause frustration, as different lines tend to be handled at
different speeds; some people are served quickly, while others may wait for longer periods of time. Sometimes two people who are together split up and each waits in a different line; once it is determined which line is faster, the one in the slower line joins the other. Another arrangement is for everyone to wait in a single line [citation needed]; a person leaves the line each time a service point opens up. This is a common setup in banks and post offices. [edit]Virtual
ueue
Physical queueing is sometimes replaced by virtual queueing. In a aiting room there may be a system whereby the queuer asks and remembers where his place is in the queue, or reports to a desk and signs in, or takes a ticket with a number from a machine. These queues typically are found at doctors' offices, hospitals, town halls, social security offices, labor exchanges, the Department of Motor Vehicles, the Department of Immigration, free internet access in the state or council libraries, banks or post offices and Call Centres. Especially in the United Kingdom, tickets are taken to form a virtual queue at delicatessens and children's shoe shops. In some countries such as Sweden, virtual queues are also common in shops and railway stations. A display sometimes shows the number that was last called for service. estaurants have come to employ virtual queueing techniques with the availability of application-specific pagers, which alert those waiting that they should report to the host to be seated. Another option used at restaurants is to assign customers a confirmed return time, basically a reservation issued on arrival. [edit]Mobile
ueue
All of the above methods, however, suffer from the same drawback: the person arrives at the location only to find out that they need to wait. ecently, queues at DMVs[3], colleges, restaurants[4], healthcare institutions[5], government offices[6] and elsewhere have begun to be replaced by mobile queues or queue-ahead, whereby the person queueing uses his/her phone, the internet, a kiosk or another method to enter a virtual queue, optionally prior to arrival, is free to roam during the wait, and then gets paged at his/her mobile phone when his/her turn approaches. This has the advantage of allowing users to find out the
wait forecast and get in the queue before arriving, roaming freely and then timing their arrival to the availability of service. This has been shown to extend the patience of those in the queue and reduce noshows[7]. Mobile queueing is more environmentally friendly than application-specific pagers, which require special-purpose batteries and hardware, and healthier from a public health perspective, as there is no shared device changing hands [citation needed]. [edit]
ueue ethics
Citizens of the People's Republic of Poland queuing for basic goods, 1980s.
Since queueing can be a boring and time-consuming activity, but one that may also have high stakes (e.g. attempting to purchase a good or product with a limited availability, such as a concert ticket), people can become angry when the unwritten rules of queueing are broken. For example, in Britain it is unacceptable to queue-jump (to push in, skip, or cut in line), although it is sometimes acceptable for one member of a party, waiting in the queue, to allow a second member of the party to join the first halfway through the queuing process, without the second member having to join the back of the queue. [citation needed] In the nited States, the above example from Britain (second member of a party) would also generally be accepted. It is acceptable for waiting persons to leave the queue briefly (to use the bathroom, etc.) and return to their original place, without having to ask neighbours to hold their place or to be allowed to return (however, many individuals would still tell their neighbours in the queue). It is also common to allow others to jump to the front of the queue in a train station to buy a ticket if their train is about to leave and if waiting from the back of the queue would cause them to miss their train.[citation needed] [edit]Physical
queue design
When designing queues, planners attempt to make the wait as pleasant and as simple as possible. They employ several strategies to achieve this, including:
Expanding the capacity of the queue, thus allowing more patrons to have a place. This can be achieved by: Increasing the length of the queue by making the queue longer Increasing the size of the lanes within the queue Increasing the length of the queue by designing the line in a "zigzag" shape that holds a large amount of guests in a smaller area. This is used often at amusement parks. Notable rides have a large area of this kind of line to hold as many people as possible in line. Portions of the line can be sectioned off and bypassed by guests if the queue is not crowded. "In-line" entertainment can be added. This is popular at amusement parks like Walt Disney World, which uses TV screens and other visuals to keep people in the queue area occupied. Secondary queue areas for patrons with special tickets, like the FASTPASS system at Disney park, or the Q-bot as used in Legoland Windsor.
[edit]Queue
delays
Sometimes, often at amusement parks, there will be a modifiable sign at the start of the queue or halfway point in the queue informing people approximately how long their wait will be. [edit]See
also
Consumer goods in the Soviet Union (for information on queues in the Soviet Union) Cutting (in line) Call centre
[edit]
eferences
1. ^ Such a group of people is known as a queue (British usage) or line (American usage), and the people are said to be waiting or standing in a queue or in line, respectively. (In some areas of the
U.S., especially New York City, the phrase on line is used instead.) learnersdictionary.com. etrieved 2009-4-29. 2. ^ Also spelled queuing. askoxford.com. etrieved 2009-4-29. 3. ^ http://treasurer.jocogov.org/tre/doc/qlessonline.pdf 4. ^ http://vator.tv/news/show/2010-01-14-exit-waiting-in-line-enterqless 5. ^ http://blogs.aafp.org/fpm/noteworthy/entry/could_your_practice_s _waiting 6. ^ http://vator.tv/news/show/2010-01-14-exit-waiting-in-line-enterqless 7. ^ http://vator.tv/news/show/2010-01-14-exit-waiting-in-line-enterqless
Maister, D.H. (1988). Managing Services: Marketing, Operations and Human Resources . Prentice-Hall. Mercer, David. Redefining marketing in the multi-channel age. Wiley.
[edit]External
links
