Eight out of ten consumers rate speed of service as the number one factor to a great service experience. But still, customer service representatives fail to answer their questions 50% of the time, causing first call resolution (FCR) rates to be extremely low. What is going wrong?
The primary culprits of low FCR rates:- Mismatch of agent skills with customer needs: 26% of customers report being routed from one agent to another without any resolution of their problem or inquiry
- Inability to quickly access customers’ account information: 60% of low first call resolution rates are due to an agent’s inability to quickly access customer information
- Inefficient processes and inadequate training: 60% of repeat calls are process or training driven
The consequences:
- 66% of contact center costs today are due to call backs
- Customer satisfaction is 35% lower when a second call is made
- 34% of customers who do not get their inquiry or problem resolved are likely to go to your competitors
- The cost of a complaint call not handled at the point of entry escalates by 500% when it has to be escalated
- A 15% improvement in FCR results in a 57% reduction in repeat calls
- Every 1% gain in FCR translates into a 1% gain in customer satisfaction
- When a customer call is resolved you increase the customer cross-sell acceptance rate by 20%
- If a customer’s inquiry or problem is resolved in the first contact, only 3% of those customers are at risk of going to a competitor
