Hiring A Call Center

In my previous post about customer service, I mentioned a call center as an effective means of customer service.  Most people think of a great big company when you mention a call center.  But believe it or not, there are call centers out there that don’t sell anything of their own.  They simply provide customer service for other companies.  It’s actually pretty common.  In fact, more companies use a third party call center than you’d think.  If they do their job, the customer shouldn’t know the difference between the company, and the call center.

So, what are the pros and cons of using a call center for your drop ship business?

PROS:

1. Availability – The hardest part about selling products is the need to be available when your customers are ready to buy.  This is why the internet is so great; your store is always open.   But what about those folks that want to call in.  They still don’t trust their credit card on the internet, or whatever.  A call center is there to answer the phone whether you are around or not.  They can take orders, answer product questions, give out tracking information, and more.  Typically, there will be a team of customer service reps that take calls for a number or stores.   This keeps the rates reasonable, by allowing reps to work for a number of stores at the same time.  You can, in some cases, have dedicated people, but my guess is that most drops shippers don’t really need that, unless you get really big.

2. Professionalism – Ever call to make a tee time at a golf course and get some old guy barking at you over the phone about the dress code?  Yeah, he doesn’t care of you show up or not. On the other hand, the representatives at a call center are typically trained in both customer service, and on the individual stores they are covering.  Plus they are trained in handling those problem, or upset customers.

3. No Need To Actually Hire People – Tell you what, it is expensive to hire people; and the hourly wage is just the beginning.  Using a call center allows you to have people who are paid and managed by someone else.  A beautiful thing.

CONS

1. Price – Obviously, this kind of work doesn’t come for free. While I’m sure that there are as many plans out there as there are call centers, you will need to carefully consider the fee structure to make sure it’s something you can live with.  In my case, I pay per minute that a rep is physically on the phone.  Considering most calls only last 2-3 minutes, and my average order size is around $80, I feel that I make out pretty well.  However, there will always be that customer that keeps a rep talking for 20 minutes and then not make a purchase.

2. Product Knowledge – You know your product best, and no one will ever be able to replicate that.  Consider your product line before hiring a call center.  If what you sell is complex or complicated, be sure that the call center reps can handle the possible questions.  I once had a guy that contacted me for advise on hiring a call center who sold airplane parts.  I don’t know what he ever did, but I hope he was very careful of his decision.  One thing that can be done to help in this situation is to be sure that you have very through and detailed product information on your site, which might cut down on the need of the reps to answer too many questions.

3. Loss of Some Control - Mistakes will be made.  You are going to have to be flexible.  By hiring a call center you are giving other people some control over your store and orders.  They will be forced to make some decisions on the fly, and they will make some mistakes that will cost you orders.  You simply need to decide in advance what decisions can be made without you, and what amount of honest mistakes are acceptable.  Remember there is a big pay off.  This loss of some control and some mistakes is easily offset by the amount of time you gain, and the improvement of service that you provide.

Next up, what to look for when hiring a call center.

By the way,  I proudly use Call Center Services from Solid Cactus.

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