Noise Problems for Call Centers
As a stay at home, work from home mother who plans all day how to get dinner on the table with all 4 members of my family present, there is little I like less than some sort of sales call. As I am seating kids and dishing up and hoping the baby stays asleep, I’m not exactly hoping that someone calls to ask me to donate money either. As good as the cause might be, it’s just a hard time of day. I’m not a jerk about it, I’m just not that open to giving away money or my personal information at that time. Now, throw in background noise that makes me strain to hear whoever is talking to me, as I am measuring if this is a legit call or not, and I’m pretty much going to hang up. I don’t know of anyone who wants to volunteer credit card information or other personal details in such an unprofessional context.
I can only imagine this is not what the manager of a call center wants to hear. However, it’s the very thing he or she needs to hear! If your product if worth buying or your cause worth investing in, take the time to make me feel safe and comfortable. It is my opinion that the call center is responsible for providing a professional and personal call experience for their customers. Unfortunately, as seen above, call centers suffer from many sound problems that do not allow for successful business practices:
- Background sound, even other callers, can make a customer feel like a number instead of a person.
- The same background noise can be quite distracting for both customer and caller.
- When a potential customer hears all this, it only adds to the feeling that their personal information is up for grabs.
Noise Solutions for Call Centers
As a result, as you plan a call center or seek to resolve the common noise problems therein, here a few things you should consider:
- Keep callers separated if possible so that they are not shoulder to shoulder as they make calls.
- Partitions or sound-absorbing panels can lessen ambient sound.
- Some companies offer headsets that help the callers focus on the customers and not the noise around them.
- Finally, consider sound masking, which aides both the caller and the customer because both can hear the other person and not the craziness in the call center itself.
The goal of a call center is to get current or potential customers or donors to stay on the line, listen attentively, and be heard themselves. This kind of interaction is only possible if the customer feels like an individual and that their personal and financial information can be given without fear of it being spread beyond the intended hearer. If you consider these factors as you plan your call center, your chances for success are exponentially higher.
Thus, if background noise is a problem for your call center, consider sound masking for a reduction of distractions and increased speech privacy if you’d like to have a successful conversation with potential customers or donors.