Call patching, also called warm transfer or direct connect, is
the most popular method of message
delivery utilized by answering service clientele at Telephone
Answering Service. Simply put, it provides the best all-round
service solution for today's customer that needs assistance immediately.
This especially applies to emergency
call dispatching situations.
Call patching is a methodology that involves dispatching calls
that meet specific criteria directly to the company's designated
on call without the customer ever getting off the line! Call
Patching is the single best way to ensure your company can capture
a prospective sale before that prospect has an opportunity to
shop around, thereby increasing company sales. Telephone Answering
Service guarantees that when using the call patching delivery
method, customers will see an increase in sales.
When call patching (also refered to as warm transfers or direct
connect) is combined with 3G Scripting technologies, company
on call's get the crucial calls, while TAS filters through other
customer calls that can wait until the business day. The best
of both worlds, company on calls are not over burdened with
non priority calls allowing them to focus on priority calls.
Meanwhile, important and often high dollar jobs are passed directly
on to knowledgeable company employees who can quickly close
the sale.
Here is an example of two calls. The first is a nonpriority
call that will be held until the next business day. The second
is a priority call that will be transferred to the individual
placed on call by the company manager using TAS's Answerweb.
Call #1: Mr. Doe wishes to have his carpets cleaned
The TAS operator picks up the call and answers the call in
the company name. The operator immediately knows based on
the color coded answer box that pops up when they answer the
call that this is a call patching account. Mr. Doe explains
to the operator the services he is looking for. The operator
let's Mr. Doe know the company's rates (since the company
in this example wants the operator to pass along that information
to prospective customers). The operator then collects all
of Mr. Doe's information, and politely informs him that someone
from the office will contact him as soon as they get back
in.
3G Scripting has been active all along, guiding the operator
through the call, and showing the operator the correct information
to collect. The scripting technology has also been acting
on this information collected by the operator. For instance,
on this call, it instructed the operator to also get the best
time to call back, since no call patch would take place (the
company specified carpet cleaning calls as a nonpriorty call
- no dispatch needed). Instead of having the operator do a
warm transfer or direct connect to the on call for the company,
the system simply emails a copy of the message to the office
for them to respond to when they get back in the next business
day. The system also updates Answerweb.
Call #2: Mr. Jones calls in with 2 inches of water
in his basement
Mr. Jones calls in, in a panic, saying he needs someone right
away. The TAS operator, understanding the seriousness of the
call, has been professionally trained to handle difficult,
panicking, or problem customers. The operator begins to collect
the customers information including Mr. Jones' full name,
phone, and what the call is regarding. As soon as the operator
selects the job type, the 3G Scripting technology takes over.
In this instance, the operator selects "Water Removal"
from the possible job types on the company account. The system
pops a window that says, "To Patch Call To <employee
name> Who Is On Call, Press Enter". The operator kindly
instructs Mr. Jones to please hold while they get John on
the line, who is on call for the company. John picks up the
phone, the operator updates him, and John agrees to take the
call. Mr. Jones is immediately connected directly to John,
and John inform's Mr. Jones that he will be on his way to
his house immediately. The system then emails a copy of all
the information about the call to the office while updating
Answerweb.
The call patching service inherent in the 3G scripting technology
was founded on the one-call, one-sale methodology. The main
principle behind the one-call, one-sale system is that if a
customer calls your company, you should make a sale 100% of
the time. The management team, IT department, and operators
of Telephone Answering Service do their best to make sure each
and every prospective client is handled in a manner that professionally
reflects upon your company, giving your organization the best
opportunity to make "prospective clients", just "clients"!
