Large infrastructure failures like main breaks, overflows, and outages are hard to predict. When they happen, call takers are often overwhelmed. If call taking isn’t their main duty, it takes over any other responsibilities. Customers sit on hold. Crews might be missing valuable data. No one is happy.
Some call center services offer the ability to switch over to them during a high volume event. This lets staff with other responsibilities focus on those tasks – such as resolving the issue or checking on vulnerable people in the community. Residents can be greeted immediately, and additional information about the incident can be captured and shared with responding crews.
A few things to ask when you’re looking at spillover call support services:
- How quickly can you shift calls to your call center support partner?
- How easy is that process?
- How much volume can they handle?
- Do they offer callers a way to opt in to text updates rather than talk a representative?
- Do they offer callers a way to share photos or notes that could be helpful to responding crews?
- Do they document all incoming calls for later reporting?
- Is it easy to switch calls back once the issue is resolved?
In this video, Berea Municipal Utilities talks about switching calls over to Daupler during emergencies. Email us at question@daupler.com if you'd like to learn more.