While many companies will recover from this current pandemic, hundreds of small businesses are feeling overwhelmed. Customer service teams are dealing with spikes in customer service requests for information and service changes – and even cancellations and refund requests from customers who are just unsure of what to expect in the future and planning for the worst. Maintaining communications with your customers is essential, and not easy. While business can’t control what happens in the world, they can control how they respond to it — which is why emergency call center services are an essential part to any business continuity plan.

If you are looking for a call center to handle your crisis communication, here are 5 characteristics you should be looking for to reduce the impact of the situation, any situation, on your customers.

#1. Emergency dispatching experience

People need communication during emergencies. When selecting a call center, you’ll want a center with experience handling emergency communication. Call centers can help alleviate your communication bottleneck by fielding and screening phone calls which can be funneled efficiently through your pipeline. While emergencies will vary from business to business, here are some questions to start with:

• What experience do you have dispatching during emergencies? Check what type of industries the call center is familiar with and what type of dispatching experience do they have within those industries. Not only is this helpful when assessing if the call center can work for you, but it’s also helpful to see how other businesses in your industry are handling their dispatching needs.
• What dispatching methods do you have? Many call centers offer multiple types of dispatching methods, like transferring while the caller is still on the line, hanging up with the caller and reaching out to your on-call staff, and sending messages via text, email or page.
• Do you have protocols in place to determine what is an actual emergency? If a caller is not having an emergency, the call center operator can help diffuse the situation, answer questions, create support tickets, etc. You’ll want to see what types of flexibility they have in their scripting to help determine what is an emergency and what can wait.

Once you’ve gathered information about how the call center handles emergency dispatching, you’ll be more confident in your crisis communication planning. The next step is to make sure the service has protocols in place to handle spikes in volume.

#2. High volume ready

In the initial days of any crisis, it can be an all out scramble for customers trying to find out as much information as they can. Are you still open? Can I get a refund? What models are involved in the recall? Whatever the request, you’ll need to make sure the call center has enough agents to handle the traffic. You’ll want to ask questions like:

• What happens when there is a spike in volume? When there is a spike in volume at the call center, your callers may experience a queue, or hold time while the floor supervisors work on moving agents around and changing distributions. Your callers could hear music during this time, or you may be able to insert your own custom hold greeting to play.
• Are there limitations on how many calls you can accept on my line? To protect their other clients, call centers may place caps on a line so they can only accept a certain amount of calls at a time. Any calls in excess of this number may ring busy or just be queued. You’ll want to find out what this number is, how easily can it be changed, and if there is a chance your callers will hear a busy signal when they call.
• Do you have work at home agents that can step in if necessary? Most call centers employ at least some remote agents that are able to handle your calls from home. In a situation like the current pandemic, work at home agents are necessary to provide continuity at the call center.
• How much notice would we need to provide to ramp up to handle calls? While call centers would typically ask that you provide them with a 2 week notice if you are expecting a higher call volume, emergencies don’t give notice. You’ll want to check with the call center on how quickly they can scale their workforce and adapt to the volume.
• If there is a wait time, do you offer a queue call back system? Not all call centers offer this feature, but many, including SAS, do. A queue call back system allows the caller to wait for a call back without having to actually wait on the line. They can disconnect and continue on with their business, and then once an operator becomes available, they can call the customer back.
• Are you staffed 24/7 or just during business hours? Most call centers are available to answer your calls 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. However, the heaviest staffing periods are only during high traffic periods. This model works well for US based companies, but if you are an international company, you may want to discuss the possibility of staffing during off peak hours.

With staffing models and emergency dispatching out of the way, you’ll want to see if the call center can speak your language.

#3. Multilingual support

Your customers count on you during a crisis even more than usual. There can be a lot of confusion and panic, and depending on what line of work you’re in, you may tend to see more of it than others. In order to help minimize stress and offer a sense of structure, including multilingual support for your customers is a must. If you anticipate multilingual communication, don’t leave customers without a shoulder to lean on during a crisis. Speak with your call center to see if multilingual call center support is something they offer.

• What languages do you offer customer service in? Most call centers offer both English and Spanish speaking customer service agents, but some may offer support in other languages as well like French, Mandarin, German, etc.
• Is there any additional cost for bilingual or multilingual agents? Just because a call center offers bilingual or multilingual support, doesn’t mean it’s free. While bilingual operators are easier to come by, multilingual operators are not. So, your call center may charge a premium to utilize those agents.
• Do you use a translation service for anything outside of the languages you are able to handle in house? If a call center is not able to provide multilingual support, they might be able to use a translation service to help during times of need. However, this service may also come at a premium.

With the ability to service customers in any language, you’ll need to make sure your call center is able to be there when you can’t.

#4. A solid call center crisis communication plan

Delivering constant support in a crisis is a must. That is especially true for call center companies who must maintain a high-quality level of customer service in any crisis without compromising their standards. Here are some questions you should be asking.

• Are your systems premise based or cloud based? A premise based call center system is installed locally on a business’s computer or server, whereas a cloud based system can be accessed via web browser. The difference is that customer data through a cloud based system can be accessed anywhere, but an on-premise system can only be accessed on the actual premise of the business. It’s important that most call center systems are not premise based in the event of a fire or other natural disaster that may result in a catastrophic failure.
• Do you use work at home agents? Call centers often utilize remote work from home operators, which means you don’t have to worry about employees getting sick or having to call out, which means your phones can still be answered and your customers can still be helped.
• Is it possible for you to lose power? A call center’s main job is to maintain contact and communication with its customers, so having a solid back up plan in the event of a power outage is a must. A solid call center will rely on multiple back up generators to help keep power flowing in the event of an emergency.

Now that you’ve discovered how equipped your call center is to handle a crisis, the solution needs to fit into a monthly budget.

#5. Price that fits your budget

Call center pricing varies greatly. While some centers require contracts, others can be setup quickly and operate on a month to month basis. You’ll want to ask the following questions pertaining to call center cost:

• Do you require a contract? Contracts can be good or bad, depending on your view. If your call center does require a contract and a call center service is something that you foresee needing for sometime, make sure you negotiate a low price for a long term contract. If you don’t anticipate needing a call center for a length of time, inquire if they offer something like a temporary call center with no contracts so you can provide communication continuity in a crisis, and then cancel once things go back to normal.
• If we need a quick setup, what are your options? If you’re in a pinch and need help answering calls or handling customer communication, call centers may be able to get you up and running in about 15 minutes or less – depending on your needs. Additionally, most call centers offer a base package to start with so you won’t have to worry about spending too much. If you are worried about adding extra expenses during a time of crisis, think about it like this; The more accessible you are to your customers, the less likely they are to abandon ship, which means you won’t have to kiss valuable income goodbye.
• Do you have a low package so we can keep the service active in case of emergency? If you don’t need the service every day but want to have something set up in case of emergency, see if your call center can put you on the lowest possible package to help you save money. Low packages typically don’t include a set allowance of minutes or calls, but if you’re only keeping it active for emergencies, then you most likely won’t incur many charges.

Although a crisis may drag on and seem like it will never end, eventually the world resets back to normal. Whatever customer service call volume you’re experiencing now will inevitably go back to normal. With preparation beforehand in selecting the best call center service, you can help your team cope with the unexpected.

The post 5 Characteristics Of A Crisis Communication Call Center appeared first on SAS Call Center.

You’re vacationing in New Orleans when you are stung by a bee and your airway begins to swell. You need a shot of epinephrine right away, so your spouse dials 9-1-1.

Scenario 2.

It’s July in L.A. You’re having a barbecue out by the pool when suddenly Uncle Jim, who had been complaining of tightness in his chest, doubles over and loses consciousness. Common sense says that in order to get Uncle Jim the help he needs and fast, you should dial 9-1-1.

Since 9-1-1 service was implemented in 1968, state by state, we’ve been taught to dial it in case of emergency. Whether it’s a fire, a crime, a heart attack, or an accident, 9-1-1 is the fastest, most effective way to receive lightning speed assistance. But is that really the case?

Section 3.1 of the National Emergency Number Association’s (NENA) Call Answering Standard states that 90% of all 9-1-1 calls arriving at the Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) should be answered within ten (10) seconds during the busy hour (the hour each day with the greatest call volume), and 95% of all 9-1-1 calls should be answered within twenty (20) seconds. Yet in some places, that benchmark may as well be written in the sand. Research indicates that for many cities across the nation, calling 9-1-1 when you are in jeopardy is a crapshoot. And even if operators do get to the phone in a timely fashion, it doesn’t necessarily mean help will arrive before things go south.

Let’s take a closer look at a few of the reasons why some areas’ 911 emergency response service needs some help.

911 Call Center Locations: New Orleans

Back in 2010, budget cuts forced New Orleans Police Superintendent Ronal Serpas to lay off almost half of New Orleans Police Department’s 9-1-1 operators, leading to a significantly understaffed call center.

They are so understaffed, in fact, that according to an internal report, there have been instances where callers had to wait over 8 minutes for help. In addition, several hundred people each month hang on the line for more than a minute before anyone picks up. Making matters worse, call center attrition rates are high (the turnover rate in 2013 was a whopping 50%) and it takes about 4 months to train new operators. So, with 440,000 calls received every year, and only 36 call center operators as of March 2014, those odds are pretty bad.

While there is a nationwide standard measure for answering a 9-1-1 call, there is no nationwide standard for measuring emergency response time – in other words, the amount of time elapsed between when emergency services personnel are dispatched, and when they begin treatment.

According to a study of the country’s 50 largest cities, by only reporting the time it takes for an emergency crew to drive to the scene, many cities distort the actual time passed from the initial phone call to the moment the patient receives care. L.A. is one of those cities.

911 Call Center Locations: Los Angeles

In early 2010, the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department slashed its budget by $128 million, resulting in an obvious declination in response times. While in 2009 the response time for a 9-1-1 call was 4.9 minutes, by the end of 2010, it had grown to almost 6 minutes.

The Los Angeles Fire Department hasn’t fared much better. A 2012 investigation found that the LAFD fell short of the national standard requiring that rescue units be notified within 1 minute on at least 90% of 9-1-1 calls. The analysis showed that between 2007 and 2012, medical emergency call processing time increased considerably.

One problem may be that callers have to jump through hoops before a dispatcher can send help. An abundance of long and confusing questions await the 9-1-1 caller, and dispatchers are forced to follow protocol, asking each question and recording an answer before the computer program will allow them to get to the “dispatch” part. However, this extensive series of questions was developed following the 1987 death of a Chatsworth woman, who died because 9-1-1 operators didn’t ask the right questions and all but dismissed the family’s three calls for help.

Dr. Jeff Clawson, a Utah physician and expert in dispatch protocol, was hired by the LAFD to implement this architecture – a system that is also used by many cities across the country as well as internationally.

So, in the Chatsworth case, the flippant operators were flawed. And maybe the system was, too. Regardless, you can’t examine 9-1-1 protocol and response times without factoring in human error.

911 Call Center Locations: New York & Denver

In a 2013 crash resulting in the death of a 4-year old girl, New York’s 9-1-1 system wasn’t at fault. The dispatcher was. A call for help came in at 8:15 a.m. after the child had been hit on the sidewalk by a teenager in an SUV, who was fleeing from police. That call sat on the dispatcher’s computer screen until 8:19 a.m., when another dispatcher noticed it.

It appears that at some point, the dispatcher got up from his desk and thus, did not see the call come across his computer screen. Sadly, the 4-minute delay in sending out the ambulance proved to be too many minutes for that little girl.

On April 14 of this year, a Denver woman, at home with her husband and three young children, called 9-1-1 reporting that her husband was high and talking like it was the end of the world. He had asked her to retrieve his gun from the safe and shoot him. She relayed the urgency of the situation to the operator, asking her to “please hurry” and send officers because she was afraid of what he might do.

The woman held on the line for nearly 13 minutes before her husband went to retrieve the gun himself, and shot her in the head. Now, while officials say that a 13-minute response time is average for Denver, which is about the amount of time it took for the first officer to arrive on the scene, in this case the dispatcher failed to verbally convey the seriousness of the Priority 1 call. Patrol cars are outfitted with computers, and as information from 9-1-1 is typed into the system, it appears on screen. The trouble is, it’s not safe for officers to be en route to a scene while simultaneously trying to read the computer screen. Had the dispatcher provided verbal updates, a woman’s life may have been saved. At the termination hearing following the incident, the dispatcher tendered her resignation, and her dismissal letter was withdrawn.

Dispatcher error in New York and Denver. Antiquated intake systems in Oregon and Philadelphia. Even glitches in new call center programming. Any number of things could cause delays in emergency response services, and budget cuts seem to be a common scenario for many cities, including New Orleans, Los Angeles, and Minneapolis. But what happens when your city literally goes bankrupt?

911 Call Center Locations: Detroit

When a 9-1-1 call comes in, every second counts, especially in the case of cardiac arrest. Did you know that emergency medical systems in a majority of the United States’ 50 largest cities save only 6% to 10% of victims of sudden cardiac arrest?

The Mayo Clinic reports that once the heart has short-circuited and is in the unstable rhythm known as ventricular fibrillation (v-fib for short), the patient has approximately six minutes to live unless the heart is shocked back into stable rhythm. Six minutes! So, if you’re planning on having a heart attack, make sure you’re not in Detroit when it happens.

Of course no one plans to have a heart attack, or any other serious injury or condition. But if you live in Detroit, you’d better start planning your own 9-1-1 hierarchy, consisting of family, friends, or neighbors who can come to your rescue. Citizens joke about the odds of an ambulance appearing quickly, if at all. With an amassed $18 billion dollar debt and Chapter 9 filing, residents have said that the city is past being a city – it’s just plain gone.

For Priority 1 calls, situations that require immediate attention, Detroit’s police department averaged a 58-minute response time in 2013, and only 10 to 14 of the city’s 36 ambulances were in service. It’s no wonder citizens have taken it upon themselves to find their own way to the hospital. With abandoned firehouses, vacant streets, and certain neighborhoods in Detroit continuously making the infamous most dangerous neighborhoods in America list, people simply know better than to rely on 9-1-1. One man stated, “If you have a heart attack, you’re dead. There is no such thing around here as ‘in case of emergency.’ ”

Well, after that brief and rather scary tour of 9-1-1, what’s the moral of the story? It depends on how things shake out in your neck of the woods. The advent of 9-1-1 has most certainly saved more lives than anyone could count; however, no matter how successful your city’s emergency services department is, it never hurts to have your own contingency plan, especially during citywide emergencies. And if you live in a place that has a rotten track record, you might want to think twice before dialing 9-1-1 in the event of an emergency. It could get you killed.

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