Working in a call center can be a great way to increase your income while providing valuable services to a company and its customers. With the average call center employee making about $30,000 a year, with the potential to earn more, there are many reasons why you might decide to start working in a call center. If you aren’t sure what to expect from the job, here’s what you should know.
What are call centers for?
There are two different types of call centers: inbound call centers and outbound call centers. While there are a few key differences between each type of call center, both play a role in streamlining operations of a business.
Inbound call centers field communications from customers like returns, orders, and troubleshooting requests. Outbound call centers are more sales-oriented and entail an agent making a call to a customer.
What do call center agents do?
Whether you work in an inbound call center or outbound call center, your job function is generally the same. Using inbound or outbound call center software and other tools like a microphone, you will interact with customers to either make sales or resolve problems. While some call centers operate primarily through voice, many companies are switching to an omnichannel approach to providing customer service.
An omnichannel software solution allows you to interact with customers through a variety of channels like web chat and even SMS messaging. So just because you’ve taken a job in a call center, it doesn’t mean you’ll only be talking on the phone. No matter what tools you’re using, at its heart, your top priority as a call center agent is to provide a great customer experience each and every time.
What is the general process for fielding calls?
Fielding calls in a call center can seem overwhelming at first, but there are a variety of safeguards in place to make answering a customer’s questions as simple and efficient as possible. In an inbound model, you receive a call from a consumer and gather information about the client in order to find them in the system; then, verify that you have access to their customer records. This allows you to provide much more specialized support.
Once you’ve looked the client up, you use a knowledge base to walk the customer through various steps in order to try and resolve their problem. In cases like scheduling a return or issuing a refund, you may have to verify other aspects of their order.
If keeping track of the wide range of interactions you may have has you a bit concerned, don’t fret! It’s important to remember that you will have the resources you need to understand and implement best practices for your business when you speak with a customer. Plus, with modern software solutions, you have powerful tools at your disposal.
The benefits of working in a call center
Although working in a call center may seem straightforward, there are plenty of challenges that await you should you pursue a career in this fast-developing field. In addition to building up your customer service and communication skills — traits which transfer to almost any job — it’s easy to make a competitive wage working in a call center.
This makes becoming a call center agent a great choice for recent graduates or those looking to switch careers and still make a living wage. Some positions even allow you to work remotely if you have the right computer setup and fast internet, making it even easier to get a job as a support agent.
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