Virtual Is Its Own Reward
Office Depot puts phone centers online to save money
OFFICE SUPPLIES GIANT Office Depot is putting its customer interaction centers online to boost teleservices productivity and save money.
The company’s automated customer service system, created by Boca Raton, FL-based voice-commerce firm NetByTel Inc., saves Office Depot a bundle. It typically costs the firm $4 or more for a live CS representative to answer an inbound call. An electronically handled request is estimated to cost as much as 87% less.
Office Depot is reportedly one of the first DMers to employ human reps with an automated system that takes orders and even does a little upselling.
About a year ago the chain began consolidating its teleservices operations and converting former call centers into customer interaction facilities that manage teleservices and e-mail customer contacts. The firm upgraded its telemarketing workstations, giving representatives who answer inbound calls online access to buyers’ orders and transactional data generated by the company’s Web site (www.officedepot.com) and electronic cash registers at its stores.
Telephone inquiries generated by catalog mailings and the Web site are proportionately routed to company-owned customer interaction centers in Florida, Georgia and California based on the selected CSR’s area of product specialization.
Calls from individuals opting to use the automated system are routed to NetByTel. Office Depot pays the firm a flat fee per transaction.
Ken Jackowitz, vice president of business operations for Office Depot, says few businesses are willing to make the capital investment for speech recognition programs.
