We all know the feeling of frustration when we’re placed on hold. That dreadful music on a loop, being randomly cut off and that rush of hope when it cuts to the automated voice (leaving us feeling quickly deflated when we realise no, it’s not the live agent coming back on the call and telling us they’ve dealt with our enquiry some 25 minutes after being placed on hold... it is in fact that bot again telling us we’re now number five in the queue, or something equally pain-staking). The sad truth is, you’ll relate to the above scenarios (alright, one was a tad exaggerated) because we have all been there. Being on hold is not fun. But this week, PromptVoice shared news that they’ve found a way to make being on hold as non-stressful as it can be.
The company has launched a new product allowing end users self-service access to a range of interactive voice response (IVR) audio. PromptVoice Portal lets users choose from free music playlists, over 10,000 marketing message templates and professional voice recordings. The portal also allows users to record bespoke messages, with access to both professional voice artists and text-to-speech characters.
Anthony Buxton, PromptVoice CEO, said: “PromptVoice Portal is the perfect Channel solution to complement existing voice services. The straightforward integration and onboarding processes, combined with the intuitive self-serve approach and Freemium pricing model, means the service requires minimal interaction from resellers to generate healthy recurring margins.
“We’re really excited to work with our Channel partners to help them secure new revenue streams and deliver better solutions for their customers.”
The idea is fantastic for two reasons. The first is that it allows users to have an element of control over their hold time. Secondly, it provides an experience for customers. That dead period while they wait on hold now has the ability to become something fun and productive, taking the misery out of it.
But not just that, it’s great for the employee experience too, a topic we’re hearing so much more about since lockdown ended. Stress levels and anxieties from having to speak to a customer that has been waiting in a queue or on hold for some time could be dramatically reduced thanks to this solution. This will also prompt employee job satisfaction to increase as well as customer satisfaction.
My question is how long before other companies follow suit to create a positive experience from hold times? And whether PromptVoice will have any competition on their hands later this year.
