Workforce Management Featured Article
Israel Doesn't Want Customers Left Waiting
We all know that consumers are becoming increasingly impatient. Most of us also understand that the telecommunications industry has traditionally been a highly regulated industry, at least in the U.S. But did you also know that new Israel Ministry of Communications requirements deem communications companies can’t keep callers waiting for customer service longer than six minutes?
It’s true, according to this Globes report. It relates to callers seeking to get bill clarification, end an agreement, and repair malfunction. And it applies to Bezeq (News - Alert), Hot Telecom, internet access providers, mobile phone companies, and unified communications outfits with more than 20,000 private subscribers.
“These measures reflect a more stringent policy than the three-minute waiting time law, which is also binding on communications companies,” Globes explains. “While the law allows companies to offer callers the option of leaving a message to which the companies' representatives are obligated to respond within a defined time, the new measures now mandate a human response to a call with a relevant professional without recording a message and responding later.”
The same story reports that the Israeli regulatory body also bars telcos from using answering services to record caller messages asking for service. And it says the Ministry of Communications is encouraging telcos to create answer menus that are based on best practices.
"This measure will facilitate a response to an acute problem with which every one of us is very familiar - prolonged waiting for a human professional response for getting service from the communications companies,” said Minister of Communications Ayoob Kara. “With the implementation of the measures, it is expected that the response will be rapid, professional, and effective, and will put an end to the feelings of helplessness and disappointment felt by many consumers."
This will prompt some communications providers that do business in Israel to reassess their resources. That may include implementing and optimizing their workforce management systems and practices.
Service providers have up to 10 months to implement the new measures. And the Ministry of Communications will test the responses over two weeks.
Edited by Maurice Nagle