I just read a post in the Call Centre Helper from July that does an excellent job illustrating the problem of what Mark Angel, CTO of KANA (recently acquired by Accel-KKR LLC), calls the "two-fingered salute". For the uninitiated, this salute is the practice of using ALT+TAB to switch from one application to another (and another and another) because the customer support system is a hodgepodge of non-integrated (and likely non-integratable) applications that all do a different part of the customer support documentation.

This practice is still prevalent for those companies that have not implemented a customer support management solution that will do all of those actions within a single application. This business of ALT+TABbing back and forth is a frustrating, time wasting activity that can not only end up costing customer satisfaction points but also employee retention. Why make things so difficult for that one person who interacts with a company's biggest (and really only) asset - the customer?

Well, much of it probably occurred over time as different applications were licensed for managing specific types of data. After awhile the system started to look like those old fashioned furnaces with all those air ducts running off in different directions, creating an impression of a metal octopus.

Or, the company created the mishmash by dealing with several different vendors for the varying parts of the solution in an effort to save money. Maybe nobody knew exactly what they were looking for but just knew they had to have it. Yesterday.

Mr. Angel's article gives a good summary of what should be done about this ALT+TABitis. It all comes down to mapping the process, streamlining it, making sure all the different areas are playing nicely and then get them a sandbox that will give each area what it needs while making sure every area can interact with the others in one, easy to use package. Ahhhh....Customer Support Nirvana.

In my estimation, those people who answer the phones all day, answering question after question, troubleshooting their little hearts out, empathizing with irate customers, deserve to have an application that won't give them (and consequently the customer) fits. Justifying the cost of such a system is easily done by determining just how much money is going out the window due to lost patronage, inefficiency, and the expense of replacing customers as well as agents.  

First determine what exactly it is the software should do. And make very sure the customer support center is in on it. After all, who knows the process and the customers better? When all the requirements are in place, then go shopping for the perfect gift for those agents who only want to help people. 

It will be the gift that keeps on giving because the company will benefit through retention of customers and employees.

Happy Company Survival Day.

(Yes, I just made that up.)

For more information on determining the process and deciding on the solution, you are welcome to read our white paper, "Hone Your Customer Support Desk Tool" on our website under Resources.