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Customer support plays a key role in the company life. As a rule, the first customer contact with a company is a phone contact. It gives primary impression about the company. The customer telephone service quality shows the company to advantage.

The Call Center service is a hardware-software solution intended for organization of calls processing centers with IP technology support. It enables to automate the process of telephone calls acceptance and dial-up, improve the customer support quality. Owing to its flexible settings, the Call Center can be integrated with the existing software and databases.

The system kernel contains intellectual Automatic Exchange that enables to organize both telephone installation at the company and automation of the front-office (a group of employees accepting primary incoming calls).

Call Center is connected with the general corporate network, the telecommunication equipment and software installed in the server (computer telephony cards); IP Telephony gates can be installed, if necessary. Customer software is installed in the workstations of operators and supervisors. Company employees who do not refer to the Call Center can be also switched to the system; at this, the workstations shall not be necessarily installed.
 
Call Center incurs the following functions:

1. Voice menu.

The in-built voice reference-information service can service a part of customers who address the company with typical questions. Call Center, without the operator involved, provides information on:

• goods;
• services; 
• current and future planned actions; 
• company location and its trip scheme; 
• order status.
  

A Customer calling during the off-hour time will not hear any long beeps; he/she will be offered to listen to the reference information, leave a voice message or order a counter call; a VIP-Client will be automatically forwarded to the mobile phone of a responsible manager.
Unlike the similar solutions, which have quite sophisticated scripting languages, the scenario of customer support is formed based on the powerful graphics editor. You will find the administration work to be a simple task not requiring expensive education of technical specialists.
The given function makes the company more accessible, more open to the customers, eliminating at the same time a part of work that doesn’t require high qualification of the company employees.
 
2. Call Hold.
 
Call Center enables to hold customers on the line when all employees are busy. The customers’ queue can be priority-based. For example, VIP Clients’s calls can be processed in the first place.
Different options are possible when a customer is in а queue, as follows:

• music hold play;
• estimated waiting time play. In this case the system maintains the statistical records of the average time of the customer support provision;
• launch of the selected voice menu scenario. For example, there can be offered a questionnaire or information on current actions, news etc.
  

If а number of holding customers exceeds the installed value, a supervisor gets a notification on the high likelihood of the calls acceptance center inaccessibility. In this case, supervisors can timely sovle the problem by way of connecting a reserve group of employees.
Each employee’s workstation maintains a controlled panel of customers in queue. A queue of customers enables to minimize customer losses, thus making the company much more accessible.

3. Intellectual Voice Mail.

The given function provides customers with a possibility to leave voice messages addressed to the company on the whole as well as to the personal managers, in particular. A company employee gets a relevant notification as soon as a customer left his/her voice message. The employee can listen to it straight from his own computer or telephone. Should a message be addressed to the whole company, the relevant executive will get a special notification. If a voice message is left by a VIP-customer the system will get in touch with a responsible manager and offer him/her to listen to the message, and when necessary, put him/her through to the customer automatically. At this, the location of the responsible manager does not matter.
 
By using the voice mail functionality it is possible to organize:

• Voice complaint book
• Applicants’ questioning (for HR Department). At listening to the voice messages left by the applicants the HR Department specialist will be able to get more information about the persons rather then after reading through a usual text CV. By this, time losses related to interviewing the incompetent vacancy applicants are reduced to the minimum.
• it is possible to offer the following service in cases when a manager responsible for answering to the customers’ questions does not always have free time: 

                   - a customer asks a question,
                   - a manager answers it when he has free time,
                   - the system saves the answer and delivers it to the customer. There can be different methods of delivery, as follows: answer   delivery by   e-mail, reverse call to the customer reproducing the answer, a customer may call to the company and request the answer to the asked question in automatic mode.

The number and the size of voice mail boxes are NOT RESTRICTED.
Voice mail system can increase the quality of customer support, the employee work performance; can become a part of the company image.

4. Intellectual conversation record.
 
The company can get new possibilities, as follows:

• Available history of relations with counteragents.
• Employee work performance control. 
• Possibility to notify the manager on the important contacts that took place, in order to monitor them and listen through.
  

The manager will get a possibility to listen to the recorded conversations of a specific employee for a desired period, to transfer the needed conversations to the “Selected” Chapter, to give a task on the conversation notification if it was extremely important, as for example, the employee’s conversation with a rival firm. The manager will get a possibility to set up any recording rules, a list of employees to be kept under control, time to switch on the control function and the telephone numbers to be controlled.
 
The system is different from most of the telephone conversation recording systems to advantage. As per existing statistic records, the write-through is not usable due to the following reasons:

• unavailable conversation’s binding to employees and customers,
• a company gets a big number of sound files making it difficult to find a required conversation,
• a security service employee requires much more time to perform a control function.
  

The system has an important, though very sensitive, function of audio-control. Although, the telephone conversation recording system has significant restrictions due to the effective legislation, its proper and efficient management enables to resolve some problems. Currently, there are many systems which have a total write-through of everything happening in the telephone line as their principal and single function. Unlike them, this particular system enables to perform selective recording and structure the recorded files by time, internal line, employee or customer.
 
5. Intellectual route.
 
Intellectual routing of in-coming calls is a connection of a customer with his/her personal manager. There is a possibility of selecting the most competent manager. There is a possibility of the call forward to the mobile phone.

When operating with the intellectual route module, the company will get the following possibilities:

• Customers will be distributed between different personal managers.
• In case of the queue excess over the established size the reserve operator group will be put through. 
• A company employee leaving for a lunch can set a function of the temporary call forward to his deputy employee. 
• Should a personal manager be out of the office when a VIP-person is calling, the call will be forwarded to his/her mobile phone.
• The customers making their first-time calls to the company can be offered to listen to the information on the services procedure.
  

Intellectual routing will enable to avert multiple switches-over between the services and the company employees, improve customer support quality as well as the degree of their loyalty. The company can organize a single entry point for the customers.
There is a possibility to organize any corporate database queries as well as queries addressed to the documents of Excel format.

6. Customer information.

When a customer is calling, the system tries to identify him/her via ANI or a personal customer code. When the customer is identified the system will gather all needed information related to him/her, and will display it on the employee’s monitor.
It is easy to cope with the task of gathering customer information even when the data are distributed through different corporate databases and Excel documents.

When a call is in-coming, the front office employee will be able to record the essence of the customer’s issue. After a call is forwarded to a different employee, the latter will be able to open a card with the issue’s essence, and the whole history of the issue will be obvious. The customer will not need to repeat his explanations as to the essence of his issue.

The given possibility will significantly strengthen the customer managers’ capacity. The customers will get assured of being treated carefully. The cases of non-qualitative customer support by the company employees will get reduced.
 
7. Analytical statistical and security module.

It is the system of reports and diagrams about the originated and received calls in different time contexts, by employees, by call types as well as about the company activity on the whole. A special monitor will enable the supervisor to get the activity and line load pictures in real time mode. Statistical module will provide with the comprehensive reports on the company activity for the indicated period reflecting work dynamics on a daily basis. The needed telephone contact can be always listened through.
 
A powerful filtering mechanism will enable to:

• get statistic records as per the indicated time period,
• make up data selection by long-distance/international calls, 
• track down each employee’s work performance, 
• filter down in-coming or out-coming telephone numbers,
• reject conversations of little duration.
  

The reports are reflected in a convenient graphics view. There is a possibility of exporting to Excel.
The company management will be able to organize more effective control of the company primary channel interaction with market, prevent information leakage, streamline its business process, and avert situations when the customers cannot get in touch with the company.
 
8. Automatic notification.

Automatic notification module enables the company to perform mass information mailing to a big number of counteragents. It will help to win over a maximum number of customers when planning the seminars, exhibitions and other company actions. Though, one should not conceive it as a simple automatic machine that gets through to the customer and reproduces a standard audio-file. When contacting a customer it can also provide personal data about him/her in money terms or in figures. The data can be extracted from the corporate data base. If a customer requires a contact with a “live” company manager the function will easily arrange this task’s execution.

Flexible settings of the automatic notification module will enable to:

• Indicate a time interval for the notifications to be made.
• Occupy the exactly indicated number of lines. Thus, the company will remain always accessible. 
• Perform customer list import from Excel.
• Generate a report on the fulfilled work.
  

It will enable to decrease the work load of company managers, exclude human factor effects, and minimize time costs for routine operations.
 
9. Calls originating and terminating.
 
The system will provide each employee with a convenient interface for receiving and originating calls. The system will resolve all problems related to the telephone number inaccessibility or occupancy. A company employee will be able to make up a list of customers and launch successive dial-up as per the list. A convenient informational panel of employees excludes call forwards to the busy manager. The workstation is a beneficial alternative to the expensive system telephones. Each employee has a possibility to manage accessibility conditions. If an employee is out having lunch the customers will not hear long beeps as the calls will be forwarded to a stand-by manager.
 
The system can manage the work on bringing the typical information to the customer (trip scheme, credit conditions etc.). An employee transfers a call to the desired scenario by making a single click. If necessary, after getting information the customer can continue a dialogue with a company manager.
 
Providing customer information during a call is a beneficial supplement to the operations on receiving and forwarding the calls.
The system saves time of each employee, thus saving your costs. The system always knows the time period of each of your employee’s work and the reasons of his/her work outages.

10. Corporate customer reference book.
 
Mini-CRM comprises a single customer reference book, possibility to categorize by groups, and the search and fast dial-up possibilities. Each employee can get access to the global customer reference book. There is a capacity to maintain a personal reference book. A call can be originated very simple, by making a single mouse click.
 
11. Calls’ rules.

Rules of out-coming calls. Restrictions for long-distance and international calls for the whole company and for individual employees. Any options and rules combinations.

The in-built out-coming calls filtering module will enable to set up restrictions by:

• employees,
• numbers of telephone number masks,
• data and time,call types (internal, inter-city).
  

The number of rules is unrestricted; their combination will satisfy any business needs.
IP Telephony launch will get easier. The launch number and password is possible to be assigned to the internal number. Internal number dial-up for the purpose of the IP Telephone launch will be accessible only for those employees who are provided with the permissive rules.
 
12. Connection in between the offices.
 
Connection availability in between the offices provides for a possibility to link up the territorially remote offices into a single numbering scheme. A call or call forward to the branch office can be made via a simple dial-up of an internal number or by making a single click based on the telephone reference book.

In order to ensure direct connection between the offices it is necessary to have Internet access or corporate data transmission network in place. Office connection, with the help of the Call Center function, will lead to the funds savings, while the security module will enable the managers to control over their department operation.