Fielding c alls w H ile w or K ing in t He Field

Franchise businesses ignore the importance of good call handling at their peril according to a new “mystery caller” survey that looked at call handling customer service skills.

Despite most delivering overall great customer service, the survey of 60 companies showed room for improvement among franchise businesses, including a mix in performance in terms of the warmth of the greeting, helpfulness, and call handling quality throughout the call. Nearly half of the businesses called defaulted to voicemail, with ten even letting the phone ring until it was disconnected. Over half of the companies received a score of “poor” for their greeting, overall helpfulness, and warmth, with only five of those “shopped” earning “outstanding” marks across the board. When it came to the speed of calls being answered, the bestperforming company answered in less than one ring or five seconds and the worst performing answered in an average of seven rings or 39.89 seconds.

In the case of one franchise owner, Brian Mullins from Critter Control of Akron, having the phones covered for his small crew of five has helped his team utilize their time most effectively in the field. Critter Control Certified Wildlife Specialists provide service to residential, commercial, and municipal customers with permanent solutions to animal pest control problems.

“Letting someone else answer our calls has allowed us to utilize our time most effectively in the field,” said Mullins.

“This has allowed us to not only prioritize customer service, but also our new business development, which has significantly aided our growth and expansion. Having a dedicated receptionist means we can always respond to any hiccups and resolve them quickly.”

Earlier Moneypenny research suggested consumers call when something is really important: 44% do if it was an urgent matter and a 33% if it is a complicated matter. Of those surveyed, 82% said a great call experience is a differentiator for a business. Around a third said a bad experience would have them take their business elsewhere, complain, and spread the word to friends and family – not the words a franchise brand tends to want shared. This can be especially difficult for franchisees who are often leanly staffed small businesses.

Adding members to your team to scale your franchise business can be an expensive prospect. But, when you are too busy to respond to new calls, the first impression you are giving may not be the one your business deserves. While no one expects a customer service representative to be available at midnight, a lot of people do their searching in the evenings, and if someone is there to take a person’s call at