We deal with a lot of buzzwords and phrases that saturate the customer service industry, some of which have become a little bit tired. One in particular that we really detest here at Fonolo is “Delight your customer”. Personally, when I hear that phrase, I experience a range of emotions. It seems to be healthy balance between shock (Why in the world would one use that phrase?) and sheer irritation (sort of akin to nails on a chalkboard!).
But, hey, who am I to judge? These things are all just a matter of opinion, right? We all have go-to vocabulary that we either love or loathe. Still, there are two words in particular that I feel everyone should pay attention to. These words hold true sustenance and can dramatically impact the success of your contact center team: customer care and customer satisfaction. The problem is that some companies, while familiar with these terms, really don’t connect with them on a deeper level. How you attend to your customers’ happiness levels and overall satisfaction requires critical thinking.
Let’s spend some time deciphering what these words mean and why they should be top of mind.
![How to Successfully Handle Call Volume During Peak Times [Webinar]](https://fonolo.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/How-to-Successfully-Handle-Call-Volume-During-Peak-Times-Webinar.jpg "How to Successfully Handle Call Volume During Peak Times [Webinar]")
A live human conversation is a powerful thing. Despite all the innovation in the world of customer service, studies keep showing us that there is an enduring appeal to phone calls. That’s not to say we should be complacent about how we deliver that phone call experience. Call centers should strive to remove as much friction as possible from the process of connecting callers with agents. That’s where call-backs come in. The simple act of replacing hold time with a call-back could be the missing piece in boosting your call center’s performance.
Motivation is the key to accelerating whatever it is you’re looking to improve or optimize. But, motivation doesn’t necessarily come naturally to most people. Whether it’s a personal or professional goal, like trying to lose weight, organize your garage, or exceed sales targets, motivation is a tough nut to crack. 
Whether it’s a bad date, a bland meal, or a mean comment on social media, negative experiences tend to stand out in people’s minds; nearly to the point of entirely clouding out any of the good. This phenomenon is especially exacerbated when it comes to a negative experience with customer service. 
They say the key to any healthy human relationship is effective communication. This principle also applies to the relationship between a customer and a customer service or sales representative. 
In a society becoming increasingly obsessed with text messages, DMs, and emojis, it turns out that authentic, real-time human interaction through phone calls is still the preferred way to deliver optimal customer service. Here are some key reasons why it’s critical to maintain an effective real-time call center strategy to ensure lasting customer satisfaction, retention, loyalty.
The call center experience is under great scrutiny from today’s consumers. There are many ways to fall short of their expectations. One surefire way of doing so is to put callers on hold. Tolerance for long wait times has been getting lower and lower. If the wait is longer than a few minutes, callers will complain to your agents (leading to longer handle times) and they will vent on social media (see 
A poor customer experience is something no company can afford to take lightly. Especially since 
