PaybyPhone Inc., a client of ICON Communication Centres, provides payment solutions for car park operators and cities around the world by facilitating payment via phone, web, and mobile application for their parking customers. ICON provides customer service via phone to customers with questions or customers having trouble navigating the payment system. ICON implemented a new interactive voice recording (IVR) solution as a means to guide PaybyPhone’s global customer base to self-service and self-resolution without the need for agent interaction. The technology was precisely implemented to cover those issues that were – occurring most frequently took the most time to resolve could actually be handled by the technology.

Prior to deployment ICON made deep analyses of PaybyPhone’s existing customer activity. They mapped absolutely every customer inquiry, determining at which endpoints they could be resolved. ICON highlighted which inquiries drove the most value by not engaging in an open discussion with the customer. ICON revealed which issues took the greatest amount of time to be resolved by colleagues, not just in the volume of calls but also in the time spent managing them. ICON cross-referenced the amount of time it takes to manage a customer versus what can be explained to customers via IVR without knowing additional information or conversation. The solution was produced entirely in-house by ICON and included – identifying all the issues customers had that drove them to call PaybyPhone for support design mapping of the customer journey from solution to resolution voice recordings by multilingual colleagues The solution was deployed using the 8×8 ‘EasyContactNow’ VOIP platform.

Objectives

ICON set out to identify all PaybyPhone’s customer service issues and focused on the quickest way to move the customer to the specific resolution. 1 of 3 The key objectives for deployment of the IVR were –

– to increase service quality
– to increase operational efficiency
– to increase customer satisfaction
– to reduce operating costs

Immediate Quantifiable Benefits

1. Calls handled by colleagues decreased by 31%.
2. Call length was reduced by 14%.
3. Total client costs reduced by an incredible 40%.

Customer Experience

Call waiting times were reduced and customers needed to spend less time on the phone and in most cases they are able to achieve an immediate resolution for their issue. Customers received clear instructions on the next steps they needed to resolve their issue.

Colleague Experience

The most frequent issues PaybyPhone customers had no longer required interaction with the customer service colleagues. Customers could be prepared by the IVR to provide the necessary information to a colleague before they were even in touch with them.

Operational Effectiveness

The IVR generated vital data the client did not previously have access to, such as statistical breakdowns of the operational activities generated by customers. There is now a thorough identification of all the customer service issues that prompt car park users to contact PaybyPhone. Implementation of the IVR meant that ICON could provide them with a thorough analysis of the specific tier 1, tier 2, and tier 3 dispositions of customers. There has been a massive reduction in the time colleagues spend on the phone with customers, which in turn increased their capacity to service customers in terms of sheer numbers. A higher number of issues are now resolved faster.

Summary

The ICON team took the lead and positioned themselves as true business consultants for their client by recognising how they could improve PaybyPhone’s customer service offering while driving valuable customer service data for their global business model. After initial success, ICON was made responsible for the deployment of the IVR in other global markets also. They proved to the client how a simple technology can reap strong operational rewards with respect to cost, deployment of resources, and data. PaybyPhone now has a more impressive customer service offering that is scalable, cost efficient, and easily pivoted as customer needs change. The client’s brand is now far more robust and ready for future challenges.

AI and chatbots are at the cutting edge of contact centre and communication technology, neither of these could provide the solution that was right for PaybyPhone. It is important not to get carried away with new technology at the expense of what proven solutions can offer in real-time and ease of use for the customer … and a 40% reduction in costs to the client!