You know what it feels like when all you want to do is book a table somewhere and you can’t get through. Whether first-timers or restaurant regulars, your customers feel the same.
When customer patience is tested through a lack of response from the receiving line, callers tend to look elsewhere for their service — usually with competitors. In fact, 85% of people whose calls aren’t answered will not call back. In the hospitality space, this can mean big money.
Could team communication technology hold the key to better call management, improved response rates, and happier customers? Across Europe, hospitality chains are saying yes.
How missed calls are resulting in missed revenue
Leaving customers without an answer can be profit-damaging, and many businesses of different sizes and industries are guilty of missing telephone calls. Whether it’s a lack of staff employees located near a handset, background noise cancellation drowning out the call, or because staff employees are simply too busy to pick up, customers are left hanging up in frustration and over half begin to seek alternative, competitor services.
Whether you think one or two missed telephone calls a day aren’t going to be a sufficient loss, over time, these numbers will begin to affect your revenue stream.
The average UK company loses £12,000 a year due to missed calls. Across the UK, that amounts to a combined total of £30 billion.
This is no exception for hospitality businesses and restaurants who rely on incoming calls on a daily basis in order to fill up their establishment. From customers booking a table, and allergy advice, to opening time queries and product information, telecommunication within the hospitality industry remains a key source of communication between customer and staff employees.
How communication technology helps increase bookings
The applications for today’s team communication technology extend well beyond improved team communication in the workplace. As the hospitality industry is discovering, the same technology that is bringing their team closer can also be used to increase telephone efficiency, reduce call response time, and improve that all-important customer satisfaction.
When equipped with a call handling function, headset solutions not only enhance communication across the team but means any staff employee can accept a phone call wherever they are in the store, at the touch of a button.
Our headsets are also linked with rugged handsets that can be placed around any part of the store. A loudspeaker mode plays a clear and communicative tone when an incoming call is received, making call notifications easier to hear even in busy hospitality environments.
An alternative to these handsets also exists in the form of telephony integration that can connect your current phone system with the headsets. Incoming calls can then be directed through an auto-attendant. The multiple-communication function also enables users to speak to different people at once, particularly useful if a customer has a booking or allergy query that the user needs further help answering. This not only improves efficiency but also saves staff employees from having to carry around multiple devices.
Could team communication solutions answer your phone problems?
Paying lip service to customer service is no longer good enough. Picking up a call might not sound like much, but with 59% of customers preferring to call for a quick answer, and customer experience forming the basis of consumer expectations, it’s important you answer your telecommunication needs head-on.
By implementing team communication solutions available today, you’re ensuring your business never misses an incoming call and staff employees are always on hand to help. Across a chain, these solutions can be implemented to develop a consistently high standard of service, increased booking rates, and communication your customers are sure to love.