Maintaining consistent service when your team is divided | PCI Telecom

As the upheaval of lockdown begins to diminish, many businesses are turning their attention towards the re-occupancy of offices and what the post-Covid-19 ‘normal’ looks like for their business operations. With social distancing measures still in place for the time being, it appears unlikely that there will be a return to full office capacity any time soon and as a result, many businesses are exploring ways to manage the split between workers based in the office while others continue to work from home.

As facilities and building managers grapple with the issue of social distancing, managers of customer-facing functions are wondering how they can best deliver a consistent customer service when their teams are spread across multiple locations. Here are some suggestions of things that can help during these topsy-turvy times.

Ensure customer-facing staff are equipped and informed

Frontline staff, the faces and voices of your organisation, are core to your brand’s identity and its reputation. Managing calls competently and efficiently offers valuable reassurance to the customer that your service is reliable and that transactions are being processed responsibly. To do this, your teams need to be equipped with the tools and information to do their job in the best way possible, whether that be telecoms equipment or remote access to cloud-based software.

In addition, creating and implementing clear, company-wide policies for dealing with customer calls and processing card-not-present payments are essential to the delivery of a consistent service across the board and to maintain a secure environment for transactions to take place, regardless of where your team members are based. This includes guidance on cyber security, particularly for those working remotely, as well as rules on firewalls and multifactor authentication. This will help staff to recognise the importance of their role in the delivery of high-quality service and understand the impact this has on reassuring customers and the long-term success of the business.

Facilitate omni-channel payment methods

Catering for a broader spectrum of payment preferences, across multiple platforms, brings obvious benefits in terms of reaching more customers. It also means that you aren’t completely reliant on just one channel or team for payments to be processed – extremely useful during periods of disruption. Concerns about the availability of staff to handle incoming sales calls can be easily managed with the installation of an IVR solution, providing an automated option that directs callers to exactly the service they need. Similarly, offering online payments via the website or a webchat function, adds another access point to your services for customers who may not have the time to call.

There are many advantages to choosing a single provider for your omni-channel payment processing including the simplification of back end systems such as accounting and reconciliation as well as improved all-in-one sales reporting, giving you a better understanding of customer behaviours and improving your ability to plan effective sales and marketing strategies.

How we can help

PCI Telecom offers a range of cardholder-not-present payment solutions that help equip your staff with the tools they need to offer a consistently seamless service, whichever channel is being used to pay. Our solutions are reliable, easy to use and secure – accredited to a PCI DSS Level 1 standard – so you can focus on the delivery of products and services while leaving the payment processing to us. Here’s how they can work for you during this time:

Our PCI Agent over-the-phone payment solution enables callers to stay on the line to a member of staff – whether that person be located in the office or at their kitchen table – and input their card details via their phone keypad. The member of staff, logged into our cloud-based card processing system, is at no point able to see the card details and the transaction is swift and seamless.

Our flexible Auto IVR solution easily integrates with your existing phone network and enables customers to select automated options to reach the service they need AND make payments securely by inputting the details via their phone keypad.

During a live chat, web chat, SMS or social media engagement, our PCI WebChat solution can be used to generate a unique and secure payment URL link that is sent to the customer, into which they enter their card details. The PCI Webchat function remains open to the agent and customer so they can continue to ‘chat’ during the process but card details are at no point made visible to anyone other than the customer.

Similarly, our PCI Paylink generates a unique and secure URL that is emailed to the customer for completion with their card details. With full encryption, the payment is then processed, at no time revealing the card details to a member of staff.

Our solutions are created on a bespoke basis, either individually or as part of an omni-channel suite of payment options, that work to meet the needs of your business, helping you to maintain a consistently high standard of service and a safe and secure transaction environment. For more information visit our Solutions page or get in touch to talk through your requirements.