The Superior Propane contact centers responsible for processing customer calls, emails, faxes and inquiries from their web portal mySUPERIOR™ wanted to improve customer retention and reduce average handle times (AHT). And leaders knew they needed to quickly gain a comprehensive understanding of current processes in order to make improvements. That’s when Superior Propane put Calabrio into action.

First, to help improve their retention rate, they identified the key terms used by customers on a day-to-day basis–terms like “I’m switching suppliers” or “propane prices.” They then grouped the terms and identified ways they could take the customer experience from good to great. Areas identified for improvement included service barriers, scheduling, cancellations, competitive switches and discontinuity between calls.

When it came to understanding AHT, Calabrio desktop analytics revealed three areas for improvement:

• Log templates intended to be completed through a live call were too labor intensive
• In some cases, after-call work was completed when time would be better spent on higher priority tasks
• Some agents were using systems or tools that impeded productivity

Within the first three months, Superior Propane’s frontline staff significantly improved first contact resolution. Customers are now connected directly with Customer Care agents trained and authorized to implement customer retention tactics. In addition, new hires are meeting required AHT much more quickly–within weeks as opposed to months of being on the phones, managing customer inquiries.