Category: Customer Service

You don’t have to be a neurosurgeon to see the connection between good customer service and patient retention. Anyone who has ever called a hospital to seek medical assistance, select a doctor, question a claim, or change an appointment can appreciate it when they are treated like their call matters. If the assistant was pleasant, informative and resolved the issue promptly, you may have even been impressed with the level of service you received – and were more likely to stick with that provider.

Healthcare providers are catching on that relationships with the public need to be nurtured in order to be retained. A proven, high-quality, remote call center can accomplish that for a number of reasons, lowering healthcare providers’ cost per call in the process.

The Stakes Are Higher in Healthcare – And Remote Customer Service Can Lower Them

Those who rely too heavily on the quality of the practitioners at their organization for patient satisfaction are missing an important element of medical care in the twenty-first century. Patient care doesn’t start in the doctor’s office or on the operating table. It begins well before then, when folks first contact what can be a highly complex system of multiple departments that are not always in the same location.

Only a customer service organization such as Lighthouse Enterprises that has extensive experience managing communications for these types of organizations can mitigate the unique challenges they face every day.

Poor Customer Service Leads Patients to Switch Healthcare Providers

Healthcare is one of the country’s biggest industries, yet some providers learn the hard way that how their customers feel treated can and does cost them real business. The top reasons this occurs? “Ease of navigation,” says one study. Nearly 80% of folks who have replaced a provider pointed to this fact. The reasons varied, but the problem still boiled down to some form of communication issue they experienced first-hand. The top three reasons they took off:

1. Patients found the healthcare provider’s system too hard to navigate.
2. They had a negative experience with administration.
3. They were not able to get assistance from home when they needed it.

What keeps patients? Naturally, the quality of care they receive from doctors and medical specialists. But also, the healthcare provider’s ability to communicate in a manner that is helpful, timely and respectful at all points of contact throughout their journey.

One Inbound Call Center Can Consolidate Departments, Handle Scheduling & Billing, Lower Your Cost Per Call

Even though routine appointments can now be scheduled online, hospitals would be mistaken to underestimate the extent to which people still rely on phone calls. Imagine the number of times someone will have to contact your system to resolve something as common as a broken bone:

1. First, to schedule a doctor visit.
2. Next, make an imaging appointment.
3. There will be multiple follow-ups.
4. Patients will be dealing with unfamiliar physicians.
5. They will have questions about unknown locations, who they can see, and what to expect next.
6. Billing can introduce a whole new set of concerns.
7. Questions about insurance coverage may also come up.

Considering the physical discomfort that callers may be experiencing, there is nothing comparable to this level of communication in the business world. It’s common for callers to be worried about getting on a payment plan to manage their bills while also recovering from an unexpected injury or illness. The right inbound call center can handle all of the goals above by consolidating departments, streamlining communication systems within the hospital, and handling callers’ emotional needs, as well.

Lighthouse Enterprises Inbound Call Center Helps You Retain Patients, Operate More Efficiently

If you want to take concrete action to improve communication between your healthcare organization, patients, and other members of the public, one of the most cost-effective ways to do so is by outsourcing your needs to a multi-channel call center. At Lighthouse Enterprises, our team of highly trained agents has a reputation for responding to every query accurately and promptly. We take pride in our exceptional retention rate, which has helped large hospital systems retain patients for decades.

Contact Lighthouse Enterprises for more on how our inbound call center services can help you improve patient retention today.

It’s been a big year for customer service thanks to job growth, new and innovative technologies, and increasing demands for improved interactions with service reps. Customer-facing organizations are wise to use the early days of autumn to lay the groundwork for what’s to come. After all, about a quarter of all sales are typically made in the period from October to December. And it’s not just retail that usually sees a boost in action around the holiday season.

1. Preparing Customer Service Reps for Boosts in Calls

As the end of the year approaches, there is reason to expect a few more callers a day – and to prepare to handle their requests accordingly. But too many organizations start filling their call centers with unqualified or insufficiently trained agents in November, not understanding that a poor call experience is all it takes to chase consumers to your competitors. That’s why more strategy is going into how to troubleshoot problems during the ebbs and flows of calls this year.

2. Use of Remote Call Centers to Access Services

Remote call centers are becoming more attractive to organizations that struggle to handle their customer service in-house at peak hours. New technologies and a diversity of solutions are making it easier to streamline modern call center models so that the same level of service can be handled by an outsider than in previous years.

3. Holiday Customer Service Preparation Focusing on Quality, Not Just Quantity

Companies need to do more than hire additional staff to handle larger call loads. They need to identify when calls precisely when calls will come in and ensure they can access the necessary information to address customers’ needs with quality service. They are finding more streamlined ways to scale their communications services – often by keeping a minimum of staff on site while hiring professionals who are experts at resolving conflicts and diffusing high-stress situations with callers.

4. Plans for End-of-Year Healthcare Industry Spikes in Callers

Retailers aren’t the only ones that deal with ebbs and flows throughout the year. Healthcare is one of the most call-intensive industries around. This is because patients under plans such as Medicare typically have until the end of the year to file their claims. Healthcare companies will need to prepare for the rush from consumers wanting to file claims, schedule last-minute appointments, and handle other medical issues.

5. Flexible, Cost-Effective Ways to Manage Staffing Fluctuations

One of the smartest moves that growing businesses are making is finding more flexible ways to manage the unpredictable nature of their communications needs. Companies that aren’t flexible in their approach to staffing will find they risk either wasting resources or losing out on important transactions. Therefore, they are relying on custom reporting that will allow them to adjust in real time, supported by outsourced IT help and a pricing model that won’t stick them with extra fees or superfluous services.

6. Increased Training of Service Industry/Call Center Agents

As more organizations outsource some or all of their customer service calls, they also have more options at their disposal. This puts more onus on the company to research their options before settling into any new partnerships. One area they will be taking a closer look at is the training practices of remote customer service providers. That will enable them to explore the ongoing education provided by places like Lighthouse Enterprises as a key factor in creating new customers and building brand loyalty.

7. Streamlined Processes to Reduce Redundancies and Conserve Resources

Whether through call centers or staffing agencies, communications services are helpful in implementing new strategies. But organizations are also reconsidering their in-house processes and looking for ways to eliminate redundancy and inefficiencies – for example, ensuring departments use the same processes to schedule appointments, manage calls and clear payments.

8. Determining Whether AI Is Helping or Hurting Business

Companies are experimenting with AI and other alternative platforms, and that’s a good thing. But as the hype dims and reality sets in, they are also approaching AI solutions with some skepticism, particularly as it becomes increasingly clear that customers miss being helped by real humans on the other end of the line.

Lighthouse Enterprises Provides Flexible Customer Service Solution

Lighthouse Enterprises is an independently run nonprofit that provides remote contact center services to prominent healthcare companies and other large organizations. Our team of exceptional call center agents are well-trained to handle the communication needs in a variety of industries. Why are our scalable solutions so helpful this time of year?

• A better rate of billing resolutions
• Ability to schedule appointments and reminders no matter where you are
• Can verify and register patients promptly, without transferring calls
• Available 24/7

Worried about turnover? Our productive workplace and availability of tools and training all lead to unusually low turnover rates.

Contact Lighthouse Enterprises to start planning your end-of-year customer service needs!

Want to build a reputation for providing outstanding customer service? One helpful strategy is to find out what others are doing wrong and learn from their mistakes. After all, good customer service is available to anyone who needs it, no matter where they are.

But poor or lacking call services can quickly damage an otherwise successful brand that provides value in its industry.

Mistake #1: Refusing to Take Customers’ Needs Seriously

Remember when Amazon penalized a customer who inadvertently ordered an item that resulted in a more than $7,000 delivery charge? Well, a lot of people do, since it made national news. The company worked to rectify the problem, but the story still lives in infamy. And most businesses don’t have the resources of Amazon to rebound from such a mistake.

Never forget how easy it is for a solid reputation to be damaged by one negative experience with a customer representative. Customers have long memories when it comes to negative interactions with businesses – as well as positive ones. Companies that understand this and may not have the bandwidth to handle their customer service needs will instead partner with a center known for its exceptional training in this area.

Mistake #2: Endless Call Waiting – Taking Too Long to Respond to an Inbound Call

You don’t need to guess how much customers hate being on hold endlessly. Multiple studies show that being on hold is a particular pet peeve for American consumers. This is how long various groups of respondents have said they will wait on the other end:

• About 4% – as long as it takes
• Less than 28% said one minute
• About a third refuse to wait

In short, certain organizations are simply better off outsourcing their communication needs to a call center that can handle the ebb and flow of their inbound calls. The beauty of this hybrid system is that the service can handle spillover calls – including at off hours when call volumes are unpredictable or your office is closed.

Mistake #3: Failing to Invest in Call Center Services That Hire Exceptional Agents

A University of Chicago professor of operations management who has studied call service models noticed an all-too-common mistake among companies: investing millions of dollars in new products and services without a call center set up sufficiently to manage the ensuing customer response.

The success of all of the things you’ve invested in will be closely tied to public perception and the consumer’s experience with your brand. People can benefit from a broad range of benefits that can be handled by a highly qualified team of remote agents:

1. Fast response to questions and concerns
2. An empathetic voice on the other end
3. An agent trained to give callers the information they need
4. Reps who will go above and beyond to get answers
5. Workers who know what follow-up questions to ask

Customer Service Solutions: How a Remote Call Center Saves Businesses Time, Money and Resources

Lighthouse Enterprises hires from a community of passionate professionals who take pride in the excellent customer service solutions they provide. Having created an excellent work environment with ongoing training for all of our agents, we can also boast a historically low turnover rate.

How did we build such a good reputation in the communities we serve? By providing a range of services successfully for decades. Our areas of expertise include but are not limited to:

• Billing and payment assistance
• Appointment scheduling and reminders
• Registration and verification
• 24/7 customer support
• Medical hotlines and triage

Best of all, our customer service solutions can be tailored to whatever the client’s needs are so you only pay for what you truly require.

Contact Lighthouse Enterprises to start addressing your gaps in customer service and getting superior inbound and outbound call services today!

Want to improve your quality of customer service, raise your call resolution rates and operate more efficiently? Leveraging advanced technology is one of the smartest ways that customer service organizations can bring clients these types of results.

At Lighthouse Enterprises, a range of unique advanced technology helps visually impaired call center agents do their jobs better and quicker than the competition. One way is by partnering with other organizations on the cutting edge of assistive technology. Lighthouse has even helped test new devices for the blind that eventually reach the general market. The latest methods are helping customer service groups handle routine tasks in a variety of areas:

• Retail
• Customer Care
• Call Centers
• Shipping Centers
• Remote Workers at Home

Supporting Blind and Disabled with More Efficient Communication Services

Businesses that field a large number of inbound and outbound calls are always on the lookout for ways to do things better and get callers the answers they need. To fill a void in care for the blind and vision-impaired, Lighthouse Enterprises was created both to provide highly efficient remote call centers, as well as to provide employment and services for the visually impaired. It’s proven to be a win-win. Companies are finding success by using off-site services staffed by Lighthouse workers who can take some or all of the call load off their hands.

And technology is playing a major role in this trend.

Things Move Faster with New, Advanced Communication Technology

Lighthouse is able to produce results and keep clients happy by staying at the forefront of web accessibility standards with the latest technology. Groundbreaking research has helped level the playing field and created a whole new crop of exceptional communications professionals in the process. Agents are finding they can manage even the most intricate workflows through inclusive programs that aid communications for folks who are blind, visually impaired, and disabled.

One AI device that workers are using was named one of the best new inventions of the year by Time Magazine. It is essentially a smart camera that can be attached to a pair of glasses. Using both facial and character recognition software, it helps users read as quickly as someone with no visual impairment. It can be used to scan barcodes in shipping as well as information on a computer screen. Known as MyEye 2, this relatively new technology has revolutionized the communications industry by making day-to-day tasks more efficient and opening these positions to highly talented and dedicated communications workers.

Hiring Blind Workers Using the Latest Developments in Assistive Devices

An established remote call center services provider, Lighthouse views itself as a place for reinvention as well as a premiere provider of excellent customer service solutions. Because the organization primarily hires blind people to fill customer service roles, it also boosts the capabilities of visually impaired employees through technology and ongoing research.

Assistive technologies can include anything that enables customer service agents to do their jobs as well as possible. They get access to products, systems, and other adapted materials designed to support and assist workers with disabilities. That may also include people with restricted mobility or other challenges to perform functions in the workplace.

How Our Research Helps Us Produce New Assistive Technology

One experimental device called BrainPort connects visual technology with the tongue of the individual using it to project information to the brain through electrical stimulation. Scans have shown that the device has the power to activate the visual part of the brain of the person using it. Using research from Lighthouse, the data being gathered is being used by engineers to evaluate and improve the technology.

Ongoing Customer Service Training Is Key to Business Success

Cutting edge technology is only as good as the training workers receive in it. Call centers that produce the best results and save you money need to have strong programming and support for their agents in a number of areas. That’s why Lighthouse provides a high quality of:

1. Hiring
2. Training
3. Ongoing Education
4. Client Relationships
5. Supportive company culture

All of those factors reduce support staff turnover and result in uniquely high retention rates.

Lighthouse Produces the Best Customer Service Outcomes for Its Clients

Through our customized approach to customer support services, the remote call center at Lighthouse Enterprises can help any organization with a high volume of calls operate more efficiently. Being flexible means you get just what you need.

Contact Lighthouse Enterprises to get help with your customer service solutions today.

A healthy company/customer relationship contains many ingredients of any human relationship. That’s why replacing customer service reps with ChatGPT or an “Interactive voice response” (AVR) system – while sometimes necessary – has one big blind spot. Customers would rather deal with a real person. According to an eMarketer survey, four out of five respondents prefer to connect directly to a human customer service agent over any kind of “automated chatbot or other automated call-responding service.”

From appointment scheduling to payment processing, the fact is that people like talking to other real people. There are many reasons for this, all of which should matter to you, and some of which can have a real impact on your bottom line.

Call Center Agents Are Better at Communication Jobs

Good communication has a direct effect on the quality of service your company can provide. What organizations that use in-house or remote call centers realize is that every conversation is a little different. Someone with contact center expertise may tailor their responses to the particular question, concern and flow of a conversation. A human can make on-the-spot recommendations and suggestions. What’s more, they are able to use their own judgment to gauge the situation and recognize if a customer is disgruntled or struggling to communicate their needs.

In short, agents can be trained to recommend suggestions that will take the conversation where it needs to go.

Humans Use Communication & Empathy Techniques to Create Positive Impressions of Services Provided

A real person with the proper expertise will know how to use a range of communication techniques that engage customers. Phrases that create a sense of human connection are shown to be effective in leading people to perceive the service provided in a more positive way.

One reason words and phrases that convey empathy and understanding create more satisfied customers is because they believe the person on the other end of the line truly cares about addressing their needs. For a closer look at why, Oakland PD’s communication training explains five ways that good verbal techniques help customers feel heard and seen:

1. Empathy is used to communicate that the agent understands their situation.
2. Showing you understand their emotions helps build trust with customers.
3. Customers appreciate reassurance that their issue will be resolved.
4. Customer service staff can limit distractions to focus only on the call at hand.
5. Agents use certain positive statements to show agreement with the customer’s position.

Real Customer Service Reps Have the Flexibility to Make Fast Decisions

It’s not just the authenticity and empathy that folks appreciate. Equipped with more flexibility, a real call center agent can make quick decisions based on what they’re being told, as opposed to IVR that has been programmed to say a certain order of words and phrases regardless of the specific circumstances.

Well-Trained Agents Can Gain People’s Trust – and Redirect the Conversation

Another way to gain people’s trust is to summarize or restate in different but similar words what you hear from the person on the other end of the line. A chatbot can be programmed to do this to some extent – but the technology is simply not at the level of a human, yet. Prospective customers and clients can get frustrated at the first sign the bot isn’t picking up on their needs, whereas a well-trained agent will sense their tone of voice, picking up on subtle verbal and non-verbal cues, and take charge of the interaction to bring it to a positive conclusion.

You Can Use Customer Feedback to Your Advantage

Finally, a real person will be able to navigate unexpected moments during a conversation that can be used to the company’s advantage. Some customers are happy to provide positive feedback. And brands can use those messages to their advantage. Even constructive feedback you weren’t expecting may alert you to something that should be changed on your end that will ultimately help your company provide better services.

Best Trained Call Center Agents Work for Lighthouse Enterprises

Lighthouse Enterprises has a long-standing reputation for providing some of the best-trained call center agents in the industry. Thanks to our uniquely low retention rate, nearly every call that comes in is resolved on the spot, resulting in improved efficiency and money saved for the diverse organizations that use our services.

Reach out to Lighthouse Enterprises to discuss how we can improve your customer service today!

Customer service gets a bad rap in some quarters, and for a number of reasons. It’s not that people don’t care about customer service, but that there isn’t enough investment in the jobs and workers themselves to provide the kind of service that is being demanded. These challenges lead to persistently high turnover, which only makes the problem seem more intractable.

For a comparison, consider that the average turnover rate in the U.S. hovered under four percent in 2023. While these figures were produced separately by different groups, they show how uniquely hard it is to keep workers in these types of positions. Depending on your organization, you could be facing a combination of factors:

1. Lack of training
2. Unpleasant callers
3. Low morale
4. Inadequate pay
5. Insufficient support for workers

The cost of replacing employees is another incentive to nip high turnover in the bud. According to Forbes, it costs some $15,000 to replace just one lost employee. So, how do you go about solving your high turnover rate in customer service? The data is out there, but you also need to look within.

Get to the Root of Your Customer Support Problems

One thing is clear: denial will not resolve the problem. The issue is so prevalent that a National Customer Rage Survey was conducted last year. Not only did most people surveyed report disappointing experiences with companies, but they also admitted to feeling “rage about the experience” and taking it out on customer service reps taking their calls. Meanwhile, customer frustration stems from various issues ranging from lost time and money to a growing tendency to complain about problems.

A good first step for any organization affected by this trend is to dig in and find out what is contributing to issues on their end and fix the problems that they can. This will require examining your processes, as well as how they impact your workers, and perhaps outsourcing gaps in your system to better-performing call center services off-site.

Train Call Center Agents to Handle Difficult Interactions

It goes without saying, being a customer service rep in any industry is a tough gig. The typical caller at a hospital could be a patient who needs to reschedule an important medical procedure. There are countless reasons a caller may be concerned, and the agent is the person who has to address their needs on the other end of the line. It’s a lot to put at the feet of customer service reps and call center agents. They need ongoing support as well as the ability to provide informed responses to be able to do their jobs efficiently.

Don’t Rely Too Heavily on Automation. Hire Outside Experts Instead.

If your in-house customer support is insufficient or overburdened, that will lead to long wait times, a big source of frustration among consumers. These days, too many automated prompts can slow calls down, a practice that will only grow as businesses automate more aspects of their communication needs. Want an easier solution? A remote service such as Lighthouse Enterprises can handle your overflow calls at any time of day or night, removing one of the biggest consequences of long wait times – lost customers.

Customers want to hear a real person’s voice and to believe a human being is involved in solving their problem. Technology has done a lot to improve communication outcomes at businesses. But it can’t take over the entire role of a call center agent. Instead, focus on skill sets that can be developed. Not all of the solutions need to take place in house. That is why more businesses are finding that they can save money by hiring outsiders who combine customer service expertise with low turnover rates.

Use Lighthouse Enterprises Call Center Agents Who Love What They Do

At Lighthouse Enterprises, our agents are passionate about what they do. Because we provide the training and ongoing support they need, our turnover is consistently a fraction of the industry average. Agents receive ongoing education to ensure they are able to address each call that comes in on the spot, without having to send them somewhere else. This level of care is what makes us great – and why we retain such dedicated and effective agents.

Want to resolve your customer service turnover in the most efficient way possible? Reach out to Lighthouse Enterprises for a free consultation today.

High-quality call center services that are located somewhere off site can be the best thing to happen for a growing business. In today’s world, advancements in technology are enabling more and more options when it comes to the kinds of entities that can fulfill a whole range of essential needs – often at reduced costs to you. These services include both inbound and outbound calls and accomplish many crucial tasks:

• Scheduling appointments
• Answering questions
• Changing appointments
• Educating customers
• Providing tech support
• Processing orders

What’s most important is that you get a hands-on, personalized approach to your customer service needs, when you need it, without paying extra for something you don’t.

Can an Outsourced Contact Center Manage All Your Customer Service Needs?

One increasingly popular alternative to manage your communication needs is an off-site call center. The advantage of this type of center is that they can handle a variety of clients simultaneously. Whoever is assigned to your organization will learn about your organization, the types of questions your customers have, and how to respond to them. In essence, they will be able to educate your callers just like an in-house representative would.

A superior off-site call center will offer:

1. Comprehensive services
2. Enthusiastic call center agents
3. Keen attention to detail
4. Ongoing education and training
5. Variety of packages provided

Businesses such as health care providers that field a high volume of calls benefit from a large call center staffed by trained service providers. But it’s important to look for a partner that provides both scalability and flexibility in their offerings. To help you cut down on costs, your provider should be able to supplement any gaps that exist in house with overflow call services and off-hours assistance.

What About a Virtual Receptionist?

Using a virtual receptionist or virtual assistant is another way that some companies can have questions answered for incoming callers, at lower costs than an in-house department. The term can refer to web-based software as well as off-site workers. It’s yet another way that companies are cutting costs. But there are limits to relying too much on technology for roles traditionally performed by humans, as well as potential downsides if the wrong person is handling your calls virtually.

With insufficient training, there may be limitations to what a virtual option can accomplish. As the use of AI grows and software options expand, organizations will need to decide whether to employ this new technology or to use real humans to help operate their business and assist the customers and patients in need of assistance.

What to Look for in Virtual Communication Services

Make sure the experience provided by anyone off site is similar to what your business would ideally provide in house. Organizations will benefit by employing remote agents who take a more natural approach to the calls they receive. What you don’t want is providing a customer service experience that is overly scripted. While some virtual assistant packages are designed to field basic incoming needs, they aren’t equipped to handle the demands of more complex calls that touch on a variety of purposes.

Look for a contact center that provides the scale of services you need and the individualized attention your customers require. In addition, make sure any outsourced agents you use will be updated immediately with vital information and adept at handling the output required of them for superior results.

Lighthouse Call Center Provides High-Quality Services Customized for You

The difference between Lighthouse Enterprises and other call centers is that we have a long-standing reputation for training and education that produce exceptional results. Our visually impaired agents may rely on specific technology that doesn’t exist at other locations, making them particularly dedicated to the jobs at our sites. This results in a uniquely high retention rate and better performance than our clients would receive anywhere else.

Call Lighthouse Enterprises at (312) 447-3259 to find out more today! Our team of specialists will review your options so you get the customer service package that matches your organization’s individual needs.