Interactive Voice Response (IVR) gives customers what they want, when they want it

Challenge

Starting off as a hardware store in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn in 1909, PC Richard and Son has become the region’s leading retailer, known as the "Appliance, Electronics, and Computer Giant." The company operates a 47-store retail chain serving communities in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, Westchester, Long Island, and New Jersey.

With about a thousand deliveries a day, and more during the sweltering months of air-conditioning season, Customer Service Supervisor, Janet Moody, said, "we needed a way to get customers their delivery information quickly, and at the same time, let them easily find out if anything changes during the day."

Janet explained that previously, customers would have to stay home most of the day when a delivery was scheduled. And if a delay occurred, such as a traffic tie-up or an installation problem at a customer’s home, waiting customers had no easy way to find out.

Solution

NacTel, PC Richard’s telecommunications provider for 15 years, recently installed an advanced interactive voice response (IVR) system for the retail chain. Just like calling your bank to find out your checking balance, PC Richard customers can find out the approximate time their refrigerator or washing machine will be delivered, as well as in which order their delivery is scheduled that day.

When making their purchase, in-store customers will find an invoice number on their cash register receipts, and Internet customers will get their numbers after the sale. Customers then use their invoice numbers to find out the status of their deliveries. The information is often available as early as 9:00 PM the evening before delivery.

The IVR system resides between the company’s mainframe AS400 computer, which downloads real-time updates to the system every 15 minutes, and the phone system. Programming for the IVR enabled PC Richard to have customers enter the specific details necessary so they can obtain the precise information they want.

Benefits

Janet said that 90 percent of customer calls about delivery status are now answered by the IVR system. "This has done a great job in cutting down the number of calls we get, and the amount of time we spend on communicating delivery information, plus it enhances our customers’ shopping experience. Customers can call at their convenience, as often as they like, and get current updates about the status of their delivery so they can better manage their time."

PC Richard’s IVR system offers callers a choice between English and Spanish language, and is designed to deliver the information they need quickly, without having them press many buttons. "We do make it easy for customers to talk with a human being when they need to," Janet insists, "because sometimes, a customer has a question or problem that needs a human response." Janet says the system is designed to be "simple stupid," which means, it’s user-friendly enough so people will not think about using it. "It just does what they need it to do."

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