Call metering

What is call metering?

Call metering refers to the capability that allows contact centers to limit the number of calls that come into their system during busy hours. While this feature is on, customers may hear a busy tone that prevents them from connecting to a customer service representative.

This feature assists customer care departments, particularly inbound units, in handling the surge of calls that they are receiving. Cll centers often come up with new strategies to provide a better customer experience.

While it can lessen the workload of those on the production floor, it could possibly lead to a lower customer satisfaction rate. Unlucky customers who can’t connect may file a complaint about not being able to talk to anyone regarding a pressing issue.

On the other hand, call center agents can focus on their active calls and remaining tickets as long as the call metering feature is on. This allows them to prioritize the issues at hand instead of handling multiple tickets simultaneously.

Based on how the ticketing system works, it also provides extra time for representatives to prepare for the next call if needed. This will lead to better call handling and an overall better customer experience.

Why call metering is important

It helps call centers manage the influx of calls, especially if the workforce cannot handle a large volume of tickets coming through. 

If the company were to reject the idea of call metering, then it may lead to lower customer satisfaction, inefficient call handling, and overall lower quality of service. This will most likely snowball into a toxic and tiring work environment with a high employee churn rate.

This phenomenon is another example where an organization must have some form of policy in place to determine what qualifies are inefficient. This especially true when there are so many factors involved that not every action will receive positive praise depending on how one looks at it.

How call metering helps call center agents work better

If these surge issues can be avoided by adding system-wide call center metrics like frequency assessment (which should include the number of requests and tickets per day), call metering would make more sense than leaving customers waiting for hours on end.

With this feature, everyone will be able to take a step back and work better—especially in a fast-paced environment such as a contact/call center. This could reduce wait times associated with new customer introductions or higher-order volume that’s not being handled correctly by the customer care team.