In 2011, a new company president made improving customer service a priority for Blueair. IT consultants highly recommended 8x8 Virtual Contact Center cloud-based call center software. But it was 8x8’s advanced reporting features and easy integration with NetSuite that closed the sale.
Now when customers contact Blueair, the entire transaction typically takes just three minutes. Dedicated agents log in easily and immediately begin answering calls and chatting live. 8x8 Virtual Contact Center integrates with NetSuite software and displays screen pops with caller ID and account information so agents can service customers efficiently.
“In the past, our agents had to pick up calls without knowing who was on the other end and then manually enter customer information into NetSuite. It was a time-consuming process for both parties. 8x8’s NetSuite integration has significantly reduced call wait times for customers, and enabled our agents to complete calls within minutes.”
8x8’s reporting features have also helped Blueair with its ongoing product research and development. Warren runs monthly reports that list every call and transaction, including case notes entered by agents. He sends these reports to Stockholm so the team there can see what kinds of issues customers are having. The company uses this information to continuously improve the quality of its air purifiers.
8x8 reports have helped Blueair optimize its Virtual 8x8 Reporting Contact Center as well. Warren noted that the company used to staff its contact center from 8:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. But the reports he ran indicated that there weren’t many customer inquiries at the beginning and end of each day.
In response, the company scaled back the contact center’s hours, only staffing it during the peak period between 9:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. “We’re a small international company, so why pay to provide support when it isn’t needed? 8x8 helped us dedicate staff at the right times, saving us money and improving our customer service,” says Warren.
In addition, 8x8 reports enabled Blueair to analyze its customer contacts and establish standardized processes for handling them.
“Our goal was to handle more contacts more efficiently, and 8x8 has been a big help in meeting that goal. The new processes we put in place have resolved our customer satisfaction issues. The change has been like night and day for both customers and agents.”
Because Blueair’s Chicago office has just 10 employees, Warren wears multiple hats at work. Although he is officially customer service manager, he also serves as office manager—and as system administrator for the 8x8 Virtual Contact Center.
Previously, Blueair paid an IT consultant to manage its landline contact center. When Warren joined the company in 2012, he had no prior experience managing a phone system or a virtual call center, and found the prospect a bit daunting. But 8x8’s user-friendly interface got him up to speed in just two days.
“8x8 Virtual Contact Center is one of the easiest software apps I’ve ever worked with,” he says. “I figured out everything I need to do—add and delete agents, give permissions, reset greetings—super quick. I just read the Help text and everything made sense. The system is so simple to learn and use.”
8x8 Virtual Contact Center has improved customer communications so much for Blueair that Warren now wants to add email support.
“Customers sometimes have to wait for a live agent to become available in order to chat,” he explains. “After three minutes, we’d like to give them the option to send email instead. It lets us be responsive to customers even when agents are busy with other contacts.”
Warren also has 8x8’s new web callback feature on his radar.
“Web callback will be a valuable feature to add as our contact center grows,” he says. “It gives us yet another way to respond to customers without making them wait.”
Although Blueair’s sales department still uses dedicated landlines, management is now considering moving the whole company over to 8x8 VoIP business phone service when the current contract expires.
“We’ve had a great experience with 8x8 Virtual Contact Center, and are very impressed with the support we’ve received from our 8x8 account manager and tech support,” says Warren. “Getting everyone in the office an 8x8 extension seems like a natural progression for us.”
When asked to describe 8x8’s impact on his company, Warren has no trouble finding the words:
“Everything is so much better since we installed 8x8. Customers are happier. Agents are happier. And our company owner was thrilled when he checked service levels and when he got through after just a couple of rings! 8x8’s NetSuite integration and reporting features gave us the insight we needed to support our international business and deliver world-class customer service.”
