We all have numbers that we watch intently because at some point those numbers will affect our lives. You could be focused on the score of a football game, the balance of your bank account or the winning lottery numbers. But, if I asked you what your customer interaction numbers have been for the last 3 days, would you know? There are two very important reasons why you need to know these details; they determine staffing needs and ultimately whether you are providing the type of service your customer expects.
How to determine your Customer Interaction Numbers
The formula we use at Tooty is:
inbound calls + messages + e-mails + walk-in traffic=CIN

If you had 300 inbound calls, 25 voice mail messages, 15 customer e-mails and 10 customers that came in to pay their bill you had 350 customer interactions. If you interact with your customers via chat, add those numbers, too. Estimate you will need 4-5 minutes per interaction which would include wrap up time to complete documentation. This takes into consideration that some interactions take 30 seconds and some take 15 minutes.

Determining proper staffing and phone coverage

CSR hours – breaks/lunch – time for other duties=hours available for customer interactions
A typical CSR will work 9 hours and have an hour for lunch and breaks. Some spend an hour or two a day on administrative duties that the district or sales managers have delegated to customer service. Some CSRs are only interacting with the customers for 4-5 hours. That often leaves the customer service department understaffed most of the day.
Each CSR should be able to handle a minimum of 10 customer interactions per hour or 80-90 per day if he/she has no other duties. 350 customer interactions divided by 90=3.33 meaning the customer service department needs 4 people (not 3) available to help customers in order to provide excellent customer care.

Planning Ahead

Post a quarterly calendar on the wall and each day document the number of inbound calls, messages left, e-mails and walk-ins. This can be delegated to a CSR. Include in your documentation what may have been going on to generate extra customer calls such as suspend notices, a collection phone blast or a problem route. Also document how many CSRs you had on the phones. You will start to see some patterns that will allow you to discuss proactive solutions with your management team. A Manager or Controller will relate to data. That data will allow you to make a case for better tools or additional staffing in order to provide excellent customer service.

Remember your company commitment to customer service and strive to be extraordinary! To do that you must do the math.