If you are like me, there are few things more aggravating then calling a contact center and being placed on hold. Putting aside companies that refuse to provide any information other than “We are sorry for the delay, our operators are busy helping other customers,” , i.e., give not indication as to when you will be taken or if there is an option for a callback, the music they play gets real old real fast. To put this in a way that does not include four letter words, that is time spent I will not get back.
It is for this very reason that the managed communications solutions provider MetTel partnered with smart audio platform provider Rivet Radio. Now, Rivet’s audio news snippets will be part of the MetTel suite of contact center solutions. Customer care centers will be able to provide callers with a curated stream of top news headlines while they are on hold.
As the announcement of the agreement highlights, “With the freedom to select from Rivet’s extensive news categories and the frequency of updates during hold time, call centers can now provide a more valuable customer service experience for their customers.”
“Whether you are on hold during a conference call or waiting for a customer care agent, dwell time continues to be an area for businesses to engage their customers through spoken word audio,” said Alwar Narayanan, VP of Customer Innovation at Rivet Radio. “The customer engagement is very valuable, especially during customer service calls that can include multiple hold times within a single call. Our partnership with MetTel’s contact center solutions demonstrates how Rivet’s smart audio platform is used to increase customer engagement and satisfaction.”
Rivet provides several solutions for businesses to create unique listening experiences with its award-winning spoken word stories. MetTel is Rivet’s second unified communications customer.
“MetTel has replaced the traditional canned hold music that most contact centers play to callers with Rivet’s informative News on Hold service. While we strive to keep our customer hold times to a minimum, we also want to keep end users engaged and Rivet provides a great customer experience,” said Don Keane, VP Marketing at MetTel.
You may actually have already heard Rivet’s news feeds if you have been on hold during a conference call on InterCall. And, while some say that the old adage that “no news is good news” is one that should be followed, I would rather listen to the news than music I abhor.
Rivet Radio provides measurable, customizable, spoken-word audio that can be delivered to individuals globally and across platforms. Rivet’s platform is powering the global Audio of Things for millions of listeners across consumer and business applications. It’s radio reimagined.