What is a Call Parking and how does this work?

Call Parking is a feature specially designed for business organizations and it is used to put the call on hold so that anyone among the staff with access can answer it. 

Cloud computing refers to a virtual world and Call Parking features can put an active call on hold in a virtual waiting area. The call waiting area might be the cloud or an internally hosted server. It is one of the essential business phone features to handle incoming calls at times of high flow. 

In such a situation, another agent can take the call on a different line. Sometimes, these options are useful to gather more data before helping the caller. Mostly made for the sales and customer care department, call parking is a useful tool for businesses with large call volumes. By using this, agents manage calls more effectively and enhance the customer experience overall.

What do Call Parking features do?

This Call Park option found on the majority of Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) phones are pre-programmed to put the calls on hold or respond if intended. On the active call interface, phone system providers provide this option on the desktop and mobile application packages. Below is a detailed description of this;

When a customer calls the organization if the agent wants sometime or any guidance/assistance to solve the concern, the agent can put the call on hold/park the call by pressing the “Call Park” option on the desk phone or call application (while using a softphone app) in the middle of the conversation.

Now, this call is transferred to the business cloud and will be identified with an unused extension. A pre-recorded message or on-hold music will play while the caller waits. Some organizations tend to promote their upcoming offers while the customer is on hold.

In order to continue the call, the agent must determine whether to wait for another agent or if there is a need to gather more information about the issue or the customer.

Later, an agent will contact the extension number to pick up the call in order to continue the chat. 

Types of Call Parking:

Call parking is majorly classified into three types. They are:

Simple Call Parking:

This is a very basic type where you can place an active call on a holding area, and any agent among the staff with access will pick it up. The call is expected to be answered soon.

Benefit: This option can decrease the number of callbacks and voicemail messages. This is very helpful at times businesses deal with an unexpected flood of calls and messages.

Advanced Call Parking:

Place an ongoing call in a virtual waiting area with background music or pre-recorded messages played. It might take some time for the agent to answer as he/she has to collect data related to the customer or wait for any other agent.

Benefit: This can help the organization by lowering the number of hang-ups with personalized tracks. It can retain customers offering the best ways to establish your brand.

Private Call Parking:

This option places important calls in private park areas. Agents who have admin permissions can see them.

Benefit: This can maintain the confidentiality of the customers who pay high and are loyal. 

What are the advantages of Call Parking?

Businesses, especially those managing high call volumes every day and those whose agents aren’t always at their desks to answer calls, might profit greatly from call parking. The advantages of including call parking in your call management system are as follows:

Handling a Huge Numbers of Calls Simultaneously:

Call parking is perfect for sales and support industries, such as large customer care centers and contact centers of MNCs. Call park can handle heavy loads of incoming phone lines. Callers are routed to distinct lines that anyone in the firm can access immediately.

Better Agent productivity:

This option can assist the agents with access to a steady stream of incoming callers who want assistance. 

Customer Satisfaction: 

Call Parking allows other agents to pick up incoming calls which are at a virtual parking lot eliminating voicemail dead ends. Also, it enables self-service to the customer by guiding them to voicemail without an agent to help.

Call Parking Must be personalized:

If you want to deploy call parking beforehand, it is important to check your provider’s settings. By doing this, you may know how to change the features of call parking that can perfectly fit your business’s preferences. Additionally, you should have access to permission-based settings. It is assumed that only authorized and qualified agents will take the call. Meanwhile, with the intention of providing a better customer experience, you can add music to keep parked callers engaged.

Call Park helps if you are Unavailable:

You can use call parking at times you are not available to answer. By this, you can let other agents take the call even if you are unable to solve the customer’s problem. Also, as already discussed, if you want to gather some previous information about the caller or his issue (if it reoccurs), call parking can be a great help for you while searching for his data. This is how you can assure your organization by retaining customers as well as having a better customer experience. 

Long Wait Times should be reduced:

When a customer calls an organization, keeping the customer on hold for a long time is one of the most frustrating aspects of the client support system. Hence, agents will have the option to answer a parked call as soon as possible.

However, if the caller is forced to wait more than 5 minutes, it annoys the caller. So, it is better to check for another agent before the caller is parked so that his concern can be addressed as soon as possible. Remember if possible, inform the customer in a humble manner that your team will get back to him within five minutes maximum.

Best Practices of Call Parking Feature:

Call parking enables you to park in critical situations when there is a huge volume of incoming calls. Simultaneously, you must know the correct ways and the results to deploy it in the office. But this new business phone feature can comfort your customer and improve staff productivity.

Therefore, it’s crucial to understand how to use it correctly and improperly. The best practices listed below offer detailed advice on utilizing call parking.

Bottom Line:

In general, call parking can benefit businesses with various teams, especially while handling large call volumes. Call parking is similar to automatic call distribution, but it transfers calls in different ways as per the need. It can allow any agent with access to pick up a parked call. And, this is how technology can assist businesses in providing excellent customer service and optimizing call center staff.

 As VoIP technology is currently ruling the entire telecom industry with specially tailored services such as SIP Trunking, API integration, etc. Business operations have reached a point of ease.

VitelGlobal promises the highest uptime simple system administration and quick addition of new members from anywhere in the world. Additionally, all of your staff can connect easily regardless of the devices they each use. Why not request a demo today?