Situation: Customer calls to our helpline are currently answered by an assistant who asks the customer if they are calling to report a new problem or to check the status of a previously reported issue. If the customer is calling about a previously reported issue, the assistant asks the customer for the Incident ID #. The assistant then places the customer on hold, calls a customer service representative, advises the representative of the reason for the call (new problem or Incident ID #), and transfers the caller. Proposed Solution: The role of the assistant who answers the call could easily be replaced by an automated system, which would allow the customer to press 1 for a new problem or 2 for a previously reported issue. If the customer pressed 2, they would be prompted to enter their Incident ID #. The caller would then be routed to a customer service representative, along with the Incident ID #, if applicable, which would be passed along via the phone system. Steps Involved: 1. Purchase a new phone routing system that would allow these capabilities. 2. Program and test the new routing system. 3. Convert Incident ID #s from a combination of letters and numbers to numbers only. 4. Communicate the new workflow to customer service representatives. Benefits: 1. The new process would eliminate the need for assistants to answer customer calls, freeing them up for other tasks. Each assistant typically answers 30 calls per day. At an average of 42 seconds per call, this would give each assistant an additional 21 minutes per day. 2. Customer service would be enhanced, as the first voice that would greet the customer would be that of the customer service representative who will ultimately assist them. Potential Obstacles: 1. The cost of the new phone routing system (approximately $700 dollars). This cost would be miniscule compared with the savings over time associated with the additional capacity of the assistants. 2. The time associated with programming and testing and developing the new ID system (48 total man-hours). Again, the time saved by implementing the new procedure would more than make up for this initial investment. 3. Resistance of customers who do not prefer dealing with an automated system. No solution is going to please every customer, but most consumers today expect to be greeted with an automated system when calling a business. One option is to allow customers to press 0 if they’re unsure how to answer the automated questions. 4. Customer service issues with early callers whose ID # still contains numbers and letters. The above solution concerning the 0 option would eliminate this problem as well.