Estate and letting agents lead the way when it comes to customer care and low call waiting times in the UK, new research shows.
A survey of 1,000 people by outsourced comms company Moneypenny found that that just 5% of survey respondents feel agents have poor call handling times – compared with utility companies (33%) doctors (27%), banks (25%) and phone companies (21%).
Legal firms also performed well with just 6%.
The study also revealed the average wait time for calls and live chat requests.
Some 18% of said they have to wait 1-5 minutes and 23% have to wait 5-10 minutes, while 6% have to wait 45-60 minutes and 19% typically give up waiting altogether
Joanne Tattum, head of estate agents sector for Moneypenny, said: “Since the start of the pandemic we’ve seen a marked increase in the number of property agencies calling on outsourcing call handling and live chat support because they recognise the importance of accessibility for their clients, particularly during such a busy time with the stamp duty holiday.
“Improving customer care has been a real priority for property agencies over the last decade so it’s great to see it recognised in these findings.”
Comments (3)
Well I speak as I find.
When the chatline operater as front of house is unable to advise me whether a branch /franchisee is still in operation or not with the words
“Sorry ,I can’t help you with that as I have no access to the system ” really doesn’t cut it with me,polite or not
It seem s that this week EYE has been devoted to promoting third party services for estate agents .
“Improving customer care has been a real priority for property agencies over the last decade so it’s great to see it recognised in these findings.”
Forgetting of course that the ultimate customer are those selling and those buying where many find a remote third party service as front of house very frustrating if it is in operation during normal business hours .
A block in the chain of speaking to someone who actually knows the property Recognising that outside normal business hours a manned answering service + does add some benefits over and above gatekeeping and also during the pandemic has been very useful .
However the clarion call of “Can we offer a free valuation” might yield a result but those answering the chatline but are usually unfamiliar with both property and location and unable to tell you who the individual is handling the sale and offer little else apart from gatekeeping to valid questions
The response being “I am sorry I haven’t got access to that information , Can we get back to you or offer a free valuation” to the most basic question.
Sometimes unable to tell you whether the specific branch is still open or trading or the individual handling the sale of the property .
During the day this is particularly frustrating being unable to be put through directly to someone who actually knows the property or even the town it is situated in then you are reliant on someone coming back to you which is often not anytime soon .
That 1st time caller who maybe looking to instruct and discuss the property and market with an agent before arranging a valuation maybe lost forever
We have no such issues.
MoneyPenney I class as an integral part of our operation.
I ring up and get through to many “offices” for various reasons day to day and I have to say given they work in branch the experience is often like trying to kick jelly through a brick, useless!
To never miss a call, to have a genuinely polite person on the end of the phone regardless if they know everything to do with a property is priceless.
Your argument is valid if the experience in a branch outweighs that when MoneyPenney answer on our behalf but I’m afraid the reality is in most cases it doesn’t.