Theatre operator Delfont Mackintosh has deployed Syntec’s Network Queue solution to help improve its booking office.
The customer
Delfont Mackintosh is a theatre operator in London’s West End, which works with theatres including The Prince Edward and Wyndham’s. Direct telephone sales form a large part of its overall turnover.
The challenge
Due to the nature of the business, the quantity of call traffic received at the company’s booking office is of a very variable nature. Huge peaks of incoming calls can occur shortly after the release of a newspaper or internet advert.
Once the allocation of tickets has been sold, traffic dies down to a much lower level. This situation is difficult to manage in terms of the number of agents available to take the calls and the number of lines available. This situation led to a lot of customer dissatisfaction and potential loss of sales.
The solution
Delfont Mackintosh chose Syntec’s Network Queue product to help them resolve this issue. By virtue of its network location, the system is able to queue a large number of incoming calls without the addition of further infrastructure.
The number of calls presented to Delfont Mackintosh’s booking office can now be exactly matched to the number of agents available at the booking office.
In addition, the number of lines installed at the booking office only has to match the number of agents deployed: no further capacity is required. Callers are also immediately greeted with a welcome message and are given a choice of options available to them.
The benefits
This allows several queues to be formed and the delivery destination of each queue to be different, enabling staff to be more efficiently deployed amongst the different roles, for example ticket sales, group bookings and general enquires.
A further benefit is automatic time control of various options.
Opening hours can be controlled. For example, outside normal opening times, callers will be greeted with a recorded announcement advising that the office is closed. However, automated information is still available, allowing customers to listen to news about forthcoming events and shows.
In the event of the call queue reaching a predetermined size, callers can be advised to call back later. In the case of ticket sales, callers can be advised as to when a particular concert has sold out, allowing them to end the call before waiting in a queue.
This behaviour can be controlled in real time through the Syntec call control web portal.
Further benefits include:
- Customers are reassured by an immediate answer from the system and do not have to keep redialling on meeting busy tone.
- Calls are dealt with more efficiently due to the formation of calling queues.
- No further capital outlay has been required by Delfont Mackintosh.
- Fast deployment.
- The system is scalable and changes to its configuration can be made.
“Syntec’s expertise allowed us to cope with big fluctuations of calls and improve customer service without having to invest in spare capacity or equipment, as it’s all scalable in Syntec’s own network,” said the Box Office Operations Manager at Delfont Mackintosh.
For more information, visit Syntec’s website.
Author: Megan Jones
Published On: 5th Nov 2014 - Last modified: 12th Dec 2018
Read more about - Archived Content, Case Studies, Syntec
