Harris Bank customers can bypass the tedious phone tree they typically encounter when dialing a call center by clicking a link on Harris’ Web site to request a representative call them directly.
The Chicago bank, a unit of Bank of Montreal, introduced the Push to Talk service in 2002. Vicki Spagnola, a vice president in e-channel services, estimated last week that it now accounts for 15% to 18% of its call center traffic.
Ms. Spagnola said the new feature has improved and speeded up service for customers. “If they were to pick up the phone and call us, they would be presented with our telephone banking menus,” she said. “Push to Talk bypasses these menus.”
Customers can also initiate the calls through their computers, though only about 5% of the Push to Talk calls are placed this way. “To connect with a PC you have to have the software, the microphone — you have to have the setup to do so,” she said.
Before a Harris Web site accepts the connection it tests the user’s computer to determine whether it can support voice traffic.
Push to Talk links on the various Harris Web pages connect people to specific customer service teams in the call center, Ms. Spagnola said. For example, the links on its Hispanic banking site direct customers to Spanish-speaking representatives.
She said that in the three years the service has been in use, Harris has gradually been putting it on more of its Web pages, “and we keep using it more and more.”
eStara Inc., the Reston, Va., voice technology company that developed Push to Talk, found in a case study that 81% of the 3,200 Harris customers it surveyed had used the service when applying for a loan, mortgage, or other banking product. Ninety-two percent said it was easier than other methods, such as dialing the call center, for contacting the bank.
Harris customers can also communicate with its representatives through chat sessions on its Web site — typing queries and getting answers in real time. Ms. Spagnola said the chat feature is used about as often as people initiate voice calls through their computers.
Dan Schatt, a senior analyst for the Boston market research firm Celent Communications LLC, said Harris’ success with its Push to Talk service is not surprising because it cuts down on the time customers must spend on the phone.
“People prefer to communicate directly, if they can, without waiting,” he said.
He said banks should consider similar services because they also help customers complete applications for new products online. “It’s really used as a way of decreasing attrition in those customers that are signing up for another financial product,” he said.
