Outsource Call Centre: Out of Hours Services
Professional call answering and contact management, extending your available office hours and ensuring no customer query goes unanswered.
What is an Out of Hours Call Centre?
An out-of-hours call centre offers customer service outside regular business hours, including on nights, weekends, and holidays, ensuring that inquiries and issues are promptly addressed. We all know the frustration of trying to reach a company after work only to be met by an impersonal voicemail or, worse, an automated message. Many customers can’t call during regular business hours, or can be on hold for too long. The high and concentrated call volumes for customer service departments can result in irritated customers and stressed staff.
Whistl’s outsourced out-of-hours call centre is a solution we offer. It provides typical services in which we can provide support, and extend this by recruiting for high call volumes outside the specified hours. This means that regardless of when customers want to call you, they can get through to a helpful and professional customer service agent.
The aim is to eradicate long wait times and customer drop-offs, producing happy and satisfied customers who recommend you to their friends and family. A call centre that provides out-of-hours coverage for employers often plays a pivotal role in industries needing round-the-clock services, such as utilities and healthcare.
Whistl’s Out of Hours Call Centre Services
At Whistl, our team of trained agents ensures that:
- Calls are answered
- Sales as maximised
- Complaints are resolved quickly
- Your business is in good hands
With Whistl's out-of-hours contact centre services, our dedicated UK-based call centre agents are more than just virtual receptionists. Our contact centres capture the calls you can’t cover, ensuring that your customers receive the help they need, that sales aren't lost, and that complaints don't escalate to social media, which can impact your reputation. Whistl's teams can deliver seamless customer support, ensuring consistent, high-quality service.
Typical Reasons to Outsource Out-of-Hours Customer Services
Critical Services
International Customers
Emergency Services
FAQs or Support
Why Consider Whistl’s Out-of-Hours Call Centre Services
There are many benefits to providing out-of-hours customer service. Especially when leveraging call centre outsourcing and customer service outsourcing to achieve greater flexibility, cost savings, and improved customer experience. These include:
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Reduced operational costs
With Whistl’s outsourced out-of-hours call handling, businesses can reduce operating costs and access established call centre infrastructures. Our solution lets you pay only for the services you use, providing a flexible, cost-effective solution tailored to your call volumes and required operating hours.
- Less pressure on staff
Having an out-of-hours answering service can distribute call volumes more evenly throughout peak periods, reducing hold times and alleviating pressure on internal departments. This also means that fewer in-house resources are required.
- Professional agents
Whistl has trained, experienced and dedicated agents at the ready, assisting with customer queries and support as an extension of your company’s ethos and values, and delivering high-quality customer interactions. Your customers are comfortable knowing they can get competent, reliable assistance at any time of day, whether third-party or not.
- Never miss the mark
Aside from complaints and queries, Whistl’s out-of-hours call handling services also mean that you never have to miss out on bookings, leads, or service opportunities, so you can continue to maximise your business revenue potential.
- Increased competitive advantage
By offering world-class customer service, you can give your business the competitive edge it needs to keep customers coming back. This can create intense consumer satisfaction, which translates into loyalty. Leveraging advanced centre solutions keeps your business ahead by integrating the latest technology and best practices into outsourced support.
- A multichannel offering
Whistl can provide multichannel customer support for your business, allowing customers to contact you via multiple channels, including live chat, email, SMS, and social media. Our call centre outsourcing services efficiently manage contacts across all these channels, ensuring every customer receives prompt and professional support. Therefore, you can ensure that complaints are handled professionally, wherever they originate. Take comfort in the fact that your customers are getting the help they require at a time that suits them.
Provide professional and experienced out-of-hours customer service.
Whistl builds bespoke overflow call-handling solutions and works with your business to understand your specific customer calls and support needs. You can even train our trainers to enhance your brand’s targeted message for the agents handling your customer calls. Our call centre outsourcing services efficiently manage contacts across all these channels, ensuring every customer receives prompt and professional support.
With world-class customer service 365 days a year, your business can be less reliant on in-house resources while taking comfort in the peace of mind that your customers are getting the help they require at a time to suit them with Whistl’s out-of-hours call-handling services.
Whistl’s outsourced call centre service packages are built to be bespoke to each client, meaning your business receives a specialist call centre service that fits your requirements and is delivered by industry experts. We can help you determine whether your business would benefit from overflow, out-of-hours, or a mix of both.
Call Centre Technology and Software
At Whistl, we know that excellent customer service isn't just about being friendly; it's about having the right tools that actually work with what you've already got. Our call centre integrations are built around your specific needs, making sure our services fit perfectly with how you operate. We use intelligent software and CRM connections that let our people access the information they need instantly. Why? Because when your customers call, our agents can help them properly, with all the details at their fingertips.
We can handle busy periods and provide support around the clock, so your customers never feel forgotten. Whether it's navigating tricky customer journeys or resolving urgent questions, our technology ensures every conversation counts. This isn't just about better service quality (though that's important), it's about creating more efficiencies in service and budgets while giving you the freedom to grow your support when you need it. With our commitment to customer service success, your customers will recieve expert service from agents that care.
Out-of-Hours Contact Centre Support Services
Find out how Whistl can support your business with our Out of Hours Call Handling services
Whistl's Contact Centre Memberships and Accreditations
Read Some of Our Contact Centre Solutions Success Stories
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Flexible Contact Centre Services for The Noble Collection
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Frequently Asked Questions: Out-of-Hours Call Handling Support
What is the difference between out-of-hours call handling and overflow call handling?
Whistl provides two types of call centre services for times of unmanageable call volumes: overflow call handling and out-of-hours call centre services.
1. Overflow call handling, or overflow customer support, is designed to assist businesses in managing sudden increases in call volumes that surpass their internal contact support capacities. However, this type of call handling is usually restricted to regular business hours.
2. Out-of-hours call handling supports your business by managing call volumes in specified hours, to act as an extension of your customer service team. Regular operating hours and the requirement for out-of-hours support vary by company, and Whistl's out-of-hours service helps businesses remain accessible to their audience for the timeframes that customers typically need, to create a balance between overheads for staffing costs and customer demand.
What is classified as 'Out-of-Hours' versus general operating schedule?
Whistl's out-of-hours service typically runs from 8 pm to 7 am, while our general operating hours for outsourced customer service support are 8 am to 7 pm. During peak periods, our typical operating hours are extended from 8 am to 10 pm, so the requirement for out-of-hours will be offset with general contact handling services.
How long does it take to start managing our customer service?
The timeline for a customer service program can vary depending on complexity and scale. However, a straightforward implementation could be within 4 to 8 weeks from contract signing to the first call. This includes training agents to become experts in your product/service.
Can your agents use our existing CRM and tech stack?
Yes, our team can integrate into existing integrations, and we ensure secure, real-time data synchronisation for continuity. Our team is proficient in working with leading customer experience platforms, including Salesforce, Zendesk, MaxContact and Gorgias. We would be happy to speak to you about your integration requirements.
What's your average agent tenure and why does that matter?
Whistl agents have an average tenure of 9-10 years, compared to the contact centre industry average of 1-2 years. The extended tenure allows our teams to resolve issues faster (first-contact resolution), understand your business better, and provide superior customer experience. Our clients benefit from consistent service quality and institutional knowledge that new hires can't replicate.