Can We Talk? Verizon and Virtual Hold Technology Help Organizations Dial Down Hold Times

ASHBURN, Va., May 10, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Probably nothing is more frustrating to a caller trying to reach a customer service representative than having to endure a seemingly endless wait on hold. Now, a new service developed by Verizon Enterprise Solutions and Virtual Hold Technology can provide callers with another option: They can skip the wait, hang up and receive a call back.

The service, Voice Call Back, is available immediately to businesses and government agencies, and it aims to help organizations with call centers to achieve often competing objectives of higher customer satisfaction and cost management.  It uses advanced software from Virtual Hold Technology and is an enhancement to Verizon's cloud-based Hosted Interactive Voice platform in the company's Contact Center Services portfolio.    

"We know that callers are less inclined to complain about the wait when it's on their own terms," said Mike Palmer, vice president of marketing for Verizon Enterprise Solutions.  "This advancement to our contact center services platform will help our customers improve service delivery for their customers -- and transform their business by providing a better overall customer experience."

Here's how the service works:  During busy calling times, callers hear a recording notifying them of the estimated wait time and are given the option to receive a call back from a representative at a time and phone number they select.  Since customers know when to expect a return call, the service has a successful reconnection rate of more 90 percent.

The agreement between Verizon and Virtual Hold Technology combines Verizon's network and years of experience in providing contact center solutions to the enterprise market with Virtual Hold's feature-rich call-handling software.

The new service is already helping one federal agency that receives nearly 2 million inquiries each month improve customer response and reduce costs. Since the service is cloud-based, customers don't need to make large up-front capital investments.

Virtual Hold Technology's president and founder Mark Williams, said: "Verizon's well-established hosted IVR platform is a market-leader today, and we look forward to working together to deliver our enhanced capabilities to large business and government customers. Our new agreement with Verizon will enable Virtual Hold to reach new markets, and support the growing demand on the call center market."

About Virtual Hold Technology

Virtual Hold Technology® (VHT®) is the leading innovator of virtual queuing solutions worldwide. VHT solves the ubiquitous problem of hold time for customers on a variety of channels, including voice, mobile and web. VHT's virtual queuing solutions provide real-time tools and business analytics that save companies money, optimize customer interactions and transform the customer experience. To learn how VHT can help increase your customers' satisfaction and improve your contact centers' operational efficiency, visit www.virtualhold.com, call 877-886-8187 or email [email protected].

About Verizon

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE, Nasdaq: VZ), headquartered in New York, is a global leader in delivering broadband and other wireless and wireline communications services to consumer, business, government and wholesale customers.  Verizon Wireless operates America's most reliable wireless network, with 93 million retail customers nationwide.  Verizon also provides converged communications, information and entertainment services over America's most advanced fiber-optic network, and delivers integrated business solutions to customers in more than 150 countries, including all of the Fortune 500.  A Dow 30 company with $111 billion in 2011 revenues, Verizon employs a diverse workforce of nearly 192,000.  For more information, visit www.verizon.com.

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SOURCE Verizon