Originally Posted by
exwannabe
Around 15 years ago chat was "the thing" in the call service industry, but everybody soon found out is was really expensive and many dropped it. Problem is there is a long turn around around between replies. Even with agents handling a few concurrent chats it still slow compared to voice.
Originally Posted by
goodeats21
The issue with Chat function for customer service is how many simultaneous chats the agent is expected to work. If they are handling one or two at a time, it can work OK. But bean-counters want them to handle more, and then it gets frustrating and not effective.
As someone that used to work in a travel call center, the above information is critical. Chat agents must handle multiple chats in order to make it cost effective. For simple requests, it can work.
If you want the undivided attention of an agent, always call.