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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Missouri Gas Energy Chooses Virtual Hold Queue Management to Increase Customer Satisfaction
Virtual Queuing™ Technology Improving Contact Center Operations by Eliminating
Hold Time and Increasing Call Handling Efficiency
Akron, OH – April 23, 2004 – Virtual Hold Technology® LLC (VHT), the leading provider of intelligent queue management solutions, today announced that Missouri Gas Energy (MGE), a division of Southern Union Company, has selected VHT’s Virtual Queuing technology to increase customer satisfaction.
MGE distributes natural gas to over half a million customers in Missouri. As with any call center, MGE’s customer service center is challenged with matching staffing to daily variations in call traffic. The utility also experiences sustained peaks in call demand during the fall and winter months. Virtual Hold provides MGE with a cost-effective way to manage
call volumes at a high level of service while eliminating the need for customers to wait on hold and reducing the stress placed on customer servic e agents.
Virtual Hold informs callers of their estimated wait time and allows them to select a callback in the same amount of time as if they waited on hold. The caller may also schedule a return call at a time and location that is more convenient for them. This patented return call technology increases customer satisfaction.
“VHT’s solution was clearly the best fit for our need,” said Ron Crow, Customer Service Director for Missouri Gas Energy. “From their detailed presales analysis to the comprehensive implementation plan, we’ve been confident that they truly understand the needs of our business and the needs of our customers.”
“We’re proud to have been selected by Missouri Gas Energy as the solution provider who will assist them in providing a more positive experience for their customers,” stated Mark Williams, president and founder of VHT. “Utility companies have especially challenging environments for matching staff to call demand, since calls are driven by billing cycles,
heating and cooling seasons, and weather-related emergencies. Virtual Hold is quickly becoming the industry standard for companies who place a high value on customer satisfaction but also want to maximize the efficiency of call center operations."
While the benefits of the Virtual Hold implementation are expected to be immediately apparent at MGE, the company predicts an even greater impact during its peak heating season in late fall and winter.
About Virtual Hold Technology
Virtual Hold Technology (VHT) is the leading developer of virtual queuing solutions for Fortune 1000 clients. Since its inception in 1995, VHT's patented, award-winning virtual queuing technology has provided return call solutions focused on enhancing the customer experience for financial services, energy/utility, insurance, telecommunications, cable, wireless, and retail corporations such as IBM, Bank of America, T-Mobile, Aflac, AT&T, Banco Popular, Verizon, Pacific Gas and Electric Company, Time Warner Cable, and AVON. To learn how Virtual Hold virtual queuing solutions can help increase customer satisfaction and reduce contact center costs, visit www.virtualhold.com or call 877-886-8187.
To experience a demonstration of a Virtual Hold call, dial 1-888-412-2214 (or 330-670-2214).
Contact Info: Adrienna M. Frazer
About Missouri Gas Energy
Missouri Gas Energy is headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri, and distributes natural gas to approximately 500,000 customers in 155 towns in central and western Missouri. MGE is a division of Southern Union Company, an energy distribution company serving approximately 1 million natural gas customers in Missouri, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Massachusetts.
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