Spring said calls were tracked from March 1994 to March 1995 because admis sions personnel wanted to get a handle on just how busy their phones really were. Spring took the total57,464 callsto a meeting where he proceeded to present the figure as evidence of just how hard the admissions office staff was working. It really blew me away because I was looking for some strokes for the good job we were doing. Agnihothri, associate professor in the School of Management, said call centers like the admissions office are the focus of his studies. Agnihothri said that Spring's immediate reaction to his question wasn't unusual.
People tend to look at how well they are handling the volume of their work.
They generally don't stop to think how they can do better. Calls coming into call centers can all be placed into one of three categories, Agnihothri said. All calls are in regard to past service, ongoing service or a future purchase, he said. Calls in regard to past service are almost always complaints, which are valu able in the short term only because they can lead to long-term improvements in service, he added. Once Spring got over his surprise at Agnihothri's question, he began to feel the excitement and empowerment that inevitably comes with a new perspective on an old, sticky problem, Spring said.