Pool Supplies Website AquaSupercenter.com Employs New Software to Answer 46.8% of Customer Questions Automatically in January 2012.

AquaSupercenter.com completed a one-month test on January 24, 2012 involving the use of customer support software and live chat to reduce call volume by 46.8% for the popular discount pool supply store.

Sarasota, Florida (PRWEB) January 26, 2012

A call reduction of this magnitude is huge in the pool supply industry because the business is very seasonal with calls increasing by over 900% from winter to summer. Handling the enormous surge in customer calls in the past has meant quadrupling customer service representatives at AquaSupercenter.com.

Aqua Supercenter has a strong history of using technology to increase efficiency. The company recently used the slow winter season to deploy and test special software that provides customers with instant answers to their pool supply questions 24 hours a day while giving them the ability to escalate their questions to live chat, phone or email. The software called nanoRep improves its efficiency as more questions are asked.

AquaSupercenter.com offers customers tens of thousands of pool supplies such as pool covers, pool pumps, pool lights, floats and loungers, pool slides, various pool parts, filters and cleaners. Top brands include Hayward, Pentair, Zodiac, Jandy, Polaris, Inter-Fab and A.O. Smith. When customers have questions about any of these products, brands or even shipping and return policies, they can type their questions into a “Have a Question?” box that appears on every page of the website.

Answers begin appearing as soon as a customer begins typing their question. Entering the question “What is your return policy?” instantly shows an answer with the title “Returns, Defective Items, Missing Parts, or Warranty Replacements” and allows customers to click to instantly view the return policy.

Whether a question is answered or not, the customer has the ability to escalate it, meaning to ask a representative by live chat or phone during business hours or by email anytime. Unanswered questions are stored in the system and representatives enter answers in their spare time. So the system continues to get better at giving the best answers and decreasing call volume.

The system was launched on December 24, 2011 and has already answered 46.8% of customer questions online in the first month of use with 29% of questions being escalated to live chat sessions with pool supply specialists. Phone calls cost Aqua Supercenter and average of $2.40 more than handling the same question online, so the savings amounts to thousands of dollars per month in the summer.

“While reducing our call volume and hold times is important all year long, it is absolutely critical in the busy summer months when our order volume is over 900% higher than winter,” said Chris Smith of AquaSupercenter.com. “The technology easily pays for itself, and the improved response times and customer service make it a clear winner,” continued Mr. Smith.

Aqua Supercenter was ranked the second fastest growing retailer in the U.S. by Inc Magazine in 2009, and continues to be listed in the top 1,000 fastest growing businesses in America and one of the top 1,000 websites by revenue in the U.S. according to Internet Retailer.

Customers in need of pool supplies, parts and chemicals should visit http://www.aquasupercenter.com/ for the lowest prices on the best pool accessories with a 110% lowest-price guarantee and 30-day money back return policy.

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Chris Smith
Aqua Supercenter
941-487-2775
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