Irate customers are nothing new for banks or subscription-based businesses like cable TV operators and telecommunications providers. Indeed, many companies have created specialized call centers—known as save desks—to help retain customers who wish to cancel. A McKinsey study suggests that few save desks achieve their full potential. By following the practices of top-performing ones, companies could lower their churn rates, boost their profitability, and even develop new products.
Our study of 14 save desks operating in five industries across 11 countries1 found significant differences between the best performers—those with the highest save rates and incremental profit per customer saved—and the worst in the way these companies staffed and trained agents and managed their performance. Four save desks stood out for their success in the total number of customers they managed to retain and in the preservation of customer value.
When it came to hiring, most save desks sought out high-performing agents from the traditional call centers of their own companies. Surprisingly, however, these employees tended to underperform in their new role, mainly because of poor listening skills. One explanation might be the emphasis many inbound call centers place on using scripts, which though efficient seem to encourage agents to...