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Lillian Vernon: Increased Efficiencies Reason for Call Center Closure

Lillian Vernon has closed its satellite call center in the Philippines. The company attributed its closure to increased operational efficiencies.

The cataloger began delivering 100 percent of its contact volume to its Virginia Beach facility effective last weekend, writes Multichannel Merchant. That center will now operate from 7 a.m. to midnight seven days a week. It expects a 30 percent increase in call volume.

The company no longer has sales reps promote third-party sales offers such as magazine subscriptions and discount buying clubs during calls. The lifting of that burden alone decreased average call handling time by 39 seconds.

Another improvement has been in an advanced interactive voice response program that has been in tests for several months. It has cut the average handling time by as much as 20 seconds. Improvements in merchandising and distribution has also helped cut calls and call times.