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IVR System Eases Ticket Bookings at Adlabs Cinemas|
- By Anuradha Ramamirtham, Oct 08, 2007 1051 hrs IST
- Tags : IVR System Eases Ticket Bookings at Adlabs Cinemas
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Adlabs, a part of the Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group, ranks among India's leading movie and entertainment companies with a major presence across the value chain - from production of films and TV content, film processing and services, domestic and international distribution of content to operating a country wide chain of cinemas.
With the increase in the number of cinemas in its fold - there were 30 at the last count and several more are in the pipeline - and the growing popularity of multiplexes, Adlabs found it increasingly difficult to handle ticket bookings through the agent-based manual booking system it had in place. In fact, the volume of calls for ticket bookings had mounted to the point where Adlabs was left with no option but to augment manpower by hiring people on a daily basis to cope with the situation. Infrastructure was also a constraint. Says Jitender Verma, head (technology) of Adlabs, "Customers started to complain that there wasn't any response from the call center number, and on several occasions they found our lines busy."
Not surprisingly, Adlabs decided to go in for an automated system for ticket bookings. "Given our rapid expansion, we were left with no alternative but to opt for automation," says Verma. After weighing the pros and cons of solutions from host vendors, including Sequs Software, Adlabs settled for an Interactive Voice Response (IVR) system from the Delhi-based One97 Communications. Typically, an automated telephone information system allows callers to get information they're looking for 24 hours a day. They're also used as a front end to call centers in order to route as many calls as possible away from human agents. While IVR systems mayn't necessarily replace human agents, they save agents from the bother of constantly having to answer the same simple questions from callers.
At Adlabs, the IVR system was implemented in July 2007. Deployment of the solution took 8 weeks and - apart from allowing ticket bookings - it allows customers to check out show timings and opt for home delivery of tickets. Following the implementation, the volume of calls Adlabs is equipped to handle has gone up to 60,000-80,0000 a month. "We're now able to handle much larger call volumes than before, apart from enhancing the quality of customer experience," says Verma.
Post-implementation, Adlabs discovered that customers who book tickets through the IVR system still needed to come to the cinema theatre at least an hour before show time to pay and collect their tickets. "Since we perceived this was inconveniencing our customers, we're taking steps to provide a payment option on the IVR system, enabling patrons not only to book their tickets but to pay for them through their credit cards." says Verma.
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