Agero Best Practices - Four Factors that Affect Call Volume

One question we get asked from service providers is “Why am I receiving less calls?”  Looking at your calls in agerosupport.com, you may see the number of calls you are receiving in your area has slightly decreased from the prior month.  Why did this happen?  Is business slow in my area?  Did my Performance Manager make a change to my account?  There are several factors that will affect your volume with Agero, some of which are out of your control.  We will look at four factors that can affect your volume.

1- Seasonality

Over the course of the year, you will see slight variances in your call volume with Agero.  Since our business is related to customers’ driving habits, the need for roadside assistance will increase with more drivers on the road.  I’m sure you all see this daily, as rush hour tends to be the busiest part of the day.  We see this happen with the seasons as well.  Below is a graph that represents our dispatches for 2012.  As you can see, the busiest time of the year is the summer.  From Memorial Day to Labor Day, more drivers are on the road traveling, thus producing more roadside events.  The volume dips down in the fall, but will increase again in the winter for those located in geographically colder parts of the country.  The spring would be the slowest time of the year for most.

2- Weather

Extreme weather will cause significant spikes in volume.  Heat waves, blizzards, flooding, and hurricanes can all produce major spikes in volume.  You could easily go from two calls a day to twenty calls a day in areas affected by extreme weather, and keeping up with the additional volume can become challenging. In the summer, temperatures rise, increasing the chances of overheating vehicles and batteries being drained.  During the winter, as the snow falls and the temperature drops, the need for jump starts and winches increase dramatically. 

3- New Clients

Agero is always adding new clients to our book of business.  Some new clients have more customers in certain geographic areas or states than others, so you may see an increase in calls if we gain new business. 

4- Performance Manager Changes

The Performance Manager has the ability to make a Service Provider primary, meaning a provider will get the first call in a certain zip code.  Your Performance Manager should reach out to you if any of these changes from primary to backup are to occur. 

If you are a new provider with Agero, as you look at your call volume over the next few months, realize that the number of calls will likely be lower than the summer months.  So don’t worry if you happen to receive less calls.  When looking at your call volume, be sure to look at the amount of calls during that same time period last year for a good comparison, not month-to-month.   You can create customized data at agerosupport.com under the link “Run Custom Reports.”

As always, if see any major changes in volume, or have the ability to take on additional volume, feel free to reach out to your Performance Manager.  You can see the full list here.