Routing takes longer than the reply itself.
Everything comes in through one central number and a few mailboxes. Every message is read, matched to a request type, assigned to a case and forwarded to the right team. The reply often takes two sentences after that; the routing before it takes longer.
140messages on a MondayThey come in via the central number, the fax inbox and two mailboxes.
9request typesFrom rescheduled appointments to complaints, everything lands in the same pile.
40 secondsper assignmentRead, find the case, forward: for every single message.
2hours to the first replyThat is how long the service centre spends distributing messages in the morning.
By 06:00, before the first call comes in, Monday's 140 messages are sorted into nine request types, with up to 70% less manual routing effort.
The reduction of up to 70% in manual routing effort is this agent's headline figure. The number of messages, the request types and the assignment time describe a typical Monday in the service centre; they are not measured values.