The Cleveland Guardians is a professional baseball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. Founded in 1894 as an American League charter franchise, the Guardians have a long history in Major League Baseball. Committed to delivering a premier fan experience, the organization focuses on game-day excitement and ensures high-quality service through its dedicated fan services department.
Professional Sports
Cleveland, Ohio
www.mlb.com/guardians
The Cleveland Guardians’ fan services department faced significant challenges, including high call abandonment rates, lengthy queue times, and inefficient resource allocation. These issues negatively impacted the fan experience and operational efficiency. To enhance service quality and responsiveness, the organization introduced measurable KPIs and an employee incentive program.
With Brightmetrics’ intelligent analytics solution, the fan services department gained the ability to perform real-time monitoring and historical performance tracking. Detailed reporting helped the team identify key pain points, including long hold times, inconsistent response rates, and staffing inefficiencies during peak call volumes. By optimizing staffing, streamlining reporting, and closely monitoring key metrics, the Guardians transformed their fan services operations within 12 months, significantly improving efficiency and customer satisfaction.
Key Results:
The Cleveland Guardians are dedicated to delivering an exceptional fan experience, which begins long before game day. The fan services department serves as the first point of contact for customers with inquiries about ticketing, merchandise, tours, and hospitality. However, the team struggled with a 20% call abandonment rate and an average queue time of nearly five minutes. Without access to detailed analytics, team members found it difficult to measure their performance and identify areas for improvement in their call center.
To address these challenges, the Guardians implemented Brightmetrics for their Mitel system. This solution allowed the team to convert phone system data into actionable insights, enabling better tracking of KPIs through customizable dashboards and scheduled reports. The fan services department could monitor inbound call volume and response efficiency with real-time analytics while improving stakeholder reporting. The cradle-to-grave reporting feature also allowed for diagnosing customer service issues and troubleshooting system malfunctions.
The Guardians introduced an Employee Incentive Program with these enhanced capabilities to motivate their team. Weekly gift cards were awarded to team members who excelled at reducing call abandonment rates, lowering hold times, and improving call outcomes. The success of this program led to its expansion to the sales team, which incorporated daily contests to boost outbound call efficiency.
With Brightmetrics, the Cleveland Guardians significantly improved their fan service operations. Call abandonment rates dropped from 20% to 7%, representing a 65% decrease. Average queue times were reduced by 38%, from nearly five minutes to just over three and a half minutes. The percentage of calls presented and answered improved from 76% to 92%, demonstrating a significant increase in customer service efficiency.
| 2016 | 2017 | % change | |
| Abandon Rate | 20% | 7% | -65% |
| Avg queue time | 4m53s | 3m32s | -38% |
| % calls presented / answered | 76% | 92% | +21% |
These improvements increased individual and team performance transparency, allowing for better forecasting and staffing adjustments based on historical and real-time data. The ability to proactively respond to call volume spikes through live dashboards ensured more effective resource deployment. System troubleshooting was enhanced, reducing service disruptions.
By leveraging Brightmetrics, the Cleveland Guardians transformed their fan services operations. Real-time monitoring, detailed reporting, and performance-driven incentives helped reduce wait times and enhance the customer experience. The successful implementation of these strategies underscores the importance of data-driven decision-making in optimizing call center performance.
Other professional sports franchises engaging extensively in fan communications can also benefit from intelligent analytics like Brightmetrics. By gaining real-time insight into their operations, optimizing staffing, and utilizing data-driven decision-making, teams can enhance the overall fan experience, improve efficiency, and drive greater engagement.
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