From 40-minute wait times to under 60 seconds without adding headcount | Allan Harari

From 40-minute wait times to under 60 seconds without adding headcount | Allan Harari

From CX Innovators by Level AI

February 5, 2026 · 27 min

About this episode

Allan Harari discusses how he reduced contact center wait times at Comerica Bank from 20-40 minutes to under 60 seconds without increasing headcount.

Allan Harari cut Comerica Bank's contact center wait times from 20-40 minutes to under 60 seconds without hiring additional agents. The transformation required rebuilding foundational infrastructure first—workforce management systems providing real-time data instead of monthly reports, quality assurance platforms generating actionable insights, and AI deployed as agent augmentation rather than replacement. His three-year roadmap prioritized operational discipline over technology shortcuts, recovering 10% capacity through schedule optimization before any AI implementation. At USAA, he led a specialized team handling 40,000+ loss-of-loved-one calls monthly for military families, creating direct experience with where human judgment remains non-negotiable versus where AI accelerates outcomes. His vendor selection framework cuts through sales pitches: define the exact problem, know what success looks like, then ask questions exposing actual delivery capabilities. By choosing no-code solutions managed by frontline staff who understand the problems daily, he avoided the overhead trap of building custom solutions from component pieces. Topics discussed: Cutting average handle time from…

People in this episode

Guest: Allan Harari

Topics covered

  • Cutting average handle time from 11+ minutes to 7 minutes through technology and contact center hygiene
  • Recovering 10% capacity by reducing lunch breaks from 60 to 30 minutes with proper scheduling
  • Eliminating 2.5-minute gaps between calls by fixing telephony

Mentioned in this episode

Products: workforce management systems, quality assurance platforms, AI

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