Virtual Hold Technology

Initially founded as Virtual Hold Technology (VHT) in 1995 and now known as Mindful, the company pioneered the concept of virtual queuing for call centers. Founder Mark Williams developed the patented VHT Callback solution to address customer frustration with waiting on hold. This technology allows customers to hang up, hold their place in line, and receive a call back when an agent is available or at a scheduled time.

The company, headquartered in Akron, Ohio, has evolved from a singular product to offering a suite of omnichannel customer experience solutions. In 2018, the company rebranded from Virtual Hold Technology to VHT to reflect its broader focus on the entire customer journey across multiple channels. That same year, it was acquired by private equity firm Alpine Investors. In 2020, VHT introduced Mindful, a Hybrid-SaaS platform combining voice, messaging, automation, and analytics. This platform enables digital channels like websites and mobile apps to request callbacks and facilitates conversations across voice and text. Subsequently, in April 2022, the company officially rebranded to Mindful, aligning its corporate identity with its flagship product suite. In July 2022, Medallia, a global leader in customer and employee experience, announced it was acquiring Mindful.

The business model shifted from a traditional license to a subscription-based Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) model. Mindful's platform is designed to be deployed in any single or multivendor contact center environment, serving enterprise clients across sectors like telecommunications, financial services, insurance, and travel. Notable clients have included Comcast, Morgan Stanley, UnitedHealth Group, and Delta Air Lines. The core offerings improve key contact center metrics by reducing call abandonment rates, decreasing average speed to answer, and managing call volume peaks more efficiently. The product suite includes VHT Callback, which calculates wait times and offers callback options, and VHT Navigator, which manages and analyzes customer interactions across channels to optimize outcomes.

Keywords: virtual queuing, callback software, contact center solutions, customer experience management, hold time reduction, omnichannel customer engagement, SaaS, call center technology, customer journey optimization, automated callback, VHT Mindful, Medallia, digital customer service, customer interaction management, voice messaging automation, call abandonment, customer satisfaction, agent efficiency, queue management, enterprise communication