Technology is so easy to blame. For what? For not meeting metrics, keeping costs under control, delivering great service, driving enough revenue? The list goes on. Center leadership, staff, and support team members often exclaim, “If we only had …!” as they point at technology as the culprit. They don’t have what they need, don’t… Read More »
We recently got rid of our landline, and I bet many of you have already done the same, or will soon. We live by the smartphone. It’s our “go to” directory, information, web, and application source. We use it to self serve or seek assisted service with companies big and small. Whether we make contact… Read More »
As contact center professionals, we’d prefer that folks use traditional forms of contact to request assistance, discuss issues, and air grievances. Unfortunately, some of them aren’t inclined to abide by our wishes. A telling study by Maritz Research and evolve24 revealed that 49% of Twitter complainants expected companies to read their Tweets; only a third… Read More »
Where have the simpler days gone? This is a common plea in the contact center. Self-service, an explosion of contact channels, varied customer needs, and a revolving door of product and service offerings have made work on the front lines increasingly complex. Agents want and need help! Fortunately, there is a wealth of technology that… Read More »
We all use tools to monitor important elements of our personal world in ways that we never did before: GPS and text messaging on the kids’ phones, home security systems with remote notification and control, apps to follow activity with your favorite sports teams or stocks, and updates about your flights or financial accounts. Now… Read More »
In 20 years of consulting and hundreds of projects, I have seen some typical scenarios play out in client environments, often based on the communication and collaboration – or lack thereof – between IT and the contact center. Stalemates ripe with finger pointing are common situations. IT stands in one corner declaring “tell me what… Read More »
The “hair on fire” days of alarms and emergency back-up staff running into the center to log into the ACD to take calls are gone. Workforce Management systems and staffing strategies help managers plan for and react to variable contact volume. Yet even with effective planning, centers still struggle to handle unpredicted volume and peak… Read More »
As I work with contact centers across all sizes and vertical markets, I hear a consistent theme focusing on serving customers in excellence. So why aren’t more customers raving about their experiences? And why do some centers excel in service while others only talk the talk? While there are no simple answers, I can offer… Read More »
It is rare to see centers conducting quality monitoring (QM) or capturing Voice of the Customer (VoC) for self-service. Once the applications pass their respective usability and functional tests, the center simply monitors usage statistics and raises concerns when outliers are noted – e.g., excessive “opt outs” to agents. And yet the customer experience with… Read More »
Everybody wants to provide quality customer interactions. Unless you’ve got really deep pockets and unlimited resources from which to draw, you won’t be able to achieve performance management nirvana in the blink of an eye. But if you have a road map and the patience and determination to follow it, you can steadily progress from… Read More »