Contact Center Geek
The real punishment I put myself through however, is taking surveys. Although I’m not able to take one every day, I actively seek out opportunities to take them and have completed hundreds over the past several years. I have also worked for some companies where I have learned a great deal about customer feedback programs.
Read MoreDid you know there is an official Customer Service Week to highlight the work of customer service employees? Customer Service Week is not specifically only for contact centers but many across the country have adopted it is their own holiday.
Read MoreThroughout my career I've been part of many new technology implementations. An important element to nearly all of them has been successful user adoption.
Years ago, the customer service contact center at the bank where I worked implemented a new performance reporting application from Merced Systems
Read MoreContact center managers, you are still wrong about AHT (Average Handle Time, also known as Agents Hate This). Maybe not all of you are, but for sure, many of you are.
I know what you’re likely asking, how would you know if you’re wrong about AHT?
Read MoreHere's a bit of call center humor, in the spirit of Throwback Thursday. And buried in that humor is a lesson that continues to stay with me.
Let me answer your first obvious question. Yes, it is acceptable to do a "Throwback Thursday" post on LinkedIn.
Read MoreA fellow NorCal Contact Center Association steering committee member recently recommended the book "The Effortless Experience" by Matthew Dixon, Nick Toman and Rick DeLisi. I loved it. If you work in a call center, or provide service to customers, this is a must read.
The book comes from the Harvard Business Review article, "Stop Trying to Delight Your Customers".
Read MoreToday was day two of PesTech3.0, a three-day conference dedicated to connecting industry leaders to discuss technology trends in pest control. So far, we've heard from some great speakers on disruptive technology, how the "internet of things" impacts our industry, mobile marketing and using mobile technologies throughout sales and servicing. We've also learned about interesting and innovative ways that pest control operators can start to deploy wearable tech.
Read MoreEarly in my career I learned the art of saying "no". I have even had great success remembering to rephrase "no, I can't do that" to "what I can do is...". That's fine in many situations. It reminds me to focus on solving problems rather than simply answering questions.
Read MoreI enjoy being part of the festivities during Customer Service Week and hearing what other call center leaders do in their centers. I do my best to show my appreciation to my team members the other 51 weeks every year but find this week a special time.
Even if you don’t have money to spend, there are simple things you can do during Customer Service Week.
Read MoreWhen I hear the term “management” used to describe a group of unnamed people, I think of toilet seat covers. Specifically, I think of toilet seat covers in public restrooms. Sometimes the packaging reads: “Provided by the Management For Your Protection”.
Read MoreWe all need compelling reasons to keep our customers coming back. Customer retention is vital and getting customer feedback can give great insight into the future success of our business, but we need to allow customers to leave us. We need to be gracious and offer solutions but when the customer says it’s time to break up, it’s time to say goodbye.
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