Author Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD, publishes books about business, customer service, the call center industry, and business and writing.
Distracting, Divisive, and Dangerous When I set up my first social media account, I followed a few close friends and endeavored to read every one of their posts. That didn’t last long. As the number of my connections grew, the quantity of posts soon had me feeling overwhelmed. Then I added a second platform and, […]
Theresa Alacante has been making fine, hand-made ceramic tiles for upscale clients for twelve years. After she graduated with her Masters in Fine Arts from UC Davis, she taught art in the public school system. At the same time she designed and crafted fine hand-made ceramic tiles on the side. Theresa’s reputation grew. Many upscale […]
Though We Can’t Choose Our Family, We Can Choose to Enjoy Them My wife and I are fortunate. We live close to our children and grandchildren. This because our family matters. We had to move to make it happen, but it was certainly worth it. In case you’re wondering, we first asked our kids for […]
Hire an Answering Service and Focus on What You Enjoy Most Bret Haas opened Barista Bravo a decade ago to meet the need for a local, homegrown coffee shop and hangout. He had a great location and developed a regular clientele within his first year. He wanted to add some bakery goods to complement his […]
We Only Get One Body and We Must Respect It Too many people in our world today pack their lives full of activity. They treat busyness as a badge of accomplishment. They sacrifice to achieve and receive admiration. In doing so, they neglect their physical well-being. Their body suffers, but they push health aside in […]
Cleaning Up with Advertising Jerry Pelzer started Commercial Cleaning and Restoration Services as a one-man company, so he was seldom in the office when the phone rang. After his old answering machine died, he realized he needed a reliable voicemail system. “The voicemail was sound and functional,” recalled Jerry. “It gave me peace of mind […]
With rain pouring down, Jerry Tresman and his wife, Mindy, looked in horror at the water rushing into the basement crock that held their sump pump. The water was rising. Running continuously the pump couldn’t keep up. In minutes the water would surely overflow, flooding their newly finished basement. Jerry grabbed some pails. Bending over […]
Honor People by Prioritizing Them over Technology Many years ago, back when smartphones first entered the workforce, I attended an industry convention. I wanted to be present in the moment. I sat at a round table with nine others to eat lunch. The keynote address would soon follow. As each attendee at my table finished […]
The Advance of Call Center Technology By Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD The first issue of AnswerStat magazine rolled off the presses many years ago. Since then much has changed. Call center technology has advanced, customer expectations have expanded, hiring and training practices have evolved, and new service opportunities have emerged. The Internet exploded into a […]
Successful Operations Require Intentional Effort By Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD Most everyone who works in off-site customer service knows the importance of having a strong call center team. This is, perhaps, nowhere more important than in the healthcare industry, where a call center sometimes faces the life and death situations of its patients. Though a […]