Author Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD, publishes books about business, customer service, the call center industry, and business and writing.
By Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD At one time all call centers used a free-form philosophy of recording caller provided information and communication, be it an order, a message, or an information submission. Free-form documentation is analogous to a paper phone message pad, with the agent filling in whatever blanks deemed appropriate, in any order preferred. […]
Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD We (my bride and I) have safely returned from St. Louis. The ATSI convention was great. I snapped hundreds of pics—hopefully a few will be good enough to print. I also recorded 7 interviews for future podcasts, which will be posted online at podcast.connectionsmagazine.com starting this week. The drive there and back was uneventful […]
Today my bride and I are headed to St. Louis to cover the ATSI convention and expo. It takes almost as long to fly as it does to drive, so we will be cruising the Interstate highway, instead of flying the friendly skies. Even with gas around the $4.00 a gallon mark, it will be […]
Monday’s blog about the misdirected press releases generated a lot of interest, both in the form of official blog comments, as well as email messages. Sara, who works in the public relations industry — and sends me good press releases — emailed me her thoughts: “…love your blog – and cannot believe what utter rubbish […]
After yesterday’s column mentioning press releases that were poorly targeted, I made a list of the headlines sent my way recently. None of them have anything to do with what my magazines cover. Even though the summer months are light for news submissions, I still received quite a few. For some of them I am […]
Each day I receive a plethora of press releases. While some are exactly the information I seek to share with readers of Connections Magazine and AnswerStat magazine, others are more broadly targeted, and too many are complete mismatches. Consider the numerous email missives I’ve received to save the manatees or promote Michigan Special Olympics. Although […]
By Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD Most employees fear the changes wrought by acquisition. I have never been “acquired,” but I have been on the other side — about a dozen times, buying small and medium-sized telemessaging call centers and integrating them into a larger operation. The almost universal response to an acquisition announcement is trepidation […]
Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD In retail, the term “shrinkage” euphemistically refers to stock which “disappears” before it can be sold. It is product that the retailer bought, but can’t sell because it is has been stolen or lost. In the call center, the inventory is labor and shrinkage is agents who are being paid but […]
A few months ago I starting listening to podcasts — and I’m hooked. I know, podcasts have been around for a long time, but it was only recently that I had a compelling reason download and listen to some. Having an iPod made all the difference, as the podcast could then become portable, untethering me […]
By Peter Lyle DeHaan, Ph.D. AnswerStat magazine was present at the recent American Telemedicine Association (ATA) 2008 Annual Meeting. The event was held April 6-8 in Seattle Washington. Over 2,200 attendees were treated to a plethora of educational and informative presentations, as well as a packed trade show with more than 160 telemedicine vendors. In […]