Author Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD, publishes books about business, customer service, the call center industry, and business and writing.
By Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD This fall, the thoughts of school age children everywhere are focused on returning to school. Some approach the new school year with dread and trepidation, a few with excitement and high expectation, and others with inevitable acquiescence and acceptance. Regardless of their personal perspective, many will be faced with the […]
By Peter Lyle DeHaan, Ph.D. What is benchmarking? At its simplest, benchmarking is objectively comparing your call center with others. Brad Cleveland of Incoming Calls Management Institute states that “Benchmarking is comparing products, services, and processes with those of other organizations, to identify new ideas and improvement opportunities.” Whereas Dr. Jon Anton of Purdue University […]
By Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD Headsets were an invention, born out of necessity, to prevent the fatigue and strain caused when agents worked all day on the phone. In order to free both hands for operating equipment, handwriting messages, and filing papers, operators of yesteryear could not hold a telephone handset with one hand, but […]
By Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD A few years ago I bought a new car. Although it wasn’t my practice to take my cars to their respective dealers for maintenance, a new car changed that habit. After all, there was warranty work to be considered and their coupons for low cost oil changes were enticing. I […]
By Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD Most readers of Connections Magazine are outsourcing service providers, offering an array of telephone-related and contact services to their clients. Just as organizations, businesses, and individuals can outsource call processing to telemessaging and teleservice companies, these call centers can in turn outsource certain aspects of their business to other companies. […]
By Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD “You need a hobby,” my wife exclaimed in exasperation. I don’t recall the circumstances, but it is safe to assume that I was doing something she deemed a nuisance. Regardless of the cause of her frustration, her impromptu advice gave me pause. Yes, a pastime, a relaxing diversion, would be […]
By Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD Almost every day, someone asks me, “How can I get more sales?” In fact, for my clients and prospects, increasing sales is usually a primary concern. Rarely does anyone tell me that their company is making all the sales they want. I wish they would ask me easier questions, like […]
By Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD As the economy becomes more global and society becomes more ethnically diverse, differences in language become more pronounced. In some areas, where there is a heavy concentration of a particular ethnic group, it is not uncommon for call centers to effectively be bilingual. In some areas of the United States […]
By Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD About three years ago, I started to sense that it was time for a career change. Work wasn’t fun any more. Many of the things I relished weren’t being pursued at my company or had been delegated to others. My days were filled with tasks that I didn’t enjoy, responsibilities […]
By Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD It amuses me to tell people that I went to college for 26 years. Their reactions vary from shock to admiration, from pity to surprise. As a high school sophomore, I learned that the local community college would admit select high school seniors. Acting partly out of youthful arrogance and […]