By Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD If your call center is only making EBR (existing business relationship) calls, you may think you have nothing to worry about, right? No. Just because it is legal to dial a number, doesn’t mean you should. Calling too often or for the wrong reasons could turn an EBR into a […]
By Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD The Annual ATSI Convention and Expo was held June 18-21 at the Union Station in St. Louis. The theme was “Step Up to the Plate.” In terms of attendance, content, and the auction, the convention was a great success. For convention attendees who may have snuck out to catch a […]
By Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD The Ford Model T automobile was produced in only one color. Supposedly, Henry Ford quipped, “You can have any color, as long as it’s black.” His assembly-line production method changed the way cars were made and introduced a predicable consistency, standardizing the manufacturing process. At that time, those traits were […]
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 […]