By Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD The last few days have been challenging at the DeHaan household. Too much rain in too short of a time produced localized flooding. Coupled with some unusual factors with our house and lot, the result was water gushing into our basement. It took four pumps, several hours of bailing, and […]
Tag: From the Publisher
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How Long Should a Call Take?
By Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD My wife and I recently moved. There were the typical myriad of details to attend to, including arranging for utilities. I had three calls to make: one for natural gas, one for electricity, and one for water. I called the electric company first, as I assumed this would be the […]
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Call Center Fiasco
By Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD It’s Black Friday; Big Box Store advertises smartphones for a dollar. After standing in line for over an hour, we learn that because I have a business plan, they can’t sell us phones. However, all we need to do is change to an individual plan, and they send us to […]
By Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD Conference planners sometimes ask me to sit on a panel. The common format is that each panelist makes an initial presentation, followed by a Q&A. Other times the presentations are longer, with no time for questions. Most of my panel experiences have not been good. For my first one, my […]
By Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD My wife and I recently moved. Some aspects went smoothly, and others were not so good. Part of moving is canceling services and changing mailing addresses. Each one is a customer service opportunity. Some companies excel at this, while others struggle, which produces repeat calls. This causes ramifications for both […]
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What’s Your Technology Strategy?
By Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD With the situation in Iraq again looming large in the news, I recall Operation Desert Storm, which occurred two-and-a-half decades ago. At the time, most foreign reporters relied on dial-up telephone lines to report the news. This approach was inexpensive, allowed for mobility, and provided flexibility. An alternate method was […]
By Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD I often share customer service stories in this column. While I prefer to pass on examples of excellence, they are harder to spot than service gone awry. Even so, I try not to let these tales become a rant but instead offer helpful information in an interesting way. As my […]
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Don’t Make Extra Work for Your Agents
By Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD I enjoy the simplicity of companies that email me my invoices and statements. This saves paper and time. What frustrates me is the companies that merely notify me when an invoice or statement is available. I then need to log into their secure website and download the needed file. I […]
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Will You Help Us?
By Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD As we start a new year at Connections Magazine, I have a favor to ask you. I don’t do this lightly, and it is important. If you enjoy reading Connections, I know you’ll do whatever you can. Here’s the background: Connections is an advertiser-supported magazine. That means the revenue from […]
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Let’s Focus on Making Connections
By Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD Twenty years ago, the first issue of Connections Magazine rolled off the presses. Printed on newsprint and sent bulk mail, it was mostly black-and-white (color printing throughout was too expensive). The Internet was around then, but most people were still trying to figure it out. Since then, much has changed. […]