By Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD Should your contact center handle social media for your organization or clients? Perhaps you already are but desire to do so with greater ease and effectiveness. Alternately, the idea of social media as part of your contact center mix may present an overwhelming challenge that you’d prefer to not touch. […]
By Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD As a consumer, I have a love-hate response to surveys. Sometimes I dismiss them and feel guilty. Other times I take them and feel like I’ve wasted my time. I group surveys in four categories: Market Research: The first type of survey is market research. All those who complete the […]
By Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD The majority of calls I receive are from people who want to sell me something I don’t want or need, so I’ve become adept at ending these conversations quickly. If they keep selling after I’ve given my terse “no,” I restate my disinterest, ask them to not call again, and […]
By Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD In mid-June, I enjoyed attending Call Center Week, the premier call center conference, at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada. I talked with attendees and heard about the latest innovations from vendors. In addition to the other coverage of Call Center Week in this issue, here are some of the […]
By Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD When my office phone rings, I don’t want to answer it. This may seem odd coming from someone who has spent three decades in the call center industry, experiencing it from almost every angle. Though there are multiple root causes, the primary reason is that these calls are seldom welcome. […]
By Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD When my wife and I go to the movies, we have two choices: drive east into the city to visit a multiplex or visit one town to the west to enjoy the intimate setting of an old-time, one-screen theater. Last night we drove west to enjoy Oz the Great and […]
By Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD Last September in my column, “Let’s Play,” I discussed gamification and questioned if it was mostly hype or offered merit. I wondered then – and still do – if gamification has any application in the contact center. Those who talk about gamification mostly do so from a theoretical perspective, lacking […]
By Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD Like many air travelers, I’m in frequent flyer programs with several airlines. Lately, I haven’t been flying enough to actually receive rewards, but it’s fun to think I might someday earn a free trip. So it didn’t surprise me when one airline emailed me, warning me that my account was […]
By Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD For the past twelve years I’ve worked from an office in my house. The benefits of working at home are many: no commute time or expense, no dress code, no need to pack a lunch or go out to eat (another money saver), and no coworkers dropping by to chat […]
By Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD Switching cable TV providers seems to be a biennial event at our house. With our contract up and sign-up incentives over, my wife called our current provider for a better rate. There were none; the call center agent didn’t have the authority to lower our bill. Also, she must have […]