Tag: Peter Lyle DeHaan’s Vital Signs

By Peter Lyle DeHaan, Ph.D. Does your call center make the caller or patient a priority? I expect that it does. In fact, I suspect that the phrase “customer service” is found somewhere in your mission or vision statement, etched on a wall plaque, proclaimed in your marking material, and oft cited by upper management. […]

By Peter Lyle DeHaan, Ph.D. I am a bit of a movie buff. Among my more arcane interests is a fixation with memorable, unique, or humorous lines from films. Some phrases make their way into pop-culture, such as Clint Eastwood, pointing his ominous sidearm and snarling, “Go ahead, make my day.” Others transcend generations, as […]

By Peter Lyle DeHaan, Ph.D. What is your self-service strategy? Is it in-place and fully functional? Perhaps it’s moving forward, slowly but surely. Conversely, you may still be contemplating what your self-service offerings should be – if any at all. If you do make self-service available to your callers, is it used much? How is […]

By Peter Lyle DeHaan, Ph.D. With the United States’ fall elections behind us, I am now recovering from the inundation of all messages political. From these saner confines of a post-election U.S., I can address the “serious” problem of outsourcing. Succinctly put, outsourcing, an often prudent, wise, and cost-effective practice, has been politicized. Once a […]

By Peter Lyle DeHaan, Ph.D. Years ago, as a first-time manager, I was green and had much to learn. I walked down the hall with my boss; he had just given me yet one more assignment, a task that I didn’t have time to do. I protested at his directive, insisting that I already had […]

By Peter Lyle DeHaan, Ph.D. Based on the title of this article, StarTrek fans may be anticipating an enlightened discourse on Seven of Nine’s unremitting pursuit of Borg-style perfection. Alas, this is not the case. (If you are disappointed, I recommend watching, “The Omega Directive” – StarTrek Voyager, season 4, episode 19 – and then […]

By Peter Lyle DeHaan, Ph.D. It was a lazy summer afternoon, a Friday. Things were a bit slow at the office and upper management had left to get an early jump on their weekend. I, being a front-line manager, did not have that luxury. Besides, I had work that I wanted to complete before the […]

By Peter Lyle DeHaan, Ph.D. I first heard about the ‘net in the early 80s from one of my college buddies. He landed a job with a computer mainframe manufacturer and was assigned to work at a university. He regaled me with tales of instantaneously sending text messages across the country and doing so at […]

By Peter Lyle DeHaan, Ph.D. Growing up, I heard a radio commercial with the tag line, “Service sold it.” Even as a young child I was able to grasp the concept that providing quality service was a great way to close more sales and gain new business. Over the years, I have heard this mantra […]

By Peter Lyle DeHaan, Ph.D. In retail, the term shrinkage is euphemistically used to reference stock which “disappears” before it can be sold. In essence, it is a product that the retailer bought, but can’t sell. To be direct, shrinkage is theft. While some of this is due to shoplifting, it also results from employees, […]