Be Intentional to Make the Most Out of the Summer Season Even though summer hasn’t officially begun, for most of us in the United States it effectively started after Memorial Day. It feels like summer, and I, for one, act like it’s summer. Though it’s been a while, here’s what I recall summer meaning in […]
Mishandling Leads Will Result in Lost Sales Over a decade ago, in my article “I Want To Buy Some Shoes,” I used my experience buying a pair of sneakers to talk about the TAS industry. Now, I’ll do it again. With my wife serving as my accomplice, she guided me into the inner workings of […]
Though I no longer work in a call center, I remember those days well. There was always something demanding my attention, some urgent matter to attend to. I’d often spend an entire day, sometimes all week, just putting out fires. Charles Hummel called this the “tyranny of the urgent,” where urgent matters occupy all our […]
Though serving clients is the goal, what we call ourselves does matter Asking if you’re an answering service or a call center isn’t a matter of semantics, it’s a matter of perception. And since perceptions drive behaviors, this is an important discussion to have. First, let’s cover some definitions to establish our discussion’s foundation. In […]
Effective leaders take time to get input from their employees One of my goals when I ran an answering service was to provide the best possible headsets for my staff. After all, they spend all day on the phone, so voice quality, ease-of-use, and comfort are critical. To pursue this, I always looked for a […]
In the last issue of Medical Call Center News, we talked about using video in your call center. Three advantages are that video can help build caller rapport, aid triage, and elevate the professionalism of your call center. However, before you embrace video, consider these elements and prepare accordingly: Technology Having the right video gear […]
Having Multiple Business Identities for Your TAS May Be Strategic or Happenstance Not that I expect many readers to notice, but did you see I made a small tweak to my byline? Instead of Peter L DeHaan, it has become Peter Lyle DeHaan. There’s a reason for this. Let me explain I’m working on some […]
If you plan for nothing, that’s likely what you’ll achieve. I’m a big advocate of planning. I have a plan for each day and a plan for the week. I have a plan for the month and for each quarter. I also have a plan for the year. It’s not elaborate, but it is written […]
Last time we talked about web chat and it’s growing used in the call center. Another interesting technology that will make inroads in the call center is video. Just as text messaging is driving demand for a webchat, the use of Skype, Face Time, and other video apps will spur interest in video calls to […]
Speed Can Be a Strength or a Weakness How long does it take you to put a new client on service? How long should it take? I’m sure you can answer the first question quickly. And I imagine there might be a bit of angst in considering your response to the second one. In a […]