Tag: technology

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Healthcare Call Centers

Voice AI in the Healthcare Call Center

Should We Embrace Technology in Our Medical Contact Centers or Fear It?

By Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD

Throughout the history of the call center industry we’ve looked for ways to help our agents be more effective. In the pre-computer days this often meant physical solutions and electromechanical devices that allowed staff to answer calls faster, record information easier, and organize data more effectively.

Author Peter Lyle DeHaan

Then came rudimentary computers that provided basic call distribution and CTI (computer telephony integration). Computer databases allowed us to retrieve information and store data. Following this we experienced voicemail, IVR (interactive voice response), and automated attendant.

More recently we’ve encountered speech-to-text conversion and text-to-speech applications. Then came the chatbots, computerized automatons that allow for basic text and voice communication between machine and people.

Computers are talking with us. Smart phones, too. Consider Siri, Alexa, and all their friends. Technology marches forward. What will happen next?

I just did an online search for Voice AI. Within .64 seconds I received two million results. I’m still working my way through the list (not really), but the first few matches gave me some eye-opening and thought-provoking content to read and watch.

In considering this information, it’s hard to determine what’s practical application for our near future and what’s theoretical potential that might never happen.

However, my conclusion is that with advances in chatbot technology, artificial intelligence (AI), and machine learning, we aren’t far from the time when computer applications will carry on full, convincing conversations with callers, who will think they’re talking with real people.

While many pieces of this puzzle are available today, I submit that we’re not yet to the point where we can have a complete, intelligent dialogue with a computer and not know it. But it will happen. Probably soon.

Voice AI in the Healthcare Call Center

What Does Voice AI Mean for the Medical Call Center?

Just like all technological advances since the inception of the earliest call centers, we’ll continue to free agents from basic tasks and allow them to handle more complex issues. Technology will not replace agents, but it will shift their primary responsibilities.

Or maybe not.

With the application of voice AI, might we one day have a call center staffed with computer algorithms instead of telephone agents? I don’t know. Anything I say today will likely seem laughable in the future. Either I will have overstretched technology’s potential or underestimated the speed of its advance.

I think I’m okay talking to a computer program to make an appointment with my doctor. And it wouldn’t bother me to call in the evening and converse with a computer as I leave my message for the doctor, nurse, or office staff.

However, what concerns me just a tad would be calling a telephone triage number and having a computer give me medical advice.

Yet in considering the pieces of technology available to us today, this isn’t so far-fetched. Proven triage protocols are already defined and stored in a database.

Giving them a computerized voice is possible now. And with AI and machine learning, the potential exists for an intelligent interface to provide the conversational bridge between me and the protocols. And this could be the solution to our growing shortage of medical practitioners.

For those of you actually doing telephone triage, you might be laughing right now. Perhaps you’re already implementing this. Or maybe you’re convinced it will never work.

Yet it’s important that we talk about technology and its application in healthcare call centers. Regardless of what happens, the future will certainly be an interesting place.

Read more in Peter Lyle DeHaan’s Healthcare Call Center Essentials, available in hardcover, paperback, and e-book.

Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD, is the publisher and editor-in-chief of AnswerStat and Medical Call Center News covering the healthcare call center industry. Read his latest book, Sticky Customer Service.

Categories
Healthcare Call Centers

Should We Switch Our Mindset From Calls to Contacts?

By Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD

The first issue of AnswerStat magazine rolled off the presses over a dozen years ago. Since then much has changed. Call center technology has advanced, customer expectations have expanded, hiring and training practices have evolved, and new service opportunities have emerged. The Internet exploded into a global phenomenon that altered everything.

Author Peter Lyle DeHaan

What hasn’t changed much is the telephone call. Call centers still answer calls, make calls, and transfer calls; we give and receive information over the phone. The telephone is the ubiquitous communication medium, and it is central to the call center.

During these years of technological transformation, there was also faxing and paging, but both were insignificant compared to the widespread practice of simply picking up the phone and calling someone to have a two-way conversation in real-time. Not too many people fax anymore, and it’s been ages since I’ve seen a pager. Yet the telephone remains.

But now we also have email, text, and social media. Some call centers have fully embraced these technologies and integrated them in to their operations. Others have persisted in focusing on phone calls. Yet the pressure remains for such centers to add these newer forms of communication and connection into their call center mix. As a result the call center becomes the contact center. To embrace this multi-channel paradigm, your call center mind-set must be about contacts, not calls.

Consider these forms of contact:

Calls: Phone calls represent the majority of contacts in almost every contact center. We excel at calls.

Fax: Some healthcare communication still occurs by fax. Though this channel is small, someone needs to oversee it. Why not the contact center?

Pager: Pagers have gone away in most industries, but they still have value in healthcare where reliability, speed, and disaster-adverseness are vital. Contact centers have always done a great job at sending pages, and some even manage pager inventory. There’s no reason to stop now.

Email: Processing secure email is a natural fit for contact centers. They have the network, the Internet connection, the computers, and the staff – and the ability to send, receive, forward, and screen email, just as with calls.

Text: Text is growing in most sectors. This is one more channel for the healthcare contact center to add to their arsenal.

Social Media: A growing preference for people of all ages is to interact online with others through social media. Healthcare organizations require someone to monitor all those comments, tweets, and contacts, responding in a timely manner that is professional and accurate. With the plethora of social media platforms, no organization can utilize them all, yet they must be where their patients are. The task of interacting with these social media-minded customers is ideal for contact centers.

Self-Service: A final consideration is self-service, the preferred option for most people when they have a question or problem. How, you may ask, does self-service become a contact center opportunity? Doesn’t self-service subtract from the contact center? Yes, every interaction handled via self-service is one less interaction handled by the contact center. Yet forward-thinking contact center managers see two opportunities.

The first is that contact centers are in the best position to know what issues self-service should address. Poll a group of agents, and the top ten needs for self-service will quickly emerge. The contact center should serve as the advisor for self-service topics. Better yet, the contact center could take the lead role and actually produce and administer the self-service content.

The second opportunity is providing backup for self-service. Self-service cannot help everyone, every time. The contact center should catch those that self-service drops. As a bonus, these calls, taken in aggregate, then provide fodder for additional self-service content.

Whatever channels your contact center covers, keep in mind that it’s not about the technology, it’s about the contact.

Read more in Peter Lyle DeHaan’s Healthcare Call Center Essentials, available in hardcover, paperback, and e-book.

Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD, is the publisher and editor-in-chief of AnswerStat and Medical Call Center News covering the healthcare call center industry. Read his latest book, Sticky Customer Service.

Categories
Healthcare Call Centers

Vital Signs: The Internet of Things Intersects Healthcare

By Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD

The term “Internet of Things” may be new to you, or it might be something you’ve already grown weary of with eye-rolling boredom. Though a definition for the Internet of Things is still evolving, expect to hear a lot more about it in the future.

Author Peter Lyle DeHaan

Basically, the Internet of Things revolves around the concept of things – instead of people – using the Internet to share information without the need for human interaction. Though a “thing” implies a device, it could mean any object and cover animals or even people. At the most basic level, an active RFID (radio frequency identification) tag qualifies.

A huge area of interest for the Internet of Things is in home automation and convenience. A security system is one obvious item, where sensors in your home report to a computer at the monitoring station what is happening when you’re away.

Internet-connected garage doors are a reality today, as well as remotely accessible thermostats, nanny cams, and door locks. Looking into the future, the Internet of Things could report when your kids get home from school, who is with them, and if they leave; of course you will also know if they attended school or skipped.

Dreaming a bit more, your kitchen could make your grocery list based on the contents of your cupboards and refrigerator or what you ate last night, even placing an order for you.

Another area for the Internet of Things is fitness. Devices – whether a stand-alone gadget or a smartphone app – can track how many steps we take in a day. With an Internet connection, this data can be sent to another computer for analysis, storage, or action.

Imagine receiving a text message encouraging you to go for an evening walk because you haven’t hit your target number of steps for the day. These fitness devices can also monitor basic body functions such as heart rate, moving the Internet of Things into the area of healthcare.

Healthcare is rife with applications, both present and future, for the Internet of Things. Monitoring patients’ vital signs is common in the hospital environment, but the concept can be extended to home-based convalescence or hospice.

Telehealth taps into the Internet of Things and can greatly expand because of it. Locating dementia patients who may have wandered off is feasible with the Internet of Things. Even remotely administering medications is a possibility. The list of potential healthcare applications is limited only by our ability to imagine grand solutions.

While the basic premise is that the Internet of Things moves data without human interaction, at a certain point some of this data will require human involvement. This may be to evaluate options when a preset threshold is met, initiate a response, or escalate action. The Internet of Things becomes a serious tool to keep us healthy and safe; lives are at stake.

At the intersection of healthcare and the Internet of Things can stand the modern healthcare contact center. After all, the medically minded call center already has the staffing and technological infrastructure largely in place to handle such tasks.

Some call centers are already doing some of these things – though they haven’t likely considered them in the context of tapping into the Internet of Things – to serve patients and assist healthcare providers. Opportunities abound.

To be ready to make the most of these opportunities, look at the healthcare-related Internet of Things around you. Then investigate what your contact center needs in order to handle the required human aspect on the backend.

It may be a bit of specific training or perhaps some server software to provide the needed interface. Be ready so that when someone comes to you with a problem stemming from the flood of data from the Internet of Things (IoT), you can nod and smile when you tell them, “Yes, we are IoT-enabled and ready to help.”

Read more in Peter Lyle DeHaan’s Healthcare Call Center Essentials, available in hardcover, paperback, and e-book.

Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD, is the publisher and editor-in-chief of AnswerStat and Medical Call Center News covering the healthcare call center industry. Read his latest book, Sticky Customer Service.

Categories
Business

False Alarms and Other Considerations

By Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD

Regardless of where you work, false alarms have likely caused frustration. I remembered this one day as I searched for the source of an electronic alarm, warning me that something was awry in my house. Since the beeping was intermittent, finding the source was comedic.

Author Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD

With each alert I would move in the direction I thought it was originating from, come to a stop, cock my head, and attentively wait, scarcely breathing so that I could take in its next iteration.

I darted around the house in a haphazard zigzag pattern, often overshooting my mark. It was as though I was playing the childhood game of “hot or cold” with the electronic gizmo taunting me with “you’re getting colder.”

Eventually, I found the culprit: a carbon monoxide detector. In addition to the beeping, the power light was flashing red – even though the only documented options were solid green and solid amber. Pressing reset didn’t help, so I unplugged it for a few minutes; that always worked in the past. After an hour of futile troubleshooting, I began to consider that maybe it was working correctly and there were actually unsafe carbon monoxide levels in my home.

What a novel thought. I never experienced a smoke, fire, or carbon monoxide alarm that signaled an actual problem. In fact, I was conditioned to assume that any alarm was the result of a malfunction.

Smoke detectors were high on that list, with their low battery beeps and false alarms. When I would test them, no one ever left their office to evacuate the building; no one ever asked if there was a fire. The response was always one of irritation: “Make it stop so we can hear our callers.”

Uninterruptible Power Supplies (UPSs) also seemed to do more harm than good. It’s confounding for a malfunctioning UPS to take down servers when perfectly good utility power is available. Yet it happens. For a while I kept track.

The UPSs were actually causing more downtime then they prevented. Generators also fit that category. Regardless if there was an automatic transfer switch or a manual bypass – that is, initiated by technology or by people –inevitably something would go wrong.

Despite employee training and trial runs, nothing seemed to prepared staff to deal with an actual power outage.

Spare parts and backup Internet connections were another cause for frustration. You have them in case of an emergency, periodically testing them to make sure they are functional. Unfortunately, it seems that efforts to do so invariably result in unexpected side effects and problems, including system crashes.

All these areas give one pause to consider if such efforts actually accomplish a net benefit or do more harm than good. Regardless, it would be irresponsible not to do all that can be done to keep staff safe and systems functioning. The frustrations and false alarms are merely a side effect that one must accept in the process.

As far as my issue at home, I ended up buying a new detector. The replacement unit did not alert; apparently it was a false alarm after all.\

Read more in Peter Lyle DeHaan’s Sticky Series books, including Sticky Customer Service, Sticky Sales and Marketing, and Sticky Leadership and Management featuring his compelling story-driven insights and tips.

Peter Lyle DeHaan is an entrepreneur and businessman who has managed, owned, and started multiple businesses over his career. Common themes at every turn have included customer service, sales and marketing, and leadership and management.

He shares his lifetime of business experience and personal insights through his books to encourage, inspire, and occasionally entertain.

Categories
Call Center

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.

Author Peter Lyle DeHaan

An alternate method was to install a dedicated line. Although providing higher audio quality and a more stable connection, it was more costly, required advanced planning, and limited reporting to one fixed location. With the exception of CNN, all other news organizations relied on dial-up for their Iraqi-based reporters. CNN defied conventional wisdom and pushed for a dedicated connection.

When the aerial assault began, in order to hamper local communication, early targets were the phone company’s central offices. Unable to process switched calls, the reporters could no longer get their stories out. However, CNN’s dedicated phone line didn’t require switching equipment and remained working, despite the devastated central offices.

This resulted in CNN being the only news organization reporting live on the war. People switched channels to hear the latest news – and some never switched back. This catapulted CNN into an esteemed major news network overnight. A strategic technology decision made twenty-five years ago forever changed the status of one company.

While it’s wrong to make direct comparisons, a comparable strategic technology decision exists today for call centers: on-site equipment or cloud-based solutions.

On-site equipment allows for greater control. But with control comes responsibility: maintenance, database backups, software updates, spare parts inventory, disaster recovery, backup power, and IT staff. Financially, on-site software and equipment represents a tangible asset, which are a capitalized purchase and a depreciated line item on the balance sheet. While there are usually some ongoing costs, they are minor in comparison. On-site equipment doesn’t require Internet access to operate – but with the increased prevalence of VoIP and many forms of contact occurring over the Internet, this advantage is diminishing. Although vendor stability is a concern for both options, with on-site installations, there is at least the potential for the call center to continue operating if the vendor fails; this is not so with the alternative.

Cloud-based solutions represent the new way of provisioning a call center. With it, the responsibility to install and maintain equipment is removed, but along with it goes the associated control. There is no capital purchase or depreciation, with the only costs being a predictable, ongoing monthly expense, which is proportionate to actual usage. Cloud-based solutions also offer the flexibility to ramp up and ramp down as needed. Operations may be quickly deployed anywhere there is reliable Internet access, and they can easily accommodate remote agents. However, there are two chief concerns with cloud-based solutions. One is the requirement of a stable Internet connection for the call center or remote agents. Without Internet access, the call center is effectively down. The other concern is with the vendor. Do they provide always-on, fully redundant, carrier-grade stability, with 24/7 tech support and IT staff? Are they financially viable to offer cloud-based service for the long-term? If they stumble or fall, the call center immediately suffers the same fate.

For much of the call center industry’s history, on-site equipment was the only option. Some centers continue to pursue this approach, not because they’ve examined the alternative, but because that’s how it’s always been; they see no point in changing.

Equally unacceptable are those call centers that race headlong into cloud solutions, wanting merely to follow the current trend. They dismiss the alternative without consideration simply because it’s the old way of doing things. An unexamined strategy is really no strategy at all.

Neither approach is universally right. Both have merits; both have disadvantages. I recommend a careful look at the pros and cons of each approach. Then you can make a strategic decision on which one is the best for you and your call center. Your future may be at stake.

Read more in Peter’s Sticky Series books: Sticky Leadership and Management, Sticky Sales and Marketing, and Sticky Customer Service featuring his compelling story-driven insights and tips.

Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD, is the publisher and editor-in-chief of Connections Magazine, covering the call center teleservices industry. Read his latest book, Healthcare Call Center Essentials.

Categories
Business

The Total Cost of Ownership

By Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD

I have a love/hate relationship with technology. I love to have the latest, fastest, and most powerful tools and toys, but I hate the time it takes for implementation, requiring that I preempt more important activities to install, fine-tune, and master my new technology. Therefore, I tend to stick with what I have.

Author Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD

However, it became time where I had to buy a new office computer. Given my reluctance to spend time migrating from one computer to the next, I had successfully found reasons to put this off for over a year. But my aging computer was clearly being taxed, so I finally made the switch.

My new computer is much faster, and Windows 7 is a great operating system, with an easy learning curve from Vista. This computer is my first with a DVD burner and my first without a floppy disk drive. Also absent are the modem and parallel port—an oversight on my part, given that my old faithful printer requires a parallel connection.

The cost of the computer breaks down to about 50 percent for hardware and 50 percent for software (Windows and Office)—and 50 percent for unforeseen expenses. Yes, there were costs overruns.

I’ve had to upgrade several of my other programs to work with Windows 7. Aside from my parallel printer, my other printer lacks a Windows 7 driver. Although I have temporary workaround solutions for both, a new printer is in my future as well. That will push the cost overruns even higher.

My other frustration is with Office 2010, specifically Word. Had I been using Office 2007, the switch would have been easy, but my migration is from Office 2003. For my prior computer upgrade, I purposely retained Office 2003.

The user interface on Office 2007 was quite different (a learning curve issue) and cumbersome to use (an efficiency issue). I had hoped that the 2010 version would return to an Office 2003 type of interface, but that was not the case.

With Office 2003 showing its age, I made the leap to 2010. Despite my frustrations that common routine tasks now require more mouse clicks, I am discovering new features, pleasing improvements, and some nice shortcuts, so it will eventually be okay. Even so, two months into it, I am still not as efficient as I’d like to be when I write.

My new computer has cost me both time and money. The cost overruns were my fault: I overlooked the need for a parallel port and all my driver problems stem from the fact that I bought the 64-bit version of Windows (32-bit drivers were available for all my programs).

The time issue, however, was unavoidable. Fortunately, I scheduled my purchase during a slower period of the year. This afforded me extra time to spend converting to the new system and learning new software versions.

Upgrading a single PC pales in comparison to replacing technology in throughout an office or workplace, but I don’t want to discourage anyone from doing that; the benefits are just too great.

What I do want to communicate is to be extra careful in spec’ing the system and allow additional time to learn it and become proficient. The results will be well worth it.

Read more in Peter Lyle DeHaan’s Sticky Series books, including Sticky Customer Service, Sticky Sales and Marketing, and Sticky Leadership and Management featuring his compelling story-driven insights and tips.

Peter Lyle DeHaan is an entrepreneur and businessman who has managed, owned, and started multiple businesses over his career. Common themes at every turn have included customer service, sales and marketing, and leadership and management.

He shares his lifetime of business experience and personal insights through his books to encourage, inspire, and occasionally entertain.

Categories
Business

A Wise but Shortsighted Decision

By Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD

It recently became time to replace our 24-year old furnace.  As the installer wrapped up his work, he began teaching about the critical aspects of carbon monoxide detection. 

I had placed our lone detector where the furnace and water heater were located; detecting the poisonous gas at its source, I had reasoned, was the ideal solution.  Apparently, not so; there should be one in each bedroom.

A few weeks later, I had purchased and installed two new units of the brand he recommended.  Content that we were now safe (at least from carbon monoxide poisoning), I sat down to read that manual of my new devices.

Aside from helpful information about detection, harmful levels, and appropriate responses to an alarm, I was dismayed to learn that I should replace the unit after seven years.  Yeah, like that’s going to happen.

I read on and became further agitated.  After seven years, the unit will emit a warning beep every 30 seconds, alerting me to replace it.

On the part of the manufacturer, that is a smart move.  Not only will they have an opportunity to sell me replacement products in a few years, but they also limit their liability by effectively removing aging units from use.

It is also shortsighted.  When a unit starts beeping, few people will immediately jump in their car and buy a replacement.  No, they will unplug it to stop the annoying beeping.

Even more confounding is the realization that my units, being installed at the same time, will start beeping at the same time, and will be unplugged at the same time.

Read more in Peter Lyle DeHaan’s Sticky Series books, including Sticky Customer Service, Sticky Sales and Marketing, and Sticky Leadership and Management featuring his compelling story-driven insights and tips.

Peter Lyle DeHaan is an entrepreneur and businessman who has managed, owned, and started multiple businesses over his career. Common themes at every turn have included customer service, sales and marketing, and leadership and management.

He shares his lifetime of business experience and personal insights through his books to encourage, inspire, and occasionally entertain.

Categories
Business

Does Anyone Really Like Speech Recognition?

By Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD

I’m a huge fan of technology—and the allure of speech recognition (also called IVR or interactive voice response) carries with it great appeal. Yet when it comes to real-life implementations, I find it decidedly lacking and frustration-filled.

Author Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD

In the past I’ve been reticent to state my disinclination—knowing that I’m part of the problem: my words often lack clarity. Clearly, I don’t make a speech recognition engine’s job easy.

Some errors are easily explainable given my imprecise speaking tendencies, such as asking for Candy Lane and ending up with Cam DeLain. However, other occurrences are nonsensical, making for a great comedy skit, albeit poor customer service. For example:

“Good morning, Acme Call Center; your call is important to us. Please say the department or name of the person you are calling.”

“Sally Pavasaris” I dutifully respond.

“Did you say “Ned Flanders?”

“NO,” I exclaim! Nothing happens. “Sal-ee-Pa-va-sar-is,” I decidedly project using my best possible diction.

“I’m sorry, I don’t understand. Please say the department or name of the person you are calling.”

“Agent!” I implore. “Operator!” I beg. I begin pressing zero with repeated vigor. When I’m finally connected to a person, my demeanor is less than stellar. I know why, but the agent is clueless, likely muttering about rude customers after she transfers my call.

To further complicate matters, what if I don’t know the person’s full name? What if I can’t pronounce their last name? Speech recognition is ill equipped for such situations.

Another common issue that I have is a quandary on how to proceed when the software and I talk at the same time. A common dilemma is:

“Please say your account number…”

“Seven,” I begin.

“…followed by the pound sign,” the voice continues.

At this point I have a critical decision to make, the ramifications of which could have frustrating consequences. Do I assume that “seven” was recognized, allowing me to confidently proceed in giving my account number? Or should I play it safe and repeat the first digit?

If I guess wrongly even more time will be wasted attempting fruitless communication with a machine. Either way, I’ll inevitably hear: “I’m sorry; that number is invalid; please try again.”

Sometimes I try to suppress my impatient tendencies (why am I patient with people and impatient with machines?) and wait to make sure the voice is done talking. Sometimes I pause too long, at which point I’m rewarded with the unappreciated prompt, “Please respond now.”

To avoid causing the voice further frustration, I quickly comply. This usually results in the situation I was attempting to avoid in the first place—the machine and I simultaneously speaking. At this point things usually spiral further out of control.

The software still doesn’t know my account number, I still don’t know when to speak and when to listen, and I’m sensing that the likelihood of talking with a real person—versus talking to a machine trying to act like a person—is even more unlikely then when I started the call.

It is true that a careful speech recognition implementation can serve to speed up call processing and improve caller satisfaction. Sadly, that goal is not often realized.

Instead, grandiose efforts are attempted, with little to show for it—aside from frustrated customers and unnecessarily maligned telephone agents and customer service personnel. Is that the intended result of technology?

Customer Service Success Tip: Interact with your company’s automation as a customer or prospect would. Even better, hire an outsider to be a secret shopper. Prioritize frustrations and failures. Then fix them.

Read more in Peter Lyle DeHaan’s Sticky Series books, including Sticky Customer Service, Sticky Sales and Marketing, and Sticky Leadership and Management featuring his compelling story-driven insights and tips.

Peter Lyle DeHaan is an entrepreneur and businessman who has managed, owned, and started multiple businesses over his career. Common themes at every turn have included customer service, sales and marketing, and leadership and management.

He shares his lifetime of business experience and personal insights through his books to encourage, inspire, and occasionally entertain.

Categories
Call Center

Blogging about Technology

By Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD

I’ve been actively blogging for about two years (see blog.peterdehaan.com: 376 posts, 102,000 words, with 1,000 article views a week; the record is 2,065). I cover whatever is on my mind, anything and everything, from work to personal, from trivial to profound, from mainstream to geeky. I organize my musings in categories, one of which is “technology” (forty-two entries). Here are a few:

Author Peter Lyle DeHaan

I Think I Can Wait 21 Seconds (9/24/08)

I subscribe to a computer tech support service. For the most part the guys (yes, they are all guys) are knowledgeable. However, effective communications is challenging, as English is their secondary language – and I don’t know Punjabi. Still, I willingly accept communication frustration in order to save considerable cash.

Several weeks ago, my computer developed a nasty habit of making me wait 21 seconds every time I used the “Save As” command. Unfortunately, 21 seconds is just long enough to get distracted and forget the original task.

When I could stand it no longer, I initiated a service request. Two hours later, after the third failed attempt and the fourth explanation, the problem was solved. I was giddy with excitement. The first thing I did was open Microsoft Outlook – or at least I tried to.

I put in a follow-up request for service. After another hour, the only remaining solution was to reinstall Office. The reinstall failed. The tech escalated the problem (which he had caused) and said I would hear back in 24 to 48 hours later. I informed him that was not acceptable. He sincerely apologized but took no further action.

The next day, I placed repeated calls but was getting nowhere. At noon, I was given the promise of a return phone call within 48 hours. Although greatly agitated, I honestly don’t think I was mean or rude, but I was insistent enough to garner a callback within the hour. By 3:00 p.m., my computer was up and running just like before – with the 21-second delay. I was told I would have to reinstall Microsoft Office to fix that.

Computer Rage (12/2/08)

We’ve all heard of road rage – and I suspect we’ve all on occasion had that split-second impulse to ram our car into an offending driver. (Please tell me that I’m not the only one.)  I think that road rage has a corresponding technology affliction called computer rage. It’s when our computers cause us so much infuriating irritation that we want to hurt them; last Monday, I had it bad. All three work computers had issues.

After a concerted effort, one of the three problems has been fully resolved, the most debilitating issue has been corrected to a functional level, and I found a workaround solution for the third.

I will blog more sometime about these three issues: The Microsoft Live OneCare “Message 2100” is resolved, but I will document my solution for others so afflicted; the Microsoft Internet Explorer issue is so ironic that I can’t pass up talking about it; while my ongoing rant about Vista will continue – albeit with a more conciliatory tone.

All three of my computer rage issues have commonality withMicrosoft. (Maybe I need to go back to Apple – my first computer was an Apple IIe, while my second one was a Mac.)

An Ironic Conflict from Microsoft’s Internet Explorer (12/4/08)

I am an enthusiastic fan of the browser Firefox, only keeping Internet Explorer (IE) around for those times when I am forced to use it (such accessing the Microsoft website for software updates). To my shock and dismay, IE did not work on Microsoft’s own website; how ironic!

Although irritated, I didn’t think too much of it, until I discovered that FrontPage (another Microsoft program) wasn’t working either. Speculating a connection between the two, I decided to focus on the IE problem, contacting my computer support folks in India.

My technical guru tried upgrading me to the beta version of IE 8 without success and then took me back to IE 6, thereby solving both problems. He explained that IE 6 was designed to work with Windows XP, whereas IE 7 was not. How curious.

Now I can do Microsoft updates and use FrontPage, albeit with IE 6 residing on my computer as a requirement. Unfortunately, Windows wants me to update to IE 7, but I’m not falling for it. I’d rather have an old, unsafe version that works than the new one that doesn’t.

The Best Laid Plans (circa December 2008; posted 10/24/09)

Having decided to forgo Windows Vista on my work desktop computers, I’ve been holding out for Windows 7. Towards that end, I had a plan. It consisted of ideal timing, low hardware costs, and software availability. The plan was to:

  • Buy a new computer during the holiday sales (addressing the cost issue), order it with Windows 7 (the availability issue), and migrate over to it the later part of December, which is normally a slower time for me at work (ideal timing).
  • Once everything was working satisfactorily, I would reformat the hard drive on the old computer (which was having some flaky problems) and reload the applications. It would become my backup computer.
  • The hard drive on my old backup computer would be similarly reformatted so that it could replace the home desktop.
  • The old home computer then would become available for reuse, recycling, or donation.

That was the plan, but my computer had different ideas.

My Computer Crashed! (10/18/09; posted 10/24/09)

Although I leave my computer running most of the time (to do downloads and backups at night), I reboot it about once a week under the belief that it behaves better if I do. To my shock and horror, on Monday a routine reboot failed.

  • I spent the morning on the phone troubleshooting it. All hope was eventually abandoned.
  • On Monday afternoon, the hard drive was wiped clean, and Windows XP was reinstalled.
  • On Monday evening, I reinstalled most of the two dozen applications that I use.
  • On Tuesday morning, I began restoring files from the most current data backup (an off-site service). During that time, I set about reconfiguring the applications (a task that is still not complete).
  • Taking twelve hours to restore only 14 percent of my files, the projected completion time exceeded four days.
  • To expedite things, I copied the remaining files from an on-site backup (two days old), expecting that the off-site restore would have anything missing or not current. The off-site restore finished the next morning.

After putting in several sixteen-hour days, my desktop is again humming along nicely, and things are mostly back to normal. The flaky software problems are gone, and my data is intact. Now that the calm is returning, I can reflect on the lessons learned from this ordeal.

Lessons Learned the Hard Way (10/24/2009)

Here are the lessons I learned from my recent computer fiasco:

  • Have a technology plan, but be flexible. I had a plan, but I wasn’t flexible with it – until I was forced to be. I doggedly stuck to the plan, even when it was inadvisable to do so.
  • Multiple data backups are imperative. I use three methods, storing data in three places, plus keeping several historical versions, spanning six months.
  • Backup hardware is essential. During this ordeal, I was using my backup desktop computer and my laptop to handle critical items and not fall too far behind.
  • Having a help desk to call for emergencies is critical.
  • If a computer begins displaying flaky problems, it’s likely telling you something – make sure you are listening.

I hope that things will get back to normal next week – and maybe then I can blog about something other than computers – anything.

So, as you peruse the Connections Magazine Buyers Guide, do you have a technology plan in place? Is it flexible? Are your systems trying to tell you it’s time to upgrade?

Read more in Peter’s Sticky Series books: Sticky Leadership and Management, Sticky Sales and Marketing, and Sticky Customer Service featuring his compelling story-driven insights and tips.

Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD, is the publisher and editor-in-chief of Connections Magazine, covering the call center teleservices industry. Read his latest book, Healthcare Call Center Essentials.

Categories
Healthcare Call Centers

IVR’s Place In The Call Center

By Peter DeHaan, PhD

IVR (Interactive Voice Response) has its place in the call center, but we need not overstate what that place is. If IVR can truly speed up the call for the caller or gather information to assist the agent in providing better service, then use it. However, when the primary goal of IVR becomes to save money, reduce the agent headcount, or limit customer service options, then it needs to be rethought. Here are my thoughts:

Peter DeHaan, Publisher and Editor of AnswerStat

IVR Dos:

  • Always provide an option for the caller to press 0 to talk to an agent.
  • Provide short and basic options that can be readily understood by someone from outside your company.
  • Ask your customers, and even your friends, to call and test your IVR. Then fix the things that bug them.
  • Setup your call center’s IVR exactly as you would want one to work when you are calling someone else.

IVR Don’ts:

  • Don’t block the digit 0. “The customer is always right” and if the customer wants to talk to a person, then let them.
  • Don’t prompt for an account number if the agent is going to ask for it again.
  • Don’t have callers make entries (such for “billing”) and then not tell the rep which option has selected.
  • Don’t route callers to a general agent queue after you have made them take the time to tell the IVR specifically why they’re calling. Skip the subterfuge and just route the call.
  • Don’t provide level after level of menu options; keep it simple.
  • Don’t force a mildly irritated customer through a frustratingly long and cumbersome IVR tree, because they will exit it highly irritated – and take it out on the agent.

Yes, IVR has its place, but in most call centers, IVR is broken and needs to be fixed. What are you doing about it in your call center?

Read more in Peter Lyle DeHaan’s Healthcare Call Center Essentials, available in hardcover, paperback, and e-book.

Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD, is the publisher and editor-in-chief of AnswerStat and Medical Call Center News covering the healthcare call center industry. Read his latest book, Sticky Customer Service.