By Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD I am the first to appreciate and embrace well-done and smartly executed outbound calling. I am also highly critical of and greatly annoyed by poorly executed telemarketing efforts. Another example for this latter perspective arrived at my office today, courtesy of my telephone. The call went like this: “May I […]
By Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD There are many good things happening in the call center industry. Millions of people are employed in productive positions that benefit both commerce and the economy. These jobs are desirable nonmanufacturing positions and essentially nonpolluting, making them highly attractive to state and local governments’ job-creation efforts. Call center agents receive […]
By Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD Five years ago, the call center industry was confronted head on with the DNC (Do-Not-Call) legislation. As millions signed up to block most telemarketing calls to their home, the pool of prospect numbers shrank dramatically. Since then, the face of outbound calling in the United States has been unalterably changed. […]
By Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD If your call center is only making EBR (existing business relationship) calls, you may think you have nothing to worry about, right? No. Just because it is legal to dial a number, doesn’t mean you should. Calling too often or for the wrong reasons could turn an EBR into a […]
By Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD Five years ago, the call center industry was confronted head on with the DNC (Do-Not-Call) legislation. As millions signed up to block most telemarketing calls to their home, the pool of prospect numbers shrank dramatically. Since then, the face of outbound calling in the United States has been unalterably changed. […]
Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD At the ATA (American Teleservices Association) meeting, one of the exciting topics was self-regulation for call centers. If the terms “teleservices” and “call center” are meaningless to you, consider the more common, but less preferred label of “telemarketing.” Yeah, telemarketers — those folks who call you during dinner time. Although teleservices […]
Past, Present, and Future By Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD The most buffeted segment of call center work has been the outbound arena, specifically, consumer calling. With the combined effects of a public outcry against intrusion, political expediency, and the enactment of state and ultimately a national do not call (DNC) law, outbound calling to consumers […]
By Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD It seems that “outsourcing” has been politicized. Once a word becomes politicized, as outsourcing was in the 2004 United States presidential campaign, all reasonable thinking stops and logic becomes, well, illogical. Rhetoric steps in and common sense is relegated to lesser important things. Think of any major societal issue and it […]
By Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD A few weeks ago, I did something outrageous. I stopped answering my phone. Although that is a bold, foolhardy step for anyone in business, it is heretical for someone whose entire professional career has revolved around the telephone. However, before you plan an intervention on my behalf, let me assure […]
By Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD A reader complained about our content in the May issue. In fact, he was downright mad over our coverage promoting outsourcing call centers. The ironic thing is that this reader actually works for an outsourcing call center! Yes, they go by a different label, but they are, by definition, an […]