January 2006 Archives

Have you got a bright, shiny new database but no idea what to do with it? Databases can't exist in a vacuum...they're only as good as the technology you use to tie it into your call center. Don't have time for a long, drawn-out implemenation? Then a hosted solution is right for you.

Still confused? Sign up for this Thursday's free Webinar, called "An Affordable, On-Demand
Approach to Customized Contact Handling," sponsored by UCN and eCallology, and hosted by yours truly. Find more information here: http://www.tmcnet.com/webinar/ucn/affordable-on-demand-approach-to-customized-contact-handling.htm

"See" you there.

TES

Aspect this morning announced that its president and CEO, Jim Foy, has been named CEO of the Year for the Contact Center Industry by Frost & Sullivan. Congratulations to Jim.

TES

It's that time again...to begin economically dissecting the results from the 2005 holiday shopping season. From what I gather reading business news, the in-person retail results were a constant, "break even" level, and the online holiday shopping levels once again exceeded expectations...$30.1 billion according to Goldman, Sachs & Co., Nielsen//NetRatings and Harris Interactive.

The same survey detailed something very interesting...82 percent of respondents said they would be less likely to return to a site where they had a frustrating shopping experience, and nearly a third said that a frustrating experience when shopping online would make them less likely to buy at that retailer’s physical store. 

With numbers like that, you'd think companies would be falling over themselves to improve their online shopping experience. But then, we all know that there's a big disconnect between what companies "ought" and what they do.

Read the full survey summary here: www.allurent.com

TES

If you own a cell phone, each time you pay your bill, you're paying a three percent tax for the war effort. Sounds like a topic that could get political? It's not...because the war you're paying to support is the Spanish American War, which happened in 1898.

http://www.newsnet5.com/money/6180216/detail.html

Talk about elderly war veterans.

Now, what I want to know is, what are we doing for those old boys laid up after the Battle of Bunker Hill? They deserve a little support, too.

TES

In a story worthy of Monty Python, a British call center worker was recently exposed as having an affair after her boyfriend's pet parrot repeated phrases she had spoken to her illicit lover while they used his flat for their encounters. (It just doesn't get any better than this.)

http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/europe/01/17/uk.parrot/index.html

TES

It appears to be the week of promotion and hiring. I've had news of so many of them, that I'm happy to take it as an open that the telecom sector, particularly the call center sector, is poised for major growth mode.

Toshiba America Information Systems Inc. (TAIS) told the world today that Brian Metherell has accepted the position of Vice President/General Manager of the company’s Telecommunication Systems Division (TSD). Toshiba’s telecommunications division provides business communication systems to the small and medium-sized business market through an authorized dealer network. 

TES

Symon Communications (www.symon.com) announced today that Jerry Zeephat has been promoted to Director of Marketing. Congratulations to Jerry.

TES

Reading this article on CNN today about the Mars Rovers' continued exploration of the surface of Mars, it occurs to me that soon, we may have an excellent answer to the outsourcing question.

Want low overhead, a not-very-penetrated labor market, good weather (excellent for disaster recovery) and little competition from other call centers? Why not try Mars, the perfect answer for off-world outsourcing?

Of course, the commute could be a little problematic, but thats's the only drawback I see.

TES