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July 2006

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Posts To My Blog

July 21, 2006

Every once in a while, I need to visit the comments section of this blog and clear it out. It seems I need to do it more often. I expect the proliferation of spam to the blog...that's easy to spot. Lots of companies selling mobile phones, SIM cards and accessories will spam.

Call Center Confusion For Medicare

July 19, 2006

CRM, salesforce automation, knowledge management and quality management all exist for a very good reason: to avoid creating nightmare scenarios like the one the U.S. government and the call centers it has contracted have made over the Medicare Plan D.

This article reveals that calls to different call centers about the Medicare Plan will garner radically different and conflicting responses, and not a single call center tested has been able to offer correct answers much more than half of the time.

No wonder today's seniors are confused over the Medicare Plan. It's hard not to become confused when you aren't starting with the correct information to begin with.

AOL To Go Free?

July 17, 2006

An article in Time magazine this week speculates that AOL may soon decide to ditch its once-but-no-longer popular subscription method in favor of an ad-based model, such as that followed by Yahoo! and others.

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1214959,00.html

It seems that AOL is becoming exhausted trying to re-fill its leaky bucket, and the water level of customers keeps dropping at alarming rates. I've always wondered why anyone in his or her right mind would pay for broadband Internet and then pay for an AOL subscription on top of that broadband bill. It seems a lot of AOL's customers wondered that, too.

TES

AOL To Go Free?

July 17, 2006

There is a good article in Time this week speculating that AOL may ditch its once-but-no-longer profitable subscription model for an ad-drive model:

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1214959,00.html

Makes sense. There's only so long they can keep plugging all the leaks in their bucket, and the waterline is sinking rapidly.

TES

Verint Acquires Mercom

July 14, 2006

Analytics provider Verint Systems announced today that it is acquiring call recording and performance evaluation vendor Mercom for $35 million. The goal is the well-established presence that Mercom enjoys in the SMB market.

“We believe that there is growing demand for analytical solutions that can help drive operational effectiveness in the small-to-midsize enterprise market,” said Dan Bodner, President and CEO of Verint Systems. “The Mercom team has a strong track record in this growing market and we look forward to providing our combined global channels with an expanded portfolio of value-added analytical solutions.

 

TES

Stone Age Faxing

July 12, 2006

I was just on the Web site of eMicrophones, Inc., a reseller of headsets, and saw something that made me happy. Under the contact information, it says:

Phone: 914-556-8286

Fax: Faxing is Old Technology. Please write message below (into Web form).

Couldn't have said it any better myself. Faxing needs to go the way of the dodo.

TES

 

Shine On You Crazy Diamond

July 11, 2006

Rest in peace, Syd Barrett.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/5169344.stm

The IP Contact Center Technology Pioneers

July 7, 2006

The July issue of Customer Interaction Solutions magazine will cover the winner of the IP Contact Center Technology Pioneer Awards. For a sneak preview of who the best of the best are in this marketplace, visit

http://www.tmcnet.com/call-center/0706/mngmnt-scope-the-ip-contact-center-technology-pioneer-awards.htm

Congratulations to the winners!

TES

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