July 2008 Archives

Today is the 'last run' for the toll-free number connecting New Jersey Transit, the third largest transit agency in the US, with its customers.

Could this be the beginning of the end for toll-free numbers in North America?

NJ Transit has since June been switching callers from 800-772-2222 to 973-275-5555. When you call the toll free number today you will get a recorded message asking you to call the 973 number And according to an opinion piece in the July 22 Cherry Hill (NJ) Courier-Post, after July 31, there will no longer be any message at the 1-800 number.

NJ Transit abandoned toll-free to cut costs. The high gas prices have attracted more riders but have also increased the costs of diesel fuel used on its buses and many of its commuter trains: the agency also has an electrified commuter rail and light rail network.

The technology environment is finally right for ending toll-free service. NJ Transit, like many public agencies along with private companies, has been diverting calls away from live agents through the Internet, including a mobile-enabled site, and with proactive means such as automated outbound text alerts.

New Jersey residents, like many others across North America, have been switching from TDM to IP, which makes long distance charges irrelevant. My son, who lives in the central part of the state, bought IP with a package from his cable company. Also, North Americans are becoming used to paying per contact, as their counterparts in other parts of the world have long done, through their text messaging rates.

By dropping toll-free, NJ Transit could be blazing a trail for other companies and organizations to follow. The move saves money without cutting customer care, allowing scarce resources to be more efficiently deployed elsewhere.

There has been so far some cries against the move, such as the aforementioned newspaper editorial (see below), because it does increase the costs and hassle of information access from especially poorer customers. Yet the screams have not been loud enough at this point to get the agency to change its mind.

http://www.courierpostonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080722/OPINION/807220303/1046

Who will be the next to follow in NJT's path? Do I hear any roar from the airlines?

Communications giant Bell Canada does not get often get much praise by consumers, telco professionals, and the media in its "home and native land".

This traditional of the traditional telcos has plodded behind the cable companies and others in offering competitive pricing and new services like residential IP and sometimes indifferent service. Not surprisingly, more consumers have let the old TDM-carrying copper wires go dead and instead are plugging into coaxial cable or go wireless altogether--including with firms other than Bell.

Bell, and some of its other communications counterparts have been ripped into by consumer advocates for their decision to charge for inbound text messages, including spam. Two Quebec residents, one a Bell customer, and the other a Telus subscriber, have just launched a lawsuit against the two carriers.

Yet Bell deserves some applause for its decision to let go old-line executives and managers rather line staff as part of its reorganization and cost cutting as part of its recent and record-breaking $35 billion+ leveraged buyout.

More surprisingly for jaded observers it is reportedly increasing its customer-facing staff: who are usually but shortsightedly canned when such deals take place.

Could this mean that Bell will emerge as a truly competitive, dynamic carrier, one that will provide leading-edge price-savvy services to back its customer care, to contact centers, other businesses, and to consumers, and win back those it has been attriting to other companies?

Bell has the network, and the resources to win, and not just by default. The service and pricing of some of its competitors is not exactly great, in absolute terms. It could also probably show the equally 'loved' US carriers a few things too.

Speech recognition-enabled automated voice solutions work best with heavily scripted interactions that leave little room for interpretation e.g. finding the right service, obtaining credit card balances, and ordering a movie.

For that reason more of these kinds of basic transactions are going automated with speech rec because they are relatively easy to do while permitting operating cost savings.

There are now so many firms and organizations that have deployed speech rec on their customer interaction front ends that these applications have taught us how to speak to the computers i.e. slowly, clearly, with little inflection.

And we all thought speech rec was about 'teaching' the machines to 'speak' to us...were we ever wrong...

For all the speech-rec current and in-the-pipeline candidate transactions there is one category that appears to be ready-made for this technology--but so far ignored--and that are the after-hours calls, such as for doctors, lawyers, plumbers, fuel oil dealers and furnace repairs now handled by answering services.

These contacts are ideal for speech rec because they are heavily scripted. These transactions have to be. The answering service agents (still called operators) can do little more than take or forward messages, or warm transfer calls to on-call staff, and page/dispatch professionally-trained personnel based on very strict procedures.

The agents themselves do not have medical or legal expertise, unless for 'dial-a-nurse' or other and more expense applications. And there may be unfunny consequences all around should these individuals attempt to give information that could be construed by callers as advice.

Which means these nice people can't fix your boo-boo, bail you out of the joint, or counteract the latest attempt of your 2 year old to turn your toilet into a one-size-fits-all alternate garbage disposal.

The real benefit of having live agents at all on such calls is the living, breathing, and reassuring presence of human beings. Yet at what price when they really cannot do much more, in many instances, than voicemail; a price that is included in the typically eye-opening bills that you get from these professionals and contractors.

I had a conversation some time ago with a friend who works for a contact center solutions vendor. He had twisted his ankle; he called up his doctor's office and then got the answering service. While the person at the other end was nice he couldn't even get an appointment set up. What help was that?

So that got me to thinking: could a standardized speech solution be developed for these professions and businesses? One that would deliver the same as or superior service while keeping costs--and bills--down?

And given how many of these professions and businesses with offices that are out there this could be the next speech rec killer app...

Here are some of the features this speech rec app could have:

--Customizable package scripting for each type of application (doctor, lawyer, contractor)

--Menu options including a link to an automated appointment scheduler application that would inform the caller the next available opening, and give that person the option of taking it, and if not the next one, and down the line

--Self-dispatch option with identifiers for existing customers, and intaking addresses for new customers, with the further choice of credit card prepayment or authorization

--Confirmation e-mails, texts, or automated voice messages

Now the one reason why I see this not being done to date is that speech rec apps are too expensive as currently delivered whether premises-based or hosted by outsourcers or developers for those businesses and offices who rely on answering services.

Yet if a savvy speech rec developer targets the communications providers (TDM, IP, wireless) that can offer these apps as a value-add to centralized voicemail, the market may be big enough to make the price affordable...with the added kicker of customer retention and increased lifetime customer value to the comm firms.

After all, if a client has contracted for a speech rec system, has customized it, and their customers are used to it, why change it?

This speech rec app could be killer in another way; it could do in those answering services that haven't made the transition to offering contact center services like customer care, which many of them did when voicemail pummeled their core message taking business.

How about it? Is this app in the realm of being doable? Is someone beta-ing one?

I'm all ears...

Forget about the economic cooldown: the IP solutions market is hot!

As proof, Rich Tehrani reports in his blog that over 90 percent of booth space at Internet Telephony Conference and Expo West (IT Expo) http://www.tmcnet.com/voip/conference/, which is being held Sept.16-18 in Los Angeles is sold out.

http://blog.tmcnet.com/blog/rich-tehrani/apple/itexpo-90-sold-out.html

Few other technologies have the ability to deliver both cost savings and quality service as the IP-enabled applications and tools, which now support nearly every facet of contact center operations: from routing to recording, to CRM, and to linking home-based agents.

If you are a contact center executive you will find a strong ROI from attending IT Expo even with higher airfares and gas costs, You will pick up insights from a great roster of speakers and from finding out firsthand about IP-enabled products and services from exhibitors.

What you will discover will help your operations grow customer bases and revenues and lower costs. For there is nothing like being at an event and a show to learn, network, and try out new ideas, make contacts, check out the latest solutions, and to find the answers that you are seeking.

If you are a solutions firm and have not yet made up your mind whether to exhibit I invite you to check out the value prop ASAP and sign up before the space is all sold out.

I've been covering and attending shows in this industry for nearly 13 years and it is rare that I've come across an event like this with such buzz. It goes to show that the future lies in developing and applying practical technologies like IP that can be profitably used throughout an entire organization.

IP is becoming part of our everyday existence. For example more and more people like myself have switched from TDM/PSTN to IP for our household wireline phones. The cable pipe that transmitted this blog entry is supporting one other computer, two phone lines and several e-mail, web, and SMS applications.

And as IP becomes the norm so will the need for solutions to run off it, thereby generating increasing demand for them from the best and brightest of our developers and entrepreneurs--whose products and services will be at IT Expo.

Want to 'drive' in more shoppers to your contact center and/or website? Get out the word that calling or going online saves gas (and saves the earth) compared with driving to the stores. Make sure you offer free shipping, and for added incentive, price your items less online or by phone.

The New York Times ran an excellent article July 19 on how high gas prices are turning in-store shoppers into virtual buyers. Partially as a result, online shopping is up, store shopping is down.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/19/business/19shop.html?pagewanted=1&ref=technology

Along those lines consider making 'green' part of your CRM strategy where your top tier customers are enticed to come into the stores for truly personalized service, where they can check out the merchandise, and have it custom-fitted or built to their needs.

When companies want to influence public policy they generally do it behind the scenes, either one-on-one between execs and officials or through trade organizations, unless the matter is very important and directly impacts their economic interests.

So it is with surprise that last year that I discovered that CRM/contact center solutions vendor Talisma was involved, through its VP of Corporate and Channel marketing Jim O'Farrell, in an effort to save and revitalize a Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) railroad line on the east side of Lake Washington, on the west side of which is Seattle. Yes, this is Microsoft country...The rail line's last major customer was the Spirit of Washington wine/dine train.

BNSF had wanted to rip up the rail line and King County wanted to buy it to convert it to a bike trail that would not carry anywhere near the amount of commuters, nor could it accommodate those with packages, the aging, and the disabled and of course not carry freight.

Mr. O'Farrell partnered with rail advocacy group All Aboard Washington to make the case for this project, which was intended to relieve traffic congestion and reduce pollution from parallel I-405 by putting in self-propelled diesel-powered commuter trains and encouraging freight rail. Solutions that are especially timely given rising gas prices and greater awareness of the need to cut greenhouse gases.

http://www.allaboardwashington.org/cms/images/uploads/Green_Transportation_Now.pdf

I was interested and involved with this issue because at the time I was a director/VP of a Canadian transportation advocacy group, which supported retaining the rail line. I also used to live in the Seattle area.

I was not quite sure, however, of Talisma's motivation behind the project other than being a good corporate citizen as it isn't exactly a major employer in the region, at least not in comparison with others that need not be named. I could not identify any commercial interests (was Talisma interested in going into the rail and or rail-oriented property development business?) And my sources in Washington State tell me that there have been other parties interested in the rail line.

Then after months of activity, Mr. O'Farrell and Talisma went quiet. Then this May the company was acquired by nGenera.

So I contacted the firm's PR rep, Jessie Brumfiel, who told me that he left Talisma last December and she hadn't so far found anyone at nGenera who is familiar with the BNSF rail line project.

The BNSF rail line's future is still up in the air. Though it was later acquired by the Port of Seattle with the indication that passenger and freight rail service may be a possibility, King County still wants to rip it up for cyclists and walkers, but is being opposed by rail advocates and supporters including the Discovery Institute. Also Sound Transit, the region's transit agency may or may not be going to the polls this fall to get voter approval to finance a light rail line from downtown Seattle across Lake Washington to the eastside.

After writing a recent article on Seattle area transit funding (one of several over the past 17 years) my view is that the light rail extension, which was put on ice when voters defeated a similar ballot measure last year should be deferred and BNSF commuter rail should go ahead, along with an aggressive program to encourage teleworking.

http://www.metro-magazine.com/Article/Story/2008/07/Transit-Projects-Seek-Voter-Approval-for-Financial-Support.aspx

There has been no enthusiasm from elected officials for the light rail, which is also facing some 'interesting' technical questions, like how to build it on floating bridges which are the only practical means of crossing the lake; the plan is to fit it on one of two floating highway spans.

So where are you, Mr. O'Farrell, and what is your stance, nGenera?

Having worked for a teleservices firm as well as having covered/covering this industry I completely understand the rationale behind Convergys's acquisition of Intervoice. The app/platform firm provides a great and innovative set of solutions, a strong customer base, and revenues. There is also, as Reuters cites Oppenheimer analyst Shaul Eyal, 'marginal overlap of products and customers.'

This last rationale is key. To survive outsourcing firms need new revenue streams because the margins on providing contact center services, which have always been tight, are being corseted even further.

Increasingly sophisticated voice and web-enabled self-service solutions are eating away the low end of their business. At the same time more of the top end work from clients is going in-house to improve customer satisfaction, which one longtime contact center executive told me "is becoming the enterprises' only differentiator in the marketplace." Clients that once relied on outsourcers to have the latest and greatest technologies to support these calls are now bringing those tools in-house as well.

Outsourcing firms, therefore, "risk becoming nothing more than temp agencies" i.e. being there for overflow, the after-hours, the short-term, and the emergencies rather than as full fledged partners handling contacts on an equal basis.

There is nothing wrong with that, provided that's your business model. Answering services, which were the first teleservices outsourcers through answering after-hours calls for family doctors, and many of which have reinvented themselves as full-service contact centers in the wake of devastating competition from voicemail, have long operated on that basis.

Not surprisingly outsourcers have been buying/entering their way into app hosting, billing, HR, market research, and consulting markets. All of which makes sense because there are, when implemented right, strong synergies with their core contact center functions.

Yet is buying an app/platform firm, one whose type of product and services are no doubt used by other outsourcers, going a little too far? Isn't it blurring the lines between solutions and services? If I was responsible for technology with a teleservices firm I'd think twice about buying a product/service from a company owned by one of my biggest competitors.

I could be wrong here. But I could not help thinking what's next...Teleperformance buying Siemens???

There really is no better place than home, and that goes for contact centers, defined as the functions they provide rather than the employer-provided physical spaces they occupy.

Home-based agents are where contact centers are going. They provide a high-quality, very productive, and loyal workforce that is less costly to support than agents working in traditional offices. Home agents dovetail into CRM strategies by handling the more complex calls--the simpler ones had been taken care of by self-service solutions--and by serving your best customers.

With gas prices rising, cutting into incomes, bringing the work to the employees rather than the other way around increases your ability to attract and retain sufficient numbers of staff to maintain and improve service levels, and results.

Home agents are also the greenest way to travel, exerting energy while walking to their desks rather than consuming it and emitting pollutants incurred while driving or riding mass transit.

And when disaster strikes--something to remember as we enter hurricane-and-tornado-season, not to mention the ongoing threat of terrorism--home agents can help keep operations going because they are dispersed rather than concentrated at vulnerable locations.

There are now a range of technologies that support and enable home-based agents. The coming of age of IP telephony have made call handling by them affordable, along with supporting monitoring and recording. E-Learning and audio/web conferencing make remote training doable. New solutions such as West's patent-pending remote security environment where West takes over its West at Home agents' computers when they are working provides data and system protection.

To learn more about home-based agents I invite you to register for and participate in a webinar on this topic that is taking place Wednesday July 16 at 2pm ET that is being sponsored by VoltDelta and Transera.

http://www.tmcnet.com/webinar/volt-delta2/volt-delta-webinar-agent-at-home-solutions-revolutionary-change-for-the-contact-center.htm

Listen to the presenters, make notes, and ask questions to help you get the answers that you need to decide whether, and how best, to bring your agents home.