Virtual Hold Rebrands Its Call-Back Solutions As “Conversation Bridge”

Posted by Shai on April 24, 2012

Virtual Hold Rebrands

My post last week demystifying Call-Backs vs Click-to-Call vs Virtual Queuing got quite a bit of interest, so I guess there was genuine confusion about those terms. One comment I received was from a fellow at Virtual Hold Technologies (VHT) who wanted to correct my description of their product being solely “dial-in triggered virtual queuing”. He clarified that they support web- and mobile-based triggering as well. This led me to revisit their website where I was surprised to see a major overhaul.

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Why IRS Customer Service Is Dead

Posted by Omar on April 23, 2012

IRS Fails at Customer ServiceRecent budget cuts have left the IRS with 5,000 fewer employees than last year, forcing tax payers to endure excruciating long hold times when calling their toll-free number.

According to a recent report issued by the inspector general for tax administration, approximately two thirds of callers reached an IRS support representative this tax season. Believe it or not, this exceeds the stated goal of 61%, with IRS Commissioner Douglas Shulman taking pride in this achievement. Wow. What a stretch goal.

This is a great lesson on the impact cost-cutting has on customer service in the call center, so let’s dig in a little deeper.

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Call-Backs vs. Click-to-Call vs. Virtual Queuing

Posted by Shai on April 19, 2012

Call-BackIn the battle to improve the call center experience, three frequently used terms are: call-back, click-to-call and virtual queuing.

These terms are closely related and often confusing, so I’m going to explain the differences between them in this post.

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Working at a Start-Up: Idiosyncrasies As Entertainment

Posted by Xania on April 18, 2012

Life At FonoloI’m no stranger to start-up companies; I’ve had my fair share of big companies, egos, and political red tape. Working for a small company can be both challenging and rewarding. The team at Fonolo adopts a work hard and work harder philosophy. However, daily entertainment can be found in everyone’s idiosyncrasies.

Do you find yourself grappling with whether or not to work for a start up? It’s like being in an elevator for 8 hrs with the same people – every day.  Or in Shai’s opinion – a fish bowl. Come to think of it, visuals of fish seem to pop up a lot in presentations.  I wonder if there is a subliminal message we should be aware of.

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Customer Service Infographic: The Customer Is King

Posted by Omar on April 17, 2012

Customer Is KingThe customer is king, influencing the actions of even the largest corporations when it comes to customer service.

When Bank of America announced its plan to charge customers $5 / month to use their debit cards back in September 2011, the resulting backlash forced them to abandon the idea. When Netflix wanted to increase prices and split their service, their stock lost a quarter of its value in just one week.

Clearly, customers have a significant impact on business decisions that affect them. Take a closer look at this phenomenon with our latest customer service infographic.

 

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Top 3 Reasons Customers Hate Your Contact Center

Posted by Omar on April 16, 2012

Customer Service in the Contact CenterThe telephone is the most popular method for customer support. According to Forrester Research, 69% of US consumers still use the phone for customer service.

In an era of instant gratification, service expectations are much higher which makes customers tougher to please. Megan Burns of Forrester Research states, “They’re accustomed to more options, greater control, and a worldwide platform to tell others what they think about the way brands treat them.” Not surprisingly, only 37% of brands were rated good or excellent in The Customer Experience Index 2012.

Calling any contact center is a customer nightmare, so let’s examine three of the biggest culprits and what you can do about them.

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Virtual Queuing Reaches A Turning Point

Posted by Shai on April 12, 2012

Virtual Queuing Turning PointNo one should have to wait on hold anymore. Virtual queuing technology — which replaces hold time with a call-back — has been understood and available for over a decade. And yet, the majority of call centers still put callers on hold.

Why is this so? There are quite a few reasons and I’ve discussed them on this blog (here and here), in webinars and on my personal blog (here and here).

Good news is on the horizon. One day soon, virtual queuing will be the norm and waiting on hold will be extinct like the Dodo. Below are 5 signs that show we’re approaching a turning point.

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Valuable Lessons from United Airlines’ Customer Service Fail

Posted by Omar on April 9, 2012

United Airlines Customer Service FailWhat happened???

On March 3rd, United Airlines attempted to merge their reservation system with Continental. It did not go as planned, creating customer mayhem because of ensuing technical glitches on the website and ticketing functionality.

The lines to their call center were jammed with irate customers who were dealing with extremely long hold times and problems booking their tickets.

United Airlines is no stranger to bad press. I’m sure you all remember United’s 2009 debacle that dominated the headlines for customer service gone bad.

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TEAM MEETING! High fives, new biz, silly hats and …. huh?

Posted by Xania on April 6, 2012

To kick off Fonolo’s Fiscal Year, Shai asked everyone to bring in silly hats. As newbies, Omar and I were the only ones (suckers) who actually followed through with tacky hats in hand but neither one of us actually wore them – probably out of fear from this video embedded in Shai’s presentation:

 

Above (left to right): Jason, Chris and Omar

Chris joked about how quickly our meeting got derailed. In all seriousness, Fonolo made great leaps and bounds so far. Here are some of our Q1 accomplishments:

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