As a child, I hated going to the dentist. The idea of keeping my mouth open, for what felt like an eternity, while someone poked and prodded at my teeth, was never a pleasant experience. Funnily enough, what helped me get through those torturous endeavours was the artwork displayed in that dental office. Strategically placed on the ceiling, above the chair, I had the pleasure of gazing at so many lovely pictures. Now, I’m not saying they had a Picasso on their ceiling, but the distraction of a group of puppies or even a “Where’s Waldo?” poster really took my mind to another place. Isn’t it amazing what pictures can do to your state of mind?
This same idea can be applied to the call center space. In my opinion, bare walls in an environment where you’re trying to build a strong customer service culture is a big no! Choose pictures that encourage CSR’s to learn, to feel something, or to see beyond the bad interactions they may have had that day. (The “big picture”- pun intended.)
Here are some motivational pieces of art that customer experience leaders can scatter throughout their office space. Continue reading
Three years ago Gartner reported that by 2018, more than 50% of organizations would implement significant changes in their efforts to 
Fonolo is excited to return as a sponsor for this year’s Customer Contact Week (CCW), January 22-25th, 2018 at the Hyatt Regency in New Orleans, Louisiana. CCW will provide delegates with the tools and insight to deliver world-class service.
As a customer service leader, you know that not every interaction is going to go smoothly. It comes with the territory – having thick skin is essential for a CSR. Sometimes it’s easy to maintain your composure while dealing with a customer complaint, other times it’s more difficult. Whether the customer is entitled to their anger is not worth debating, the only thing you can do is try not to escalate the situation any further. We’ve all been there, we put our ego before the situation and things get out of control. A lot of people talk about HOW to handle customer rage properly, but are we doing things to enable this behavior?
Last week, Fonolo hosted an insightful live discussion on how to handle customer service in a crisis. This expert panel discussed what brands can do to ensure that customer service is not compromised during times of stress in the contact center. They touched on social media for crisis management, reducing customer frustration, and so much more! To save you some time, we’ve extracted video snippets showcasing highlights from the discussion.
Picture this: By dinner time tomorrow you’ll be sitting around the table enjoying a festive Thanksgiving meal and preparing yourself for the lethargic feeling you’ll have after consuming an unimaginable amount of food (nom-nom). You’ll sit back on your favourite spot on the sofa, put your feet up and have thoughts of gratitude. How thankful you are to be surrounded by great family, caring friends, and all the gifts of life we’re lucky to have. Now let’s take that scenario and think about how to show the same amount of gratitude to call center agents.
The call center can be a great resource for getting questions answered, but it’s typically not the most enjoyable experience. This is especially true because of the many different channels that give customers instant gratification – thus increasing the expectations for customer service. But that doesn’t mean the phone channel isn’t still a popular medium.
