Brand

The Power of SMS Technology in Call-Back Communication

By Jessica Suezin on November 19, 2019

Reply

People are busy, often going from meeting to meeting at work, chasing after their kids, running errands, or out and about with friends and family. Moments when they have to get in touch with the customer service call center of a company is met with dread, because they don’t have the time or energy to call, wait on hold, and be passed around from one customer service agent to another to solve their problem. Sometimes, even a simple phone call can seem inconvenient, and the best way to stay up-to-date, or to communicate with a company, is through a simple SMS, or Short Message Service, text message.

Here is why and how your company can implement simple, convenient, and effective SMS call-back technology into your customer service and call center strategy. Continue reading →

Eco-Friendly Sustainability: Give your Customer Service the Competitive Advantage

By Jordan Maxwell on November 14, 2019

Reply

Where does your brand sit on the green-o-meter?

It’s worth asking yourself this, as more and more millennial customers are starting to pay attention to the environment, and holding businesses accountable for their services, company vision, and strategy to cut waste, pollution, and plastics. Customers seem to care about it – so perhaps you should, too.

For the food service and hospitality industry, this is definitely the case. Many governments and global companies are making moves to eliminate single-use plastic items from their inventory and are appealing to their customer base in doing so. The need for environmental sustainability is adding a new element of customer service demand to its customers in the industry and companies are developing strategies to not only keep customers, but also draw in a new labor force that is vital to a sector with a millennial audience.

Continue reading →

#CS Lessons: Samsung Sinks, then Swims, with its Customer Service Strategy

By Jordan Maxwell on November 5, 2019

Reply

What do you do when you unveil a new smartphone or app that’s not quite ready to be released, even though you had a firm release date that 100% must meet? This challenging business situation is one Samsung recently found itself in when it botched the launch of its shiny new Samsung Galaxy Fold.

The company designed the Galaxy Fold (a smartphone that uses multiple new technologies and materials to create a display that is flexible enough to fold) and was excitement around it was building up prior to its release. The announcement of its release drew praise from Samsung users and lovers of technologies alike. Due to launch in April 2019, the device was viewed to be one of its potentially greatest products yet.

But a harsh reality set in, and early: Customer feedback delayed the launch and people begun to doubt the product.

Continue reading →

Brand Spotlight: How Glossier Uses Customer Service to Perpetuate its Business

By Janki Lodhia on October 30, 2019

Reply

If there is one modern-day company that is re-inventing the ropes of customer experience, it’s Glossier. Having completely shattered the standards of how to run a beauty business, Glossier continues to be the fastest growing beauty company that is predominantly focused on e-commerce.

It’s not surprising: One of the brand’s differentiators is its customer service offering. In fact, most businesses could learn from Glossier’s customer service structure as they leverage a modern approach to customer support, which promotes overall brand success. Glossier proves that it’s possible to innovate in the realm of customer service. Here are some insights into their successful, unique approach.

Continue reading →

“Are You Being Served?”: How 3 Century-Old Stores are Fighting to Stay Relevant for the Modern Customer

By Samantha Mehra on September 17, 2019

Reply

For me, the soul of pre-21st Century customer service can be captured in three poignant words:

“Are you free?”

These immortal customer service dew-drops I heard echoed many times via the television set on the Saturday nights of my youth when PBS would play Are You Being Served? as part of its BBC comedy lineup. “Are you free?” is one of the most used phrases in the series, a way the staff alert one another to the fact that a customer is in need of immediate assistance. “Yes, I’m free,” they usually respond, then rushing to the customer’s aid.

“Are you free?” signals the kick-off point of a larger, tried-and-tested, personalized customer service procedure that eventually ends in a sale, usually of the latest and greatest in ladies’ wear or haberdashery.

It’s classic.

Continue reading →

Who are you #OnHoldWith? The Top On-Hold Offenders in the Retail Industry

By Samantha Mehra on September 3, 2019

Reply

Build a deck. Outfit a room. Fill a prescription. Get a birthday card. Purchase a television. Scoop up school supplies. Order a couch. Snap up a subscription. Spend. Spend. Spend. Wash. Rinse. Repeat.

In every facet of a customer’s life, there is at least some encounter with the retail space, an investment of their funds in DIY projects, in personal healthcare, in family activities, in leisure, or in bare necessities. The retail industry is buoyed by this reality and is much obliged to exchange a customer’s hard-earned dollars for goods and services, but oftentimes is ill-equipped to serve the masses of consumers when they things go wrong with a product, service, or delivery. And make no mistake: Things always go wrong.

Continue reading →

Industry Voices on Avaya’s Next Move

By Shai Berger on August 28, 2019

Reply

It was hard to turn anywhere last week and not see news or commentary about Avaya. Their CEO announced that Avaya is in “advanced discussions with multiple parties” for a “strategic transaction” and that the process will be concluded in 30 days. As the behemoth of the call center industry, with $3B in revenue and 150,000 customers, whatever this move will be, it will have broad repercussions. We wrote about it last week.

While we wait for the shoe to drop, here’s a quick summary of comments from around the industry.

Continue reading →

Four Strategies to Help Your Team Resolve Customer Service Complaints Quickly

By Jessica Suezin on August 27, 2019

Reply

Want to order pizza for dinner? It will be at your door in 30 minutes. Looking for a date? An app can help you find that special someone. Need some work done around the house? You can summon a handyman that same day. In today’s world, we don’t have to wait too long for just about anything.

Today’s consumer doesn’t just want same-day delivery, they want same-day resolution to any inquiry or complaint they make with a company. According to a report by HubSpot, consumers want service that is both fast and personalized. This means that customer service teams and call center agents are tasked with rapidly resolving tickets without letting the quality of their service drop.

Here are a few strategies that can be implemented to ensure that customers experience a resolution that is both quick and satisfactory.

Continue reading →

Avaya Endgame?

By Shai Berger on August 21, 2019

Reply

It’s been known for months that industry behemoth Avaya was interested in finding a buyer. Private equity suitors include Apollo, Pemira, and Searchlight (according to this Bloomberg report). There is also interest from Mitel, first reported in April and then reported again – more definitively – this week. (We wrote about an Avaya-Mitel tie-up here: Ghost of Nortel Comes Home.)

During last week’s earnings call, CEO Jim Chirico said that there would be a decision about the company’s fate in 30 days. That’s the strongest indication yet that we’re truly in the “endgame” for Avaya. It’s fair to say the whole industry is on the edge of its seat right now.

Continue reading →

3 Ways to Prepare Your Retail Contact Center for the Holiday Rush

By Samantha Mehra on August 20, 2019

Reply

Here’s a sad (but true) story: The dog days of summer are almost at an end. As customers and clientele begin to re-emerge from their sun-soaked vacations, and step firmly back into reality and back-to-school or back-to-work shopping, contact centers in the retail industry and beyond will no doubt see a sharp influx in customer inquiries, emails, messages, and phone calls. Their volume will rise on every channel, and callers will be expecting exquisite and timely customer service regardless of the demands of the busy season. And, too, the numbers don’t lie: Last year, Black Friday yielded over $6 billion online, with Cyber Monday surpassing that number at $7.8 billion. (To say that customers are active during these shopping days is a gross understatement.) As we mentioned in a recent article, “calls to businesses rose more than 375% over the past two holiday seasons.” Continue reading →