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Avaya Endgame?

By Shai Berger on August 21, 2019
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Avaya's Wild Ride through Bankruptcy

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.

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

By Samantha Mehra on August 20, 2019
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3 Ways to Prepare Your Retail Contact Center for the Holiday RushHere’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 →

Customer Service is not a Destination, it’s a Journey: Lessons from Ryanair

By Drew Wilkinson on August 15, 2019
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Customer Service is not a Destination, it’s a Journey: Lessons from RyanairIn the age of disruption, Ryanair may best encapsulate the contrarian, rule-breaking streak sometimes required to conquer an antiquated industry. Just before the turn of the millennium, Ryanair was a tiny, impoverished Irish airline competing with the national carrier, Aer Lingus. As recently as 2017, it was the most profitable airline in Europe, operating 2,000 daily flights from 86 bases. Although the blue and saffron airline has recently hit a spot of turbulence largely thanks to Brexit – announcing 900 job cuts and a 21% drop in quarterly profits – the airline offers a fascinating case study in customer service maturation. This is the oft untold story of how Ryanair cleaned up its notorious customer service reputation by putting the customer first.

 

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Four Podcasts Every Customer Service Manager Should Listen To

By Jessica Suezin on August 13, 2019
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Four Podcasts Every Customer Service Manager Should Listen ToRetail is transforming at an increasing rate, and more than ever. Advances in Artificial Intelligence (AI) are changing interactions between customers and brands and are allowing many of these processes to become automated. However, despite these rapid changes, many customers still prefer interacting with an actual person, whether it’s in store with a floor representative, or on the phone with a call center agent.

But how do we educate ourselves on current customer service practices when the rate of change is near impossible to keep up with? Well, podcasts are a great way for managers and retailers to keep up with the latest trends and strategies in the service vertical. Here are a few suggestions of customer service podcasts we love, and you will, too. They present the latest in customer service research in clear and comprehensive ways, and provide guidance on how to apply this research to improve the experience for your consumers.

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How to Prepare Your Call Center for Seasonal Call Spikes: Utilities [Guide]

By Drew Wilkinson on July 25, 2019
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How to Prepare Your Call Center for Seasonal Spikes: UtilitiesIt’s no secret that once upon a time, utility companies could get away with less than stellar customer service. Nowadays, increased competition means that customers have more alternatives than ever before, and are willing to switch providers if they are unhappy. Even utility companies that operate in a de facto monopoly have regulators mandating certain customer service levels with corresponding CSAT scores.

While utility companies can certainly do their best to control customer service metrics like CSAT, they do not control the weather. Hot or cold, call centers in the utilities industry experience drastic spikes in call volume due to seasonal weather changes and unforeseen weather events. A widespread outage caused by a winter storm or a heatwave can completely overwhelm your organization’s customer service department and its phone lines.

While it would be easier to neglect the customer experience in favor of the “just get it done” mentality that stems from such a drastic increase in call volume, it’s important that your call center aims to please, especially during the busiest seasons of the year. After all, this is how customer relationships are made or broken.

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The Heist: Telecommunications Companies Taking the Power Back

By Jordan Maxwell on July 24, 2019
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Let us tell you a story.

Back in May, a Canadian company — Fido Solutions, which is owned by Rogers Communications Inc. — took steps to charge a small fee for its customer support services at its call centers. Yes: A service that used to be provided for free when customers paid their monthly bill just became billable. The new service fee, which costs $10, charged customers for simply calling in to make a payment, update contact information or payment method, or reset a voicemail password.

The decision to turn this unpaid service into a premium one was seen largely as a cost-saving measure, and as a way to improve customer service at call centers when overflow was occurring during peak periods. With most of those services available online, the company believed that it was easier to make small changes to customer accounts online as opposed to calling in to speak to an agent to handle them.

 

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Changing Consumer Expectations: 5 New Customer Service Faux Pas to Avoid

By Drew Wilkinson on July 18, 2019
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Changing Consumer Expectations: 5 New Customer Service Faux Pas to AvoidCore tenets of customer service are timeless: For example, “know your customer” is still as important today as it ever was. If you know your customer, you’ll know that consumer expectations have changed radically over the past decade, largely due to the development of new technologies. On-demand experiences provided by organizations like Uber and Amazon mean that efficiency and personalization are expected throughout all touchpoints of the customer experience. The bottom line is that consumer behavior is changing rapidly and businesses need to stay-up-to-date with the new normal. After all, consumer patience is a finite resource. These five customer service faux pas will not only make your organization seemed outdated, but ultimately harm your customer relationships.

 

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How the Hotel Industry is Changing Customer Service Patterns Forever

By Jordan Maxwell on July 17, 2019
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Hotel Industry Changing Customer Service Patterns with Rise of TechnologyCustomer service has always been the linchpin that determined success or failure in the hotel industry. Whether it’s housekeeping, restaurant and bar service, or events, members and stakeholders have always had to put customer service first to ensure the health of its bottom lines. With the emergence of Airbnb and its threat to hotel business, coupled with the evolution of technology and its role in the way guests enjoy their experiences, the industry is developing new customer service practices and applications to stay relevant. Tony Elenis, president and CEO of the Ontario Restaurant Hotel and Motel Association (ORHMA), spoke to the changing demographics and issues that are impacting customer service trends in the hotel industry.

 

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A Call Center Glossary: The A-Zs

By Astrid Monge on July 16, 2019
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A Call Center Glossary: The A-Zs of Call CentersOften, we use terminology and abbreviations that we become accustomed to in our everyday lives, especially within the call center space. Given that the average person spends one third of their lives at work, it is no wonder that we develop whole worlds of vocabulary to use within our professional environments. After all, it is simpler to say, “Where are we with AHT this week?” than to say, “Where are we with the average handling time metric this week?” It may seem insignificant, but cutting words down to vowels or single syllables is evidently preferable to a mouthful of phrases, particularly if they must be used regularly within the workplace. Just look at our use of acronyms and abbreviations in everyday life – ASAP (as soon as possible), LMK (let me know), TTYL (talk to you later), and the list goes on.

 

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Who Will Control the Customer Service Messaging Channel?

By Shai Berger on July 11, 2019
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Who Will Control the Customer Service Messaging ChannelText or talk? Voice conversations are still critical, but data shows that the former is becoming a bigger part of customer service interactions. This trend is driven partly by consumer preferences and partly by companies striving to lower costs. Companies are also leaning towards text because of the promise of increased automation, which is easier to do once a conversation has shifted to text.

To facilitate text conversations, you also have to ask the question: “Which channel?” There is SMS, of course. And then there are the big messaging platforms: Messenger and WhatsApp (both from Facebook), Apple’s Business Chat, and Google’s offering called (for now) Google My Business Chat. Among those platforms, a big battle is raging.

 

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