Call Centers

A Day in a Call Center | Call Center Gal

2009-01-12T10:07:00.000-08:00

"Do you want to know how stressful it really is working in a call center? Watch this clip of a funny call center scene from the movie “Big Nothing” that starred David Schwimmer of “Friends” fame. You know him, he was Ross Geller the geek love interest of Jennifer Aniston."

A very funny movie clip.

Can Budget Cuts To Customer Service Survive in 2009 | Customer Experience 360

2009-01-12T10:05:00.000-08:00

"One of the growing concerns of businesses in hard times is how to downsize but improve customer experience. Recent news of Sprint’s employee lay-offs and closing of customer call centers will require unique solutions for a company that prides itself on customer experience."

India's call centers provide pop fodder - The Boston Globe

2008-10-30T10:32:00.000-07:00

"NEW DELHI - In a training session at a suburban call center, groups of fresh-faced Indian recruits jettison their Indian names and thick accents and practice speaking English just like the Americans do. They have hesitant conversations with imaginary American customers who complain angrily about their broken appliance or computer glitch. That is a scene from "Hello," the first Bollywood movie about the distorted and dual lives of India's 2 million call-center workers. "

Apparently this movie shows that the India Call Center is a subculture as much as a job. It is not very complementary to the often rude and sometime racist American callers.

Use call centers to develop your business | SiMaMa

2008-09-13T15:29:00.000-07:00

"Just about every virtual office is looking for a way to increase their business. The “best kept secret” of many successful virtual offices is to use call center services. Using an answering service gives you an executive secretary to answer your calls twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. This is an extremely valuable tool to have in your professional arsenal."

Certainly something to be considered.

Coming to Phoenix: the Call Center Industry's Premier Event

2008-09-11T18:14:00.000-07:00

"NEW YORK, Sept. 10 /PRNewswire/ -- Experience the future of customer service at The Fifth Annual Call Center Exhibition (ACCE), which will take place September 15-18, 2008 at the Phoenix Convention Center in Phoenix, AZ."

CIO Issues - IP-Based Phone Systems Come of Age in the Call Center

2008-08-25T23:05:00.000-07:00

"If your contact center has installed, or is planning to install an IP-based voice system, for reasons such as finding it to be the best choice in replacing your old ACD or supporting a new site or remote or home agents, then your facility is on track to become the new norm"

A look at IP based phone systems in the data center.

Work at Home for a Home Based Call Center in India For Free

2008-07-19T19:52:00.000-07:00

"Many call centers hire remote agents - individuals who work at home."

This is such a great idea. Because it saves costs, it is one major way to compete with outsourcing.

A New Wave of Call Center Technology

2008-07-13T19:30:00.000-07:00

"Call centers were once seen as an extremely cost-heavy and commitment-engaging endeavor for businesses. One company set out to change all that. Freedom TeleWork created a virtual call center with all the bellsand whistles of a traditional call center; including predictive and progressive dialing, chat, IVR, skills-based routing and click to call but they added a very key element to their solution, manpower."

Technology and virtual call centers - the wave of the future, and the present.

Call center school employs actors to teach would-be agents - INQUIRER.net, Philippine News for Filipinos

2008-07-08T18:52:00.000-07:00

"MANILA, Philippines -- At Excel Asia, students brushing up on their English skills are coached not by duly trained language teachers but by theater actors and former television personalities."

Why Zappos Pays New Employees to Quit—And You Should Too - Bill Taylor

2008-06-14T18:01:00.000-07:00

"Zappos publishes its 1-800 number on every single page of the site—and its smart and entertaining call-center employees are free to do whatever it takes to make you happy. There are no scripts, no time limits on calls, no robotic behavior, and plenty of legendary stories about Zappos and its customers."

Most interesting techniques for call center employees.

YouTube - Medieval helpdesk with English subtitles

2008-06-13T10:04:00.000-07:00

"YouTube - Medieval helpdesk with English subtitles"

A funny video with the tech guy explaining how to use the new technology - the book.

AIM Technology :: Listen to Call Center Confidential Podcasts

2008-06-07T12:29:00.000-07:00

"This podcast series features stories and insights from professionals in the call center industry. Short interviews will cover the nature and challenges of the industry, offer historical perspective and demonstrate how performance management impacts the landscape."

Podcasts for Call Center Professionals.

Call Center Security: How to Protect Employees and Customers - CSO Online - Security and Risk

2008-05-13T02:30:00.000-07:00

"For many companies, call centers are the heartbeat of the business. So they require CSOs to strike a balance of physical and digital security measures for employees and customers alike."

Call Center Trends: Home Agents

2008-04-10T16:32:00.000-07:00

"One of the hottest trends in the call center market today is home agents. Using home agents, which collectively make up a virtual call center, customer-facing organizations can operate more efficiently and serve clients more effectively while staying within budget."

A fine idea.

Call Center Agent Empowerment « Yaicha

2008-02-22T17:19:00.000-08:00

"If you’ve been around the call center industry any length of time (say, 5 minutes), you’ve heard the buzz about “agent empowerment.”"

QAQNA Call Center QA Questions & Answers

2008-02-15T11:13:00.000-08:00

"Tom Vander Well has spent the last 12 years helping companies with their call center quality assessment (QA) and training efforts. Tom is partner and Vice-President of c wenger group, a consulting firm in Des Moines, Iowa that specializes in helping clients measure and improve customer service in their contact centers."

Good information on Call Center Quality assessment.

Callwork Comic Strip

2006-11-24T08:59:00.000-08:00

"Callwork is a comic strip that pays tribute to all Business Process Outsourcing workforce here in the Philippines"

Drivl.com | Workplace Kama Sutra

2006-11-02T14:41:00.000-08:00

"Reports have revealed that Indian call centers have become a hotbed of promiscuity and the employees are often making the double-backed beast on-site."

CallCenterMovie.com

2006-08-29T15:01:00.000-07:00

A funny, and politically incorrect, movie about Call Centers and Customer Service.

Call Center Comics

2006-04-09T01:06:00.000-07:00

"The goal of CallCenterComics.com is to assist companies with the training of call center agents and management by providing cartoons that highlight the realities of the call center world in an entertaining fashion. "

Education May Thwart India's Call-Center Dream

2005-12-19T14:59:00.000-08:00

"Between now and 2010, $110 billion of technology and call- center work will move to developing countries. India's share of such "off-shored'' tasks may be more than half, or $60 billion, McKinsey has estimated."

High-tech call center knows how angry you are

2005-12-19T12:31:00.000-08:00

"The customer service call center of the future is here, and it knows that you're really, really angry."

Managers Share Secrets of Success

2005-11-02T10:58:00.000-08:00

"From setting schedules for supervisory duties, to mystery-shopping overflow call centers, to setting bonus structures for seasonal workers — four catalog and contact center managers reveal how they tackle daily challenges."

Call Center Serves Katrina, Rita Victims

2005-10-11T08:44:00.000-07:00

"In an old K-Mart building on the north side of this thriving Central California community, the American Red Cross has developed a unique response to help the victims of this year's devastating hurricanes in the Gulf Coast, by creating a call center to provide financial assistance via telephone for those who are now spread out around the country and need help getting back on their feet."

Outsource Your Call Center Overseas? Are you out of your mind?

2005-10-11T08:43:00.000-07:00

"New Domestic Call Center provides highly trained American Operators for any size business 24 hours a day/7 days a week for rates even less than foreign call centers."