In many cases, the first thing a customer hears when calling into your phone system is a recorded prompt – perhaps something like “Thank you for calling XYZ! For sales, press 1. For support, press 2.” This relatively simple prompt creates a first impression of your organization that may be difficult to change. Whether it is a greeting, menu, or compliance message, the prompts a customer hears should accurately reflect your business and give them a positive impression… even if they haven’t actually spoken to an employee.

Something important crashes to the floor from the desk in the rush to get to your phone for the executive conference call you were supposed to join three minutes ago. After looking up the number and quickly punching it into the handset, you hear “bee-Bee-BEE. Your call cannot be completed as dialed. Please check the number…”

A quick Google search for call troubleshooting tips returns a few possible first steps:

• Everything is true, look for what isn’t
• Keep an open mind
• Maintain complete objectivity]
• Trust your data

Last week, on a sweltering, sun-filled afternoon, I happened to be driving through a small town and noticed this hole-in-the wall restaurant… I couldn’t help but notice “FINE FOODS” emblazoned on the awning.

We are pleased to bring you a guest blog post today. This article was written by Lori Bocklund, President of Strategic Contact. The article was originally published in the July 8 edition of the National Association of Call Centers “In Queue” newsletter. Lori is a leading expert in the Contact Center field and NACC is a great resource for the industry.

It wasn’t very long ago that I was shopping for a very specific product and learned that a specialty retail outlet had just what I needed. Three days later, I had an opening in my morning schedule, which made it possible for me to go and pick it up. I called the store to make sure that they were open, no answer…

I am in training to run the Indianapolis 500 Festival mini-marathon this year. I’ve never run a half-marathon before – actually, I’ve never run anything before. A friend asked if I would join her in this adventure and, in a moment of weakness, I agreed! There have been lots of long training runs to do. During those runs, I keep myself going by picturing what it will look like to receive my medal at the end of the race. I saw a shirt recently that said, “It’s all about the medal.” Yes, I am motivated by the medal!

Call center leaders are always measuring something. We’re buried in data and reports. One of the things we struggle to measure is “CSat” – customer satisfaction. We try post-call surveys to assess this; but privately, I think most of us would admit that we’re not sure those reports really amount to much of anything. If the customer is satisfied, they’ll keep coming back, right?

The Contact Center 2011 conference continued on Wednesday. Many more great speakers presented. Here are a few of the highlights I picked up from the day.

Change thought for the day: “Home agents – if you’re not doing it, do it. If you are doing it, it’s time to expand it. All of the excuses to not do it are gone.”

Tuesday was the first full day of the Contact Center Conference and Expo 2011 in Nashville, Tennessee. I’ve met a wonderful variety of contact center staff and leaders and I had the opportunity to attend several excellent sessions. I could write for a long time trying to recap the various sessions, but you’d get bored with that! Instead, I’ve pulled three things that stuck out to me today.