Ofcom, the communications regulator, is making changes to the way consumers are charged for calling service numbers; that’s those numbers  beginning 08, 09 and 118. Their research has shown that people are confused about how much it costs to call these service numbers, and as a result avoid using them. Ofcom believes that the changes […]
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Ten tips for offering your callers a positive IVR experience
IVR (interactive voice response) is a powerful tool and, when used well, can help you significantly improve the service that you offer callers to your contact center as well as offer you greater operational efficiency. However when it’s badly used, IVR can be a huge source of frustration for callers and ultimately results in lost […]
Read moreWhy the travel industry is moving to hosted IT solutions
In the run-up to this year’s Travel Technology Europe exhibition at Olympia this week, it’s worth exploring  how developing technology and changing consumer behavior are rapidly changing the industry, and what travel companies need to do in order to keep up. Although people don’t necessarily think of travel as a technology-driven industry, the fact is […]
Read more10 questions to ask before you appoint a new SIP supplier
There’s growing pressure from VISA, MasterCard and AMEX for Merchants to become PCI compliant, and the uptake and popularity of SIP trunks is also increasing. But if you’re considering appointing a new SIP supplier  how do you make sure you get the best? In this blog post I suggest 10 questions that you should ask of […]
Read moreManaging multi-channel communication in contact centers – challenges and opportunities
The way customers interact with business is changing. The phone is being replaced as the first point of contact by the company website, often reached from a mobile device, allowing for an interaction far richer than can be achieved by phone alone. Customer interactions can  now move from one channel to another, escalating in the depth […]
Read morePCI DSS compliance – why does it matter and how can you ensure your call center is compliant?
PCI DSS (payment card industry data security standard) is a set of standards designed to ensure that any company which processes, stores or transmits credit card information does so securely. If you ever handle any credit or debit card payments over the phone in your contact center then PCI DSS applies to you, regardless of […]
Read moreFive ways to make your contact center more powerful
Consumers expect more from contact centers I read with interest the results of the Institute of Customer Service’s UK Customer Satisfaction Index (UKCSI) in July 2014, which confirmed a national downward trend in customer satisfaction as an increasingly empowered, digital generation puts more pressure on organizations to deliver excellent customer service in real time and, increasingly, via […]
Read moreCall recording in your contact center – advice, hints and tips for wise practice
Many organizations use some form of call recording. If yours is one of them then it’s important to be sure that you’re complying with the law on call recording. Prompted by a recent enquiry from one of our customers, here is a quick health-check review of the most common legal issues relating to call recording. […]
Read moreTen of the best ways to efficiently manage inbound calls in your call center
Call center-based businesses often find themselves investing huge sums of money in technology, especially when it comes to efficient call management, distribution and routing. Either that or they try to cope without the functionality that they require due to the costs involved in deployment. This should no longer be the case due to the rapid […]
Read moreNetwork-level queuing or premise-based – what’s best for your company?
Does your current telephony solution allow you to manage and efficiently distribute your call queues? For most call centers, call queuing is a necessary evil. In an ideal world, each and every call would be immediately connected to an agent without the caller ever joining a queue but in reality this simply  isn’t practical, or […]
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