Today, the role of the contact center extends beyond simply answering questions and providing information.  With increasing call volumes; expanding agent responsibilities; and rising demands to deliver rapid, high-quality service, businesses can find it hard to keep up.  That’s where today’s advanced call center software solutions come in.

Designed to simplify service-related interactions by coordinating and automating agent tasks, call center software systems give agents all the tools they need to help customers, while giving managers complete visibility into department activities, agent performance, and service quality.

If your company is looking to purchase a call center package, a new resource is available to you: to help you find the software that is right for your company, the editors at Business-Software.com have compiled a list of the best vendors in the industry.  The comprehensive Top 10 Call Center Vendors whitepaper is designed to help you build your “short list” and make an informed purchasing decision. Read more »

The Business Software Advisor
You ask the questions, and our resident software guru shares her wisdom.

This week’s question:  I’m thinking of transitioning my customer service into a virtual call center.  If I go virtual, how can I best manage the performance of my remote agents?  

A:  Agent management is a challenging function, especially within virtual contact center environments. Supervisors often find it difficult to evaluate the performance of customer service representatives who don’t reside in the same physical location, or to provide them with the kind of constructive feedback they need to do their jobs effectively. In some cases, remote agents may also lack access to the information they require to properly answer questions and address issues.

Today’s call center software solutions are designed to address these issues.  The features of these software packages enable managers to accomplish better agent management in virtual contact centers.  Read more »

The old adage of “the customer is always right”, coined in 1909 by Harry Gordon Selfridge, is becoming less realistic for businesses today.  The customer cannot always be “king”, even when a business fails to live up to its part of a buyer-seller relationship and when a customer suffers for no fault of his.  Abrasive customers, particularly those who are eventually allowed to benefit from their antics, often get better treatment than customers who are willing to put up with some valid discomfort. This can cause resentment amongst employees. In fact, companies are now discovering that putting their employees first often results in an increase in customer service standards. Read more »