Working for LBM as I do, I thought you all might like a laugh!!


We currently have just spent over £1,000,000 on a new phone system to get rid of the "harris" phone system we had. This was slow, irritating and, well, made you pull your hair out!!

Problem.... This new system is paintented in the U.S, it gets rid of the need for manual dial, or using "line lists" to go through records. This system ALSO, to solve problems such as disconnected, answerphones etc, dial 10 numbers at a time and whichever has a person answering first is the call you are given. Now.. the problem is, the other 9 numbers it dials get hung up on, so therefore 9 people are getting two rings and then having the phone put down on them, HAHA, very funny the first two times....but after getting them all day/week/month they start to get annoyed... is this going a little TO far?? mmmmmm we shall see when we all are put onto it...surely this is taking tecnology beond something that is useful!! Ah well now you've all had a chuckle i'll let you get back to work!

Take Care

Mike Fitch

Sounds like one of those cases of a good idea not been given enough thought.

I only hope that I don't end up on their calling list :)

Rob

Maybe I'll speak to you one day soon Rob ;)

I hope for your sake you dont get on our list!!

:D

Mike

Are you in the UK? - If so your people could get into an awful lot of bother with OFTEL if this is how the are running their outbound.

Shan't bore you with the chapter and verse but basically , it sounds like you are are 'Power Dialling' i.e. Here's a list of numbers, go for it! If an agent's available, connect it - if not tough! - Whilst, AFAIK, this is allowed in the US, it contravenes OFTEL requirements in the UK (quite right so IMO).

What the company should be doing is something normally referred to as 'Predictive Dialling' i.e. Here's a list of numbers, dial them, but pace the dialling based on the likelyhood of and agent being available when the call is answered. In cases where the call is answered but no agent is available,the number will be placed into another dial list that will allocate an agent before dialling the number (to prevent the annoyance of repeated instances of call hang ups to the same customer).

Just as well, as I can imagine a backlash from consumers about this kind of thing.

It's difficult to believe that anyone pays a £1mill for such a solution as described by Mike Fitch. It would be interesting to know what is really happening. In any event there are much better solutions available in the UK than that described, and at a lot lower cost. But I'm not seeking to make a sale.

The real issue here is good practice. That described here comes under the codes issued by the Direct Marketing Associations (DMAs). It is explicitly disallowed in the UK, and very much discouraged in the US. There is no government legislation in either country banning this, but if DMAs can't stop their members (and I assume that LBM are a member) making calls in this way, you can expect Oftel in this country, and the FTC or perhaps the FCC in the US to seek a ban.

For more on this topic see www.outboundfocus.com

Hi!!!

The auto dialers are here and are useful. They spare the telemarketing task easy and the operators fingers are spared of additional work load.The hardware Mike referred here is a power dialer and it keeps on making calls and hanging up. This is a nuisance.there is a smart auto dialer ....The predictive dialer which works on a pacing algorithm and does the outbound calling very efficiently and intelligently.Go to google and search on key word "Predictive dialing" and you will get maximum information on these.

Vedula

Read my earlier post as "They Spare the telemarketing team" as "they make the telemarketing team"

Vedula

The technology as usual gets the blame!

The technology is here and working fine, the regulatory structure of the market is another issue perhaps best dealt with in a separate discussion.

The problems experienced by the U.K. market in my opinion are due to the failure of companies to understand the actual potential of the technology when scoping, evaluating and purchasing solutions. Coupled with the slow uptake of synergies between the individual business units within the organisation that integrate, operate, support and develop and use the system. This causes lack of co-ordination of the business effort and annoys the (ex)customer.

I have worked with predictive diallers for a number of years and the main issue that I have seenagain and again is that data is treated as just that, data...

Each number is a customer that spends money, probably with another company if you treat them with disrespect. Disrespect for a customer means that when they telephone / e-mail / write/ sms your company you don't know who they are, can't recall the last time (if ever) that you saw them and forget their bank details.

Dialler technology is only one part of the chain, a delivery mechanism for your enterprise. What are you tryingto do? Who are you trying to contact and why? Now get your support systems in, both technological and operational.

The technology has now progressed to the point that diallers can be programmed to modify dialling patterns per agent. Not only based on agent availability and call handling performance, but whether they speak another language or have a higher success rate on inbound or outbound calls / e-mails / e-chat e.t.c.

Thousands of parameters per call, based on history, location, time-zone, possible revenue. On-line data refresh and customisable alerts, the list is endless.

As with all computers though, crap in crap out. Agents get annoyed with being put "on a treadmill"; this is avoidable with campaign variation between preview and predictive missions. If the agents resent the loss of control or are pushed too hard they don't work as hard and you all lose money. Quality of leads are vital to a sales operation, if salespeople don't make money they will not hang around and your training costs will increase. Credit companies need to have accurate information available to chase debt. If you use a data warehouse and the front line channels are not capturing the data that you will call on correctly then you will alienate possible/ current customers.

I think that considered strategies with regard to call centre solutions are rare within the U.K. Perhaps it's because middle management in general has enough trouble managing their e-mails?

Must go to bed.

Ian.

Ian wrote:

"The technology as usual gets the blame!"

Interesting points, Ian.

Interesting that you picked up upon the issues of regulation for technology within this industry - care to start a topic?

Technology has always been a double edged sword; it takes time to find a good balance between new and traditional ways of doing things. One of the problems as I see it are that in a lot of cases middle-management (yes, them again ;-) adopt the concept of new technologies without really thinking through the implications and suitability of that technology. As Yourdon put it, a 'silver bullet'. Quite often, technological advance is less of a better way of doing things than a different way. Over time, business adjusts, but behind every shiny centralised computer system there always lies a mountain of paperwork and people always forget that technology can rarely cure bad business practise.

You mention synergy and it's a good word. The 'whole' being greater than the sum of the parts. A goal to strive for, yes, but the fact is that systems are difficult to really pin down precisely - the workplace is a very dynamic and malleable environment, and technology can only ever really address a part of the whole. There needs to be training to develop understanding, monitoring to oversee not just the individuals' progress with the technology, but also the technology's suitability within the context of the workplace. A good analogy is that of footpaths. People will take the path that suits them best, regardless of what is deemed to be the best path to suit them. That's why I see so many patches of grass worn down through common use, despite footpaths nearby - people want to walk where they want to walk and to hell with some anonymous entity dictating their actions...

To paraphrase DND, we need to consider the individual's own personal priorities, goals, likes and dislikes - technology may on paper solve some problems but it needs to be adopted, owned, relished even, by those who will use it.

Having said that, and with a touch of the Devil's Advocate about me, I have to add that, used intelligently, technology can be a powerful tool, but should never replace the human element. It's not all about efficiency, you know...

Ian also wrote:

"I think that considered strategies with regard to call centre solutions are rare within the U.K. Perhaps it's because middle management in general has enough trouble managing their e-mails?"

So true!

Good post, by the way, I enjoyed it lots!

John

Hello,


The CEO of Sytel wrote: "It's difficult to believe that anyone pays a £1mill for such a solution as described by Mike Fitch. It would be interesting to know what is really happening. In any event there are much better solutions available in the UK than that described, and at a lot lower cost. But I'm not seeking to make a sale."""

I would have loved to make that sale and I am sure that Mr. McKinlay would have loved for his company to have made that sale also. I would have loved to make that sale because a better solution is available for that call center and thousands of consumers could have been approached more efficiently, ethically, and better served. Our industry is constanly being skewered in the press and mainstream media due to controllable issues such as the one mentioned in this original post.

Andy Smith

p.s. I would have enjoyed the commission also. :)

In my opinion dialers are a waste of money and time:

1. 11 years ago, the office average outbound presentations (hand dialing) was 18/hr.
2. VAX dialing - 15/hr
3. Predictive dialer - 14/hr

People (those receiving the call) hate it. They have an attitude about the call before the rep even comes on the line. The gap between them answering and the rep coming to the line is way too long - then a bunch of hang ups in a row. Woe is me, or anyone who has to work with a dialer.

Just my opinion. And a strong one at that!

LoriAnne, how's it going? Just had to express my agreement (don't tell anyone) - dialers, especially when not used properly, are penny-wise and pound-foolish. A better way?

Hey Brent! I'm doing well, thank for askin! Glad you asked for a better way, by the way. In Teleconnecting, one of the skills is learning to be 'Present'. In order to truely 'connect' with someone, you must be present, and they also.

It's already been shown that the more senses involved in a task, the more effective learning can be. Good Old Fashioned phones still work for outbound. While were at it, how about some live voices on inbound. I had to call for an elderly neighbor to up her insurance coverage on her house - she was so confused by the push one, push two rigamarole. Hands on helps the rep be more present, the 'numbers' will be there - plus, as a bonus you're not ticking folks off.

Outbound telesales, telemarketing etc.has become a telenightmare. I'm honestly concerned that by the time teleconnecting is embraced the entire world will have installed some kind of software to ward off anyone calling them.

Just like everything else, they've (we've) done it to themselves (ourselves).
Duh.

One other little thing. The more the World Wide Web is employed - the more impersonal business becomes - the more important these old fashioned principles will be needed, wanted and required. That is, if you want someone to reveal the financial computer chip embedded in their foreheads.

LoriAnne Hancock
Teleconnecting International
208-344-2662

Sock it to 'em. A lesson in reality and a joy to read my friend.

David

Hi Guys,
This is Amol, I work with a call center in India and have luckily had hands on experience on dialers and reports and all the stuff that Technology is made of..
My views on this may be quite radical, Me thinks rather than the middle management having a tough time managing their e-mails its also about the vendor who wants to make a quick sale on the tecnology he's trying to sell you, your spend budget on technology and above all your knowledge, even if basic, about the stuff that makes your center run. Money can buy the best technology that's available but the choice still remains with you if your center needs that technology apart from the fact that there's always somebody you know in your management who's used the same in his previous stint at some other organisation and wants to have the exact same at the center he's currently at, albeit could be a little old but what the heck, HE'S comfortable.
With a little research, its pretty easy for anyone to find out what is going to be exact requirement and what its gonna cost him and do a pro/con analysis which I think anybody who deserves to be in "middle management" ought to know.
Very interesting statistic on how the contact rate has gone down with Dialers but the benefits of using high end technology far outweigh the downside.

Hey,

Anybody who has used a true PD will know it can be fine tuned to perfection. You just need to learn how to tweak a PD to sing your tune !!

Mike you have opened a can of worms !

Dadi