New research from the Professional Planning Forum reveals that those contact centres which focus on recruiting the right people reap the benefits through lower absence and attrition rates, improved knowledge retention and a better customer experience.
World-beating customer service is thriving in the UK — giving confidence to companies to look beyond the recession, according to new research by the Institute of Customer Service (ICS).
Each week, we'll bring you a classic customer service clanger from companies that ought to know better. This week, a hilarious email response sent to a CCF reader from Peugeot customer service:
Thank you for your email.
There is no need to respond to this as this is an automatic reply.
We will address your query at our earliest convenience.
Kind Regard
Peugeot Contract Hire
The poor recipient says: "Notice the singular Regard. I got this response after I emailed having waited 5.5 minutes listening to their answerphone on an 0845 number."
If you have an amusing example of customer service, please email me: claudia.hathway@ubm.com
Sandwell Council House, Freeth Street, Oldbury B69 3DE
P10, SCP 42-45 (£35,079 - £37,665)
Working closely with the strategic partner’s customer services team; you will be instrumental in developing and implementing corporate wide initiatives to improve customer satisfaction and transform front-line service delivery for the citizens of Sandwell.
At the recent Call Centre Executive Forum, CCF caught up with several UK managers to ask them about what's keeping them awake at night...
82 days to go
The biggest show of the year takes place on 22nd & 23rd of September, offering all the solutions and advice you could need under one roof. Hear from the experts and find inspiration in the comprehensive education programme, and browse all the latest products and solutions from the 250 exhibitors. Click here to register for free.
Brought to you by Customer Strategy and Call Centre Focus, this elite networking hub is designed as a platform to stimulate debate and share ideas. With regular sumptuous dinner meetings, an active online forum and a unique chance to network with peers in a private setting. Interested? Click here to find out more.
BUDGET SETTING AND BUILDING A PALN TO DELIVER IT 09 July 2009, Whitehouse Hotel, Kegworth, East Midlands
For contact centre directors, managers, finance, business analysts and planners offering advice and best practice in approaching the 2010 budget planning process. Focusing on the challenges faced when pulling together all the inputs required to have control of your numbers and a consistent and clear understanding of the impacts of cost cutting compared to delivering against your strategic goals and customer agenda.
Enter the latest Call Centre Focus caption competition and win a bottle of champagne. Click here to find out more.
Which category will you enter in the European Call Centre Awards?
You don’t have long left to take the chance to win the highest accolade the industry has to offer. Click here for the full list of categories and the official entry form.
Not sure how to enter? Click here for advice on writing a tip-top entry.
We are on track to reach our target of 1,000 followers by Call Centre Expo, but we want more! So, to encourage you to join the Web 2.0 revolution, CCF will be giving away a bottle of champagne to one lucky follower selected at random every four weeks until the show. Sign up now!
Richard Stanford was invited by the Football League to enter the 2008 National Customer Service Awards after coming out on top as the best family club in the UK. Never in his wildest dreams did he expect to be standing on stage celebrating winning one of the most prestigious awards in the country.
In the current downturn businesses are under pressure to reduce costs whilst safeguarding customer loyalty. So, contact centre managers must consider two questions. What is the correct level of investment for the optimum customer experience and how can businesses avoid spending money that will have no positive effect?
The term ‘sympathetic personalisation’ has been used to describe the technique by which call handlers can supposedly present customers with a more human and personal experience, through the use of a range of phrases and expressions, designed to soften the conversation and generate an empathetic relationship.