Welcome to my customer experience blog. Here I write about the kind of experiences we all have as customers every day. Some of them are good, some are bad. Regardless of that, there’s always a lesson to be learned…either from what an organization did that resulted in a good experience, or what they could have done to prevent a bad one. This can be a good source of tips for a customer service or contact center manager, or just something fun to read. Feel free to comment on the posts or even post your own customer service stories and I can respond with some “lessons learned” from those. Give as many details as you want…but please keep in mind that as a rule, I only publish the company name if the story is positive. However, in the case of negative stories, it’s helpful for me to know who the company is. I always try to alert customer service managers in those companies of the stories so they can be aware of what their customers are saying. Brian Golden, Contact Center 411
Lilly Cho
Lilly Cho uniquely combines strategy and execution in implementing enterprise wide initiatives that improve her customer’s return on investment and increases in their bottom line results. Lilly has enabled her clients to report record growth and profit within very tight turnaround times.
Lilly’s vast experience in many different sectors has proven valuable in providing a compelling and diverse viewpoint on effective operations and processes within organizations
Lilly’s key competencies include creating executable business strategies that provide immediate business results. Lilly’s basis for business measurement is to identify clear key performance indicators that are actionable, measureable and trackable.
Along with having a MBA from Rice University, Lilly continually increases her knowledge by attending several national conferences in healthcare, project management and adult learning.
Lilly spends a lot of her free time volunteering with Project Open Hand, Stop AIDS Project and Share Our Strength. Lilly’s other passions include international travel, food and wine.
Key Competencies
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- Program and Project Management
- Business Analysis
- Business Process Reengineering
- Telephony and CRM Technology Implementation
- Change Management
- Training Design and Development
- Performance Management
- Learning Strategies and User Adoption
- Leadership Development
- Quality Assurance
- Computer System Validation
- Facilitation
- Telesales Operations
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John Fahrnkopf
John Fahrnkopf is a contact center technology consultant with more than 20 years of broad technology consulting experience, focusing the past 14 years delivering benefit to customer service centers through technology and operations optimization and improvement, including roles as technical architect, project manager, and systems and business analyst. He specializes in telecommunications and has experience with most contact center technologies and leading product vendors.
John has worked for eLoyalty, Capgemini, and IBM in their Contact Center Optimization practice areas where he has delivered tactical and strategic planning, and managed technology implementations to such companies as TXU Energy, Washington Mutual, Providian Bank, MoneyGram, Wells Fargo, Kaiser Permanente, Vision Service Plan, NiSource Energy, Sprint, as well as many others.
Key Competencies
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- Technology Assessments
- Contact Center Infrastructure/Architecture
- Telephony/VoIP
- Call Flow/Routing Design
- IVR Self-Service
- Vendor RFP
- Vendor Selection
- Technology Project Management
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Everybody Wins When You Offer Customers a Choice
On a recent trip to the Boston area, I was lucky enough to get a low rate to stay at the Le Meridién hotel in Cambridge, Massachusetts. As I was settling into the room, I noticed a card advertising a program they’re offering. The program offered me the option of not having the regular daily housekeeping service for my room and, in exchange, they were offering a $5 voucher that could be used in the hotel restaurant or bar. Furthermore, if I didn’t want or wasn’t able to use that, I had the option of redeeming any of my vouchers at the end of my stay for 500 bonus points in their guest rewards program. As a loyal Starwood Preferred Guest program member, I was very excited about this. I knew I’d barely be using the room other than for sleeping and showering. I was only there for a two night stay and I often opt to not have my sheets or towels washed anyway. I thought it wouldn’t be a big deal at all for me to simply make the bed myself if I wanted it made, and the rest didn’t really matter. Besides that, at three points per dollar, I would be earning fewer than 500 points per night based on my nightly rate. It seemed like a great bonus and I jumped on the opportunity. I found myself hoping that the hotel that I’ve been staying in regularly for work on a client project would start offering the same thing.
This is a great example of how offering choices to a customer can really enhance customer loyalty and repeat buying. Because of this program, this will be the first hotel I look into the next time I travel to Boston. Interestingly enough, the $5 restaurant voucher or the 500 points probably even have a much lower cost to the hotel than that of daily housekeeping service for a room, especially when you take into account the housekeeping labor, laundry costs, and supplies. This is a great lesson that what something may cost an organization doesn’t necessarily translate dollar for dollar in terms of value to a customer. By offering customers a choice, you not only increase their satisfaction by giving them something that’s of value or important to them, sometimes you can actually save money because some customers will choose an option that has a lower cost than the standard service.
Noel Colaço
Noel Colaço is a senior-level consulting manager with more than 15 years of experience in contact centers, customer relationship management, business process improvement and information technology best practices with public sector (federal), Fortune 500, startup, and mid-market companies. He has been extensively focused in the last 10 years with clients in federal government, financial services and transportation industries looking at achieving strong bottom-line impact through contact center and CRM optimization.
Noel’s key competencies in contact center consolidation, contact center technology optimization, and contact center roadmap development and execution, as well as his deep knowledge of contact center tools from Alcatel Genesys, Oracle Siebel, Microsoft, and others – allow him to transform his clients’ contact center operations to better serve their customers, improve support for their internal staff and achieve their organizational objectives.
Key Competencies
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- Strategic Planning
- Contact Center Roadmap Development and Execution
- Customer Interaction Management
- Customer Relationship Management
- Analytics and Reporting
- Contact Center Technology Architecture
- Technology Development and Deployment
- Multi-channel Service Delivery
- Process Reengineering
- Performance Management
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Noel has consulted for organizations both in the public sector as well as Fortune 500 companies, including Federal Express, Citibank, Cable and Wireless, the US Patent and Trademark Office, the US Department of the Interior, and the US Department of Veterans Affairs. His breadth of experience across both private and public sector clients gives him extensive insight specific to these sectors and allows him to apply his industry knowledge towards solutions specific to these clients.
Noel has a Master’s Degree in Computer Information Systems from the School of Business at the University of Miami and an undergraduate degree in Computer Science and Computer Engineering from the College of Engineering at the University of Miami. Noel is also a graduate of Georgetown University’s Senior Executive Leadership Program. He is a Call Center Industry Advisory Council (CIAC)-Certified Management Consultant (CCMC) and is an active member of the International Customer Management Institute (ICMI) and the Society of Consumer Affairs Professionals (SOCAP).
Noel is an avid soccer player and spectator, enjoys travelling the globe and, more than anything, treasures his time with his two young children.
Download a PDF of the full biography.
Brian Golden
Brian Golden brings more than 20 years of leadership experience in contact center operations management, design, organization development and process engineering. He partners with client companies to create and implement solutions for aligning their service strategy with market and customer demands while achieving cost effectiveness in their operations. His extensive experience working both internally in line management as well as externally as a consultant allows him to quickly ascertain customers’ needs and develop lasting strategies that take companies to new levels.
Brian’s key competencies in customer interaction management, organization development, sales support and strategic planning help organizations achieve their goals often while reducing costs.
Key Competencies
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- Consumer Experience Design and Analysis
- Contact Center Operations Management
- Contact Center Organization Design
- Contact Center Staffing and Workforce Planning
- Contact Center Outsourcing
- Customer Interaction Management
- Technology Development and Deployment
- Multi-channel Service Delivery
- Process Reengineering
- Implementation Effectiveness
- Performance Management
- Change Management
- Strategy Development and Execution
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Brian has worked with a wide range of organizations both in the public sector as well as Fortune 500 companies, including UnitedHealth Group, AT&T, Atmos Energy, Allstate Insurance, Amgen, Toyota, Convergys, and the United States Department of the Interior. His extensive experience in telecommunications, healthcare, utility, automotive, financial services, life sciences, and more gives him deep insight specific to these industries and allows him to design well-tailored solutions for each.
Along with having a master’s degree in organization development from Pepperdine University, Brian stays on the cutting edge through professional affiliations and continuing education. He is a certified facilitator of the Implementation Institute’s “Practicing Implementation Effectiveness” workshop and was a keynote speaker at the Singapore Institute of Management. He also is a member of the Organizational Development Network and the Society of Community Affairs Professionals.
Brian enjoys staying actively involved in the community by volunteering regularly for events like the Special Olympics and American Diabetes Association’s Tour de Cure.
Download a PDF of the full biography.
Kirby McLennan
Kirby McLennan brings more than 30 years of management experience spanning contact centers and information technology. He has worked as a senior level consultant during his twelve year consulting career focusing on operational effectiveness, resource utilization and strategic initiatives. Kirby partners with client companies to develop and implement solutions that address customer expectations and business objectives. Additionally, Kirby has led numerous projects for disaster recovery planning and business continuity programs.
Key Competencies
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- Contact Center Operations
- Process Analysis and Development
- Disaster Recovery Planning (DRP)
- Business Continuity Program (BCP) Development
- Technology Infrastructure
- Contact Center Interim Management
- Operational Assessments
- Telecommunications
- RFP Development and Vendor Management
- Business/Systems Functional Requirements Development
- Quality Performance Initiatives
- Performance Management
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Kirby’s ability to quickly analyze operations helps his clients develop the requisite initiatives to enhance the customer experience, improve operational effectiveness or expand their business. He held senior management contact center positions with companies such as Kraft General Foods, Citicorp, and Sheraton Hotels. Kirby holds certifications in ITIL – IT Service Management and Total Quality Service.
Download a PDF of the full biography.
Elliott Winit
Elliott Winit is a veteran contact center operations executive and consultant, with more than thirty-five years of experience directing, as well as consulting to large customer service, reservations, telemarketing, and financial services contact centers. He specializes in helping companies interested in ensuring that their contact centers are operating efficiently, cost effectively and are optimizing the customer experience. He has led these types of assessment efforts extensively during his career. He has experience in the design and layout of these centers, along with a successful track record in preventative labor relations. He has actively led both expansion and consolidation efforts for several international organizations. He also has extensive experience analyzing outsourcing alternatives for his clients.
Key Competencies
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- Operational Assessments
- Process Analysis
- Consolidation and Reorganization Analysis
- Contact Center Site Selection
- Contact Center Interim Management
- Outsourcing Analysis
- Contact Center Design
- Preventative Labor Relations
- Organizational Design
- Quality Performance Initiatives
- Change Management
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Elliott has worked as a senior level consultant for both eLoyalty and IBM in their Contact Center Optimization Practice Areas during his seventeen year consulting career. He has consulted to companies worldwide, including Agilent Technologies, General Motors, The New York Times, NiSource, Reliant Energy, Sprint Wireless, SunAmerica, T-Mobile, Union Bank of California, Washington Mutual, and many others. Prior to starting his consulting career in 1997, he held senior management contact center positions with such companies as American Express, Walt Disney Attractions, Sheraton Hotels, and CitiGroup.
Download a PDF of the full biography.