Contact Center Show artwork

Contact Center Show

50 episodes - English - Latest episode: 2 months ago - ★★★★★ - 4 ratings

This is the public square for all things contact center. This is where the world’s best Call & Contact center professionals come to get better at delivering a great experience for customers.

Your contact center mentors - Amas Tenumah & Bob Furniss

Management Business Technology contactcenter
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Episodes

The customer Happiness show

January 15, 2024 05:34 - 14 minutes - 7.59 MB

Bob, it has been a while since we have talked to the contact center show audience, and there are some rumors that I want to put to bed. Bob, the word on the street is we got rich and famous and we stopped putting out new show. I've gotten some responses from our fans. Can you put these rumors to bed? What actually happened here? Bob Well, as you can see, I'm calling you from my yacht. So the rumors are not true. I don't think anyone who uses the word customer service anywhere in their ti...

What we learned this season

June 16, 2023 16:00 - 33 minutes - 46.2 MB

Amas and Bob take a look back a their third season of the Contact Center show.    "I plan to spend the offseason doing nonprofit, keisha Warrior Princess, we aims to educate women on the importance of self exams and of gynological appointments annually."- Bob I'm increasingly getting feedback from people who are not deep into the contact center, but are contact center adjacent. Whether they be like, people who work in other departments, consumers, what have you. If you're out there aga...

How to Prepare for CCaaS

June 09, 2023 16:00 - 32 minutes - 45.3 MB

Bob and Amas discuss how you should prepare for CCaas:   Three out of four contact centers today have not yet made the move. Every vendor is telling companies to make this move. The improvements are happening in their new cloud system. We're getting close to the point where this would be a baseline requirement. CCaaS allows agents to use all of their channels in one interface. It adds some user capabilities for the agent. That makes their life a little bit easier. Is this something tha...

How to Seperate the Hype from Reality with Generative AI

May 29, 2023 16:00 - 40 minutes - 55.6 MB

Amas and Bob tell you how to separate the hype from reality with GPT:   - AI will eliminate 75% of call center jobs. AI will even make your bed. These are some of the real headlines about what generative AI things like Chat GPT will do to the contact center. - I think the next knowledge will be the impact. It's going to affect the way that we write knowledge articles. Marketing is an example of how knowledge is going to be second in the contact center. And then the last step is talking...

Knowledge is the new oil, but do you know how to drill?

May 15, 2023 16:00 - 30 minutes - 42.1 MB

Bob and Amas discuss the world of knowledge. "I'm going to date myself that we had knowledge on paper in binders at every desk." - Bob "In fact, I believe that if used correctly, knowledge or technical product content in this case is and should be seen as marketing." - Mike "So we have this issue. There are 1400 page PDFs running out there. How would you think about the problem and and how? How have you advised people to begin to think about solving it?" -Amas   Connect with Mike S...

The Contact Center CFO

April 24, 2023 16:00 - 42 minutes - 77.1 MB

Amas and Bob discuss the role of the CFO in the Contact Center: "Yeah, there is a the metric but there reason your are measuring FCR, repeat call rates, average call rate, they should lead somewhere." -Amas  "I gotta be ready to tell the story of the history, the real-time and the future." -Bob  

The Outbound Call Center

April 17, 2023 16:00 - 36 minutes - 66 MB

Amas and Bob discuss the outbound call center: "This is giving me flashbacks of my teenage years when I was doing telemarketing." - Amas    "Time is money! Interactions to Sales matter - from a cost perspective." -Bob "Well first of all it's a tough job, in that job I was talking about I called 60 people maybe 20 talked to me, that's a lot of negativity." - Bob

Waiting for Service Interview

April 11, 2023 16:00 - 33 minutes - 62 MB

Bob interviews Amas about his latest book "Waiting for Service" "If our industry could get the waiting part right before worrying about the quality of service..." Amas  "So if you are listening to our podcast, he is not talking about you, he is talking about the other contact center professionals." - Bob 

Soft Skills do not work, your contact center needs Tough skills.

March 14, 2023 20:22 - 59 minutes - 81.3 MB

Amas and Bob welcome Caryn Fried and Glen Stoffel to the Contact Center Show to discuss the reality of soft skills. Quotes "People drive the success of contact centers. I had someone say to me this week - I think people are going away in contact centers. ChatGPT and the future of voice bots and digital bots will replace the human. But I disagree. Technology will never replace the humans in contact centers." "Professional Teams practice. If it looks effortless It didn’t come easy, the eff...

When Social media becomes the primary means of customer service

March 08, 2023 17:03 - 35 minutes - 49 MB

Do you use social media to address your complaints or concerns with companies?  What are the pros and cons of social service? Does anyone do it well? It is quite overwhelming to monitor the entire internet so where do you start?   “how would you feel if every decision you make privately on a contact center ends up on the front page of a newspaper or on facebook?” "If it is written information, it is public:" - Amas "Customers will figure it out...social is better" - Bob    And mu...

Why should you use social for customer service

March 03, 2023 17:11 - 36 minutes - 50 MB

Bob and Amas continue the conversation about Social Service: "You know that quote from 10-15 years ago 'if you do something good your customer will tell 3 people and if you do something bad they will tell 10' now customers are like 'let me tell my 100 followers, 500 followers...." - Bob   And much more  Contact Amas and Bob. http://linkedin.com/in/amastenumah/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/bobfurniss/ 

When customers never have to hold?

February 27, 2023 16:13 - 32 minutes - 44.9 MB

You dial a 1800# and it tells you someone will hold your place in line and call you back when it is your turn? Is someone actually holding your place in line? Key Quotes: "It allows you to not have to listen to Michael Bolton sing “when a man loves a woman for the thirteenth time.” Or even worse, here the “your call is important to us” for the 25th time!" "Yes it is lipstick on a pig- but I am not sure you want your pig to walk around all the time with lipstick on - instead, only use t...

Will ChatGPT answer 25% of all your inquiries?

February 17, 2023 15:38 - 41 minutes - 57.2 MB

Amas and Bob take a deep dive into the success of ChatGPT. Chatbots are not new, why is this one capturing hearts and mind? What the heck is a chatbot anyway? Why do most customers hate chatbots and will it change? Will it replace humans in the contact center? How do I start building a bot customers will want? And much more  Contact Amas and Bob. http://linkedin.com/in/amastenumah/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/bobfurniss/ 

Is the Contact center the most interesting place in Corporate America?

February 13, 2023 17:00 - 42 minutes - 57.5 MB

The contact center may be the biggest melting pot in corporate America. Bob & Amas have 60+ years in the industry What does the contact center get  right? Most incredible stories about contact centers   Memorable Quote: “Did you lose your daughter? Are you a NARC?” - Bob   And much more  Contact Amas and Bob. http://linkedin.com/in/amastenumah/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/bobfurniss/   

Should We Join Frontier Airlines in Eliminating Calls?

January 21, 2023 00:32 - 29 minutes - 40.1 MB

Join Amas and Bob as they discuss eliminating phone calls from contact centers: Before you join the movement to eliminate phone calls from your contact center you should listen to this.   Select quotes. "I think they are trying to kill the phone call because they're expensive...." "Is frontier airline the model for customer service?" "At the end of the day, if I think of the best phone call I have ever had with a customer service agent, I still wish had never happened...." And mu...

How to Deal with Escalations

January 02, 2023 15:04 - 30 minutes - 41.4 MB

Join Bob and Amas as they dive deep in how to deal with escalations: "I have always been intersted in the origin of the statement "the customer is always right", they must not work in service..." "In some ways I think the organization is creating escalations..." "I would love to be a supervisor in a call center and not be able to tell a lie....." And much more Contact Amas and Bob. http://linkedin.com/in/amastenumah/" https://www.linkedin.com/in/bobfurniss/ 

Your Call is Being Recorded for quality purposes

December 29, 2022 03:00 - 36 minutes - 49.3 MB

Join Amas and Bob as they discuss the dreaded message we all hear when calling for service. What is done with my recording and transcripts at most contact centers? Who owns the data? Three things to change about the recording and quality assurance process. Some quotes... "I don't think it's BS they are recorded but they're not listening to a lot of it..." "Here is what your agent hears after you tell them they scored 84...." "At the end of the day, the job you signed up for is a...

Is Training to blame for Customer service failure?

December 12, 2022 18:26 - 34 minutes - 47 MB

People blame most bad interactions on poor training.Is this true? The training blame game  Who is the real culprit when service goes bad What is training actually good for Is empathy a skill or an emotion? And much more... Contact Amas and Bob. http://linkedin.com/in/amastenumah/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/bobfurniss/   

What is Workforce Management?

November 28, 2022 17:00 - 36 minutes - 50.5 MB

Ever had 100,000 people waiting in line and angry? You know it is your fault? Have you ever made all your coworkers mad? Today Bob Furniss and I discuss Workforce Management. Why WFM deserves more empathy Why WFM is a lot of art and a lot science Wat makes WFM such a complex job  And much more ... Contact Amas and Bob. http://linkedin.com/in/amastenumah/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/bobfurniss/   

The only metric you should measure in a contact center.

November 14, 2022 15:20 - 37 minutes - 34.3 MB

Tune in to hear... “There are lies, there are damn lies and there are metrics!” If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it” - Dr Demin   Why are there so many damn metrics in a Contact Center Is chasing Average Handle Time effective? Does Average Rate of Answer really matter? And so much more!   Contact Amas and Bob. http://linkedin.com/in/amastenumah/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/bobfurniss/  

Who is a contact Center Supervisor?

November 07, 2022 16:00 - 36 minutes - 49.9 MB

  Notable quotes "I miss my old job some days it was less chaotic. I used to be an ER Nurse and I am now a call center supervisor in Manila” "I am a manager, a leader, a therapist, a coach, an arbitrator, a time manager, a workforce manager, a teacher, a quality..." I was the best agent - I am now probably the most undertrained manager in the company with lots of responsibility and hats to wear! Contact Amas and Bob. http://linkedin.com/in/amastenumah/ https://www.linkedin.com/i...

Who is a contact center representative?

November 04, 2022 14:09 - 35 minutes - 48.4 MB

  Notable quotes “Every word you say and write is recorded and judged.” “I took phone calls for the first time in the 90s and in many contact center they are still using the same screens I did.”   “The dentist is still using a chisel” “We have been hearing about the demise of the contact center agent for 20 years”   “The human agent is not going away” Contact Amas and Bob. http://linkedin.com/in/amastenumah/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/bobfurniss/  

Who should own the contact center?

October 19, 2022 16:00 - 37 minutes - 34.7 MB

"Which is worse? What if we had a zero abandon rate? OR What if we reduced service level?” “Marketing claims it sets half of its budget on fire and keeps getting funding.”   “tell me why you matter? Tell me why we should spend more? " Contact Amas and Bob. http://linkedin.com/in/amastenumah/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/bobfurniss/

What is a Contact Center - Part 2

August 29, 2022 16:00 - 16 minutes - 15 MB

Amas and Bob continue the conversation about the evolution of the Contact Center: The heart of the Contact Center Agent  Why is it the most scrutinized job in the company? What the role should look like Strategic positioning of contact center Implications of digital/remote  to how we run contact centers? Do we need to track bathroom times

What is a Contact Center

August 23, 2022 16:00 - 19 minutes - 18.3 MB

Bob and Amas break down exactly what the Contact Center is and is not: The term Call Center should be retired  Implications of Remote Agents  Quotes: “If you are still calling it a call center, I am judging you” “If the Telephone is your only channel, you are doing it wrong" “We are the contact center, the engagement center, the data center - and yes - the call center! We should have a strong impact on the company - no matter which channel the customer uses!”   And so much more...

What is a Contact Center?

August 23, 2022 16:00 - 19 minutes - 18.3 MB

Bob and Amas break down exactly what the Contact Center is and is not: The term Call Center should be retired  Implications of Remote Agents  Quotes: “If you are still calling it a call center, I am judging you” “If the Telephone is your only channel, you are doing it wrong" “We are the contact center, the engagement center, the data center - and yes - the call center! We should have a strong impact on the company - no matter which channel the customer uses!”   And so much more...

What is a Call Center?

August 16, 2022 16:00 - 34 minutes - 31.4 MB

Amas and Bob are back discussing all things Contact Center.  They combine their 50+ years of experience and humor to bring you actionable insights that will improve your Contact Center.  Call centers have an amazing history that is about 70 years old, hopefully you learned how we got here. Please join us   “Federal prisoners have more freedom than call center agents” “Call centers were born from a lawsuit” resources:  https://www.callcentrehelper.com/the-history-of-the-call-centr...

Leadership Series - Analytics and Reporting

January 31, 2022 17:00 - 42 minutes - 57.8 MB

This conclusion to the Leadership Series offers great insights into reporting and Bob and Amas share their insights: Why the contact center is so metrics obsessed What is one of the main drivers of reporting What is the secret to calculating first call resolution  To learn more about Bob, Amas and the show visit www.contactcenter.tv

Leadership Series - Coaching

January 24, 2022 17:00 - 32 minutes - 43.9 MB

Feedback is key for service providers.  Amas and Bob discuss the coaching: The reason coaching matters Formal versus informal feedback Specific tips you don't want to miss Learn more about Amas and Bob at www.contactcenter.tv

Leadership Series - Communication

January 17, 2022 17:00 - 33 minutes - 45.7 MB

Communication is a core skill of leadership and Bob and Amas discuss some important nuances, you will enjoy the following: The importance of a communication structure Efficiently managing your communication tools  And yes, they have to give some time to Zoom  Learn more about Amas, Bob and the show at www.contactcenter.tv

Leadership Series - Managing up, down and across

January 04, 2022 01:52 - 29 minutes - 40.6 MB

Most managers focus on managing those who report to them, Amas and Bob have a great conversation about managing up and across.  You enjoy the following: Why managing your manager is important When relationships at work really matter How do you handle the micromanager Learn more about Bob, Amas and the show at www.contactcenter.tv  

Bob's Story of Hope and Action

October 25, 2021 16:00 - 43 minutes - 58.9 MB

In this special edition during the National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Amas talks with Bob about the heartbreaking story of the death of his 34-year-old daughter from Stage-4 Metastatic Breast Center. Hear stories from Keesha's life and what led to the discovery of cancer. Hear about her four-year battle, how she lived life out loud on social media, and how their primary focus was living her bucket list. Hear how they turned their endless grief into a mission to save others by fou...

Leadership Series - Manager vs Leader

September 05, 2021 22:49 - 34 minutes - 47.4 MB

Amas and Bob continue the Leadership series and discuss the following: Is it leadership vs. management or leadership and management? Failure serves a purpose  Become an aggressive listener And much more... To learn more about Amas and Bob, check out www.contactcenter.tv  

Leadership Series - Time Budgeting

August 20, 2021 03:29 - 25 minutes - 423 MB Video

We're back! Thank you for all your feedback from last season.  Because you said you wanted it, we are diving deeper into the Contact Center world.  Our first series this season will be on Leadership.   This episode focuses on time-management  Is it even possible to get it all done? Where should coaching be prioritized on my list? Everything is URGENT, so.... And much more.... To learn more about Amas and Bob, visit www.contactcenter.tv

What we learned in Contact Centers this Season - (season Finale)

June 14, 2021 16:00 - 32 minutes - 45 MB

Amas and Bob reminisce about some past episodes Chatbots  - the right questions to ask about implementing AI or your virtual assistant.  Amas has evolved on a topic, can you guess which one? Leadership, you can develop them And much more.  Learn more about Amas, Bob and the show at www.contactcenter.tv

In Defense of the Training Department

June 04, 2021 01:17 - 26 minutes - 36.6 MB

Amas and Bob have a great conversation this week and put training on trial: Why is training the panacea? Rethink training with the 'agent' as the center.  The most effective way to coach. And much more. To learn more about Bob, Amas and the show visit www.contactcenter.tv 

Mastering Strategy and Culture w/Master Strategist Glen Stoffel

May 17, 2021 12:03 - 51 minutes - 70.6 MB

Join Amas and Bob as they have an engaging conversation with top strategist Glenn Stoffel about... Glenn's story about his experience in the Contact Center Why is strategy so important in an organization How we tend to have a 'shoot first' approach to what is really a communications business And much more... Learn more about our guest Glenn Stoffel: Glen Stoffel | LinkedIn  

The future of CX is inclusive

May 10, 2021 16:00 - 26 minutes - 36.8 MB

Amas and Bob have a great conversation about what is driving the future of customer service.  What is the next great idea to win the hearts of minds of customer once convenience is solved.  Amas shares a story about how SMS helped a hearing impaired person.  Citizens are changing how states do business.  And much more.  Learn more about Bob and Amas at www.contactcenter.tv

Does the effortless experience hold up?

April 26, 2021 16:00 - 28 minutes - 38.5 MB

Amas and Bob have a great conversation about the following: Does the 'effortless experience' still apply today? Your customer experience efforts depend on where you are on the experience journey. They revisit chatbots to answers a listeners question.  And much more... To learn more about Amas, Bob and the show, visit www.contactcenter.tv Effortless Experience No One Wants Customer Experience 

In God We Trust, Everyone Else Bring Data

April 13, 2021 01:00 - 24 minutes - 33.1 MB

Bob and Amas will entertain with this engaging conversation about: Why does CX still suck even though we have the data to show it.  Your know your agents get yelled at, but do you know how much? Can voicemails help to shorten long wait times? And much more... To learn more about the Contact Center Show go to:  www.contactcenter.tv

The forgotten essential worker - Contact center agents

April 05, 2021 17:45 - 28 minutes - 38.7 MB

Bob and Amas have a great conversation about the following: What explains the small uptick in customer satisfaction? Contact center agents are also essential workers, or dare we say heroes? How do I tell if I am short staffed or if my agents are just inefficient? And much much more... To learn more about the show, go to:  www.contactcenter.tv

The lure of the contact center

March 30, 2021 02:34 - 19 minutes - 26.7 MB

Amas and Bob always have a great conversation.  This week they discuss: Why stay in the contact center industry? What is "Ikijia"? Contact center leaders have a worse job satisfaction rate than contact center agents.  And so much more... To learn more about Amas, Bob and The Contact Center Show, go to: www.contactcenter.tv

Are Leaders Born or Made?

March 22, 2021 16:00 - 24 minutes - 33.4 MB

Amas and Bob have a great conversation about leadership.  In this episode they discuss: Are great leaders born or nurtured? There is an opportunity you should always take if you want to be an effective leader  What can you do to make flex scheduling work? And much more... To learn more about the show or Amas Tenumah and Bob Furniss, go to: www.contactcenter.tv

The Contact Center Show Promo

March 16, 2021 18:21 - 50 seconds - 1.13 MB

Amas and Bob combine their experience and humor to bring insights, methodology, and lessons that will impact your contact center career.    

The Contact Center Show - How to Wow at scale

March 08, 2021 17:00 - 19 minutes - 26.3 MB

Amas and Bob discuss the customer experience and how to wow.  In this session: Bob shares a story on how a person was wowed by guess what company... How do you really deliver empathy? Which is more important NPS or CSAT? And much more... To learn more about the show or Amas Tenumah and Bob Furniss, go to: www.contactcenter.tv

Contact Center Match Making

March 08, 2021 13:32 - 18 minutes - 25.1 MB

Amas and Bob have a great conversation about new approaches in the contact center, including: Matchmaking in the contact center, swipe left, swipe right! What are you optimizing for? MPS score, sales? What to do when your losing agents because they are bored? And much more... To learn more about the show or Amas Tenumah and Bob Furniss, go to: www.contactcenter.tv

Do we need to get rid of chatbots?

March 01, 2021 17:00 - 27 minutes - 38 MB

Amas and Bob discuss chatbots: With a 67% failure rate, is it worth it to keep them? What can be done about the disconnect with omnichannel? There is a secret to not worrying about your customer experience.  And much more... To learn more about Amas, Bob and The Contact Center Show, go to: www.contactcenter.tv

Can you monetize the contact center?

March 01, 2021 17:00 - 20 minutes - 27.7 MB

In this episode, Amas and Bob discuss the following: - The monetization of the contact center - Is there a shift in the industry towards customer experience? - Which is more important CSAT or FCR To learn more about Amas, Bob and The Contact Center Show, go to: www.contactcenter.tv

The forgotten Customer Service Employee

February 15, 2021 23:17 - 20 minutes - 27.5 MB

In this episode, Amas and Bob discuss the following: - Most of the money and energy is around technology, processes and not the employee, is that a mistake? - The trickle up theory - What's the most important metric to watch in a contact center To learn more about Amas, Bob and The Contact Center Show, go to: www.contactcenter.tv

The Ubiquitous Contact Center

February 10, 2021 19:49 - 19 minutes - 26.7 MB

Amas Tenumah and Bob Furniss start the Contact Center Show to discuss new ideas, insights and all things call center. In their first episode the discuss: - The transition to work from home is not temporary - Have you heard of "customer promiscuity?" - The best place to find good benchmarking data To learn more about Amas, Bob and The Contact Center Show, go to: www.contactcenter.tv