Advice from a Call Center Geek!
Episodes
If I was Hired To Set up a New Call Center, What Would I do?
18 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textLet's pretend that I was hired out by a new million-dollar startup that asked me to set up their customer service contact center th...
The Consistently Late Associate and How to Handle
31 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textThat one call contact center agent that is consistently late by 1, 3, or 6 minutes every day to shift or coming back from break/lunch. ...
How To Set Up A Contact Center Management Training Program 2.0
21 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textMiddle management is the absolute lifeline of your contact center. Have you educated and given them the tools they need to be successf...
Special Episode! Live Call Center Supervisor Roundtable
12 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textIn this totally unscripted episode, I sit down with 5 of our contact middle management to discuss how they manage their teams. We talk ...
7 Effective Call Center Training Tips You Can Implement Easily
01 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textEducating associates is a core competency of any solid contact center operation. In episode 141 of Advice from a Call Center Geek, we ...
How the Metaverse will Fundamentally Change CX, Service, Rewards Programs, and Customer Retention
15 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textThis episode is definitely in my top 3 favorite episodes and a MUST listen for any Call Center Geek out there. I re-recorded this epis...
Tips to Improve Call Center Associate Turnover
02 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textTurnover...the arch-nemesis of every contact center. While it's never going to be perfect, there are some tactics that we can tak...
Brainstorming NFTs for Business and Service
28 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textI love this episode. If you are a call center geek, it's for you, if you are not but want to understand the power of the oncoming N...
Tips To Give a Brand New Supervisor-Listeners Speak!
21 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textThis time is YOU that is the star of the show!I asked this question on Linkedin"What's the one tip that you would give to a br...
2022 Contact Center Operations Strategic Planning Guide
12 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textHappy 2022!It's time to look at your center and develop a strategic plan for the new year. In this episode of ACG, we take a look...
Advice from a Call Center Geek 3.0 Book Announcement!
06 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textNEW BOOK! Advice from a Call Center Geek 3.0! is done!Ok I just posted the full 204-page book for FREE on our Linkedin group Call Center...
New Contact Center Operations Book Announcement- Geek Listeners Get if FREE!
30 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textMy New Book (Kinda) will be out on Jan 4th! We have taken "MORE Advice from a Call Center Geek" and added 10 chapters to it an...
If I Could Talk to My 25 Year Old Call Center Manager Self
29 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textI got a Linkedin inMail from a listener that said:Hey Tom!Thanks for accepting my connection request so quickly.I recently stumbled acro...
Talking a Hard Look at Contact Center Efficiency
27 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textLet's look at your contact centers efficiency as we head into the new year. In this episode, we look at:Call Routing and Skilling...
Top 10 Contact Center Trends for 2022- Technology, AI, Engagement, NFTs and More
23 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textMerry Christmas and Happy Holidays! As we record this episode, it is December 23rd, 2021, two days before Christmas.We wanted to take ...
CCW 21 The Good, Bad, and the Interesting
16 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textI am doing a down and dirty episode here with my knee-jerk reactions to the Customer Contact Week (aka call center week) conference. Th...
Deep Dive into Upcoming Vaccine Mandate for Contact Centers
30 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textFriends, we have done deep into the law here with our attorneys to create a full policy for the upcoming January 4th mandated date for a...
Engaging Associates During the Holidays- Social Media, Motivations, and let's Talk Holiday Bonuses
18 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textThe week before Thanksgiving is a great time of the year. It's time where you can reset some of the negativity that you may have ...
My Contact Center Employees Ask Me Anything
11 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textI am always thinking about how can my contact center be different? How can we have better quality, how can we as management engage our...
When Covid Hits Home in Your Contact Center- Perceptions, Reality, and Mandates
05 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textThis episode is a little different than what we normally do, much more personal. 10 days before recording this, I tested positive for ...
Are you Ready for Customer Experience 3.0 Metaverse, AR, VR, and CX
21 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textOne of my roles as the CEO here at Expivia, is to make calls on where I see technology and CX intersect to try to position us to be ahea...
Our Contact Centers Covid Evolution- Engagement to Technology
15 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textCovid had changed the way many of us operate our contact centers. In this episode of "Advice from a Call Center Geek!" we ta...
Your Ultimate Contact Center Outsourcing Guide
07 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textThe Ultimate Guide To Contact Center Outsourcing Episode...we created it!This episode of "Advice from a Call Center Geek!" is ...
Official "Advice from a Call Center Geek!" SLA Benchmarking Episode
21 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textWhat should your service level KPI's be in your contact center?In this episode, the voice of the Geek, Tom Laird, gives the "o...
Top 10 Customer Service Skills of the Best Call Center Agents- Team Building Exercise
17 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textIn this week's episode, we take a look at a really cool team-building exercise that I have done here at Expivia. We sat down with...
13 Questions that Need Answers in Your Contact Center
09 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textIn this episode of Advice from a Call Center Geek! we dig deep into 13 questions that all contact center leadership teams should be able...
A Conversation with NICE CXone CEO Paul Jarman
30 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textWe had the privilege of talking to NICE CXone (inContact) CEO Paul Jarman on this episode of "Advice from a Call Center Geek!"...
You're the New Call Center Manager, Now What?
18 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textYou just got the job as the new call center manager, you are super excited!!! But then you realize, " I AM THE NEW CALL CENTER MA...
Taking Analytics to the Next Level with Real-Time Guidance, Real-Time Coaching, Real-Time QA - A Conversation with Balto CEO Marc Bernstein
06 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textSpeech analytics is an extremely powerful tool in creating a positive agent and customer experience. sentiment, trending keywords, eve...
8 Tips to Instantly Improve Your Customer Experience
05 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textWhat Is Customer Service Experience?"Customer service experience is the opinion your customer forms about the quality of the servic...
10 Tips on Improving your Contact Center Coaching
29 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textBack to the basics of what you all love about the podcast! Let's talk about contact center coaching, how to improve it, have a pl...
The State of Conversational AI- A Discussion with Aktify CEO Kreg Peeler and CRO Craig Daly
19 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textConversational AI...a topic that confuses some and fascinates others. In today's episode of "Advice from a Call Center Geek...
A Day in the Life of a Contact Center Supervisor- Tips for Call Center Middle Management
19 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textIn this episode, "A Day in the life of a Contact Center Supervisor", we talk about what a full day looks like for our middle m...
Tips on Hiring Contact Center Associates in Today's Environment
01 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textIt seems there is a big struggle to get people back to work post-pandemic. For various reasons, many service sector jobs, including the ...
Expivia Virtual Reality Contact Center Concept
25 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a text Announcement- Expivia Virtual Reality Contact Center ConceptExpivia is going to be attempting to build out a 100% fully Virtual Realit...
A Conversation with Brandon Knight VP Advanced Solutions- Contact Center at Telarus
10 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textWe have the honor of having in the "Michael Jordan" of Contact Center Solutions, an encyclopedia of call center platforms, the...
10 Ways to Improve Your Call Quality
01 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textCustomer experience is a multi-tiered onion that has so many different layers. In this episode we take another look at call quality, w...
Creating a Call Center Improvement Action Plan
18 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textWhen we go in to consult for a call center that is not operating at its peak, there are about 35 different aspects of the center that we...
Setting up a Call Center Associate Pay Structure
29 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textWhat is the proper way to pay your hard-working call center associates?In this episode, we talk about making sure we have agent and mana...
How Blockchain will be Changing the Contact Center and CX
21 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textBlockchain, Crypto, NFTs, Bitcoin.These are not just technologies to be ignored as passing fads. There is a wave that is coming to the...
Announcement- Join Our Call Center Geek Call Center Tips and Tactics LinkedIn Group
30 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textOur new Linkedin group on call center operations tips and tactics is now live! You asked for it, you got it!MISSION:The purpose of this ...
Setting the Correct Associate to Management Ratios in your Call Center
29 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textHow many supervisors, trainers, team leads, and HR staff should you have to manage your call center?In this episode, we take a look at a...
Call Center Improvement Plans and Discipline Policies
25 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textIn episode 103 we talk about the touchy subject of discipline policies in your call center and what should happen when you have to put a...
Two Awesome Call Center Motivations- Be a Rockstar- Engage Your Associates!
10 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textIn this week's episode, we dive deep into a really awesome call center motivation that we are doing here at Expivia. This will ho...
Tom Laird and Expivia Interview on TalkErie with Joel Natalie
05 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textHere is a little something different. in this episode we infuse. call center operations, entrepreneurship, and covid all rolled into...
What Call Center Tools Do You Really Need? Take a Look Behind the Scenes on How we use Call Center Technology to Enhance the CX
01 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textIn this episode, we take a look behind the curtain of our call center here at Expivia to talk about what tools and technology we are usi...
Episode100 Special Episode- Audience Ask and Cool Call Center Stuff We are Doing
19 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textHappy 100th Episode!!!!!!We want to set the table for 2021 and our next 100 episodes by asking you how we can do more to add value, and ...
Psychic Income- 7 Ways to Show RESPECT to Your Call Center Associates
28 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textDo you and you care about your associates on a personal level? I'm not saying you are best friends and go out on the town, but do...
Procedures and Tips to Move Your Call Center Back Into the Office
19 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textWhat happens when you are told to come up with the policy plan to safely get your call center back onsite in your brick and mortar facil...
The ONE Technology that will be Revolutionizing the Customer Experience
11 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textYou guys may think I am crazy, but I think I found the technology that will be changing the customer service and customer experience ind...
A Conversation with the VP of Customer Care and CRM at Overstock.com- Jimmy Budnik
22 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textIn this episode of "Advice from a Call Center Geek!", we sit down with Jimmy Budnik, the VP of Customer Care and CRM at Over...
7 Falsehoods About Outsourcing Your Call Center
07 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textOutsourcing is not for everyone, and we have been very open about that, in fact, we did an entire episode on 10 reasons why you should N...
7 Tips to Make Black Friday Run Smoothly in Your Contact Center
23 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textCall Center Superbowl....For many of us, that is what Black Friday and Cyber Monday are. Over the years, we have come up with some tip...
10 Unique Use Cases for Speech Analytics
17 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textSpeech analytics is an evolving tool that has use cases not yet thought of. As we are evolving how we use the tool, we want to tell the ...
Five Call Center and Customer Service Trends for 2021
05 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textIts almost 2021 (YES!!) and we here at Expiva are having budgeting talks and discussions on where we see the industry moving in 2021 and...
Using Live or Recorded Calls and How To Run a Calibration Session
29 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textOne of the age-old call center ops questions is "Should we use live or recorded calls" for our QA? Understanding that many c...
Community Q/A- Two Separate Teams for Voice and Chat or One Integrated Teams?
25 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textI am going to start to answer the awesome questions I am getting in the Advice from a Call Center Geek! SMS Texting community as Commu...
What is Skills-Based Routing and How/Why Do Call Centers Use It?
23 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a text Here is a quick overview of what skills-based routing is, how to use it, and why it's such a great tool.This is the biggest diffe...
Tips To Lower Your Call Center's Handle and Talk Time
23 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textLowering handle and talk time the right way can add to a center's ROI and make the customer and agent experience betterIn this epis...
How to Properly Manage a Call Center Outsourcer
16 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textOutsourcing your call center operations can be a scary deal. If you can manage the relationship in a proper way, there can be a win-win ...
My Five Favorite Call Center Reports
06 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textThis is an Episode for true Call Center Geeks! I want to give you my five favorite call center reports and tell you why they help me a...
10 Reasons Why You SHOULD Outsource Your Call Center
30 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textSOOOOO, I was scolded by my staff about the title (not the content) of yesterday's episode on "10 Reasons why you Should NEVER...
10 Reasons Why you Should NEVER Outsource Your Call Center
28 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textI can talk all day on why you SHOULD outsource your call center and the benefits of doing so, but that doesn't seem very much fun.L...
Behind the Curtain- Tricks that Some Call Center Outsourcers Play
25 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textTo maximize revenue, some call center outsourcers will do some things that are not up to industry standards. This is no different from...
Listener Call Center Geek Mail Bag Questions!
14 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textIf you have not joined the Call Center Geek Texting Community here is another reason why. (text "Call Center" to 814.247.036...
Call Center Geek Consulting
31 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textJust a quick message for any organization out there that is looking to purchase a new telephony platform or software but may need a litt...
Its Not The Call Centers Fault! Introduction to Customer Journey Mapping and its Importance
28 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textHow many times has your boss or manager said the call center was not servicing properly and that the NPS and CSAT scores were too low! ...
Univ Wisconsin Talk on Making Call Center Culture Tangible and Tips for Call Center Rep Engagement
21 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textI had the great pleasure of being asked to give a talk to the University of Wisconson E-Business Consortium on "Making Call Center ...
Purchasing a New Contact Center Platform- Everything You Need To Know
12 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textIf you are in the market or will be in the market for a new call center platform, this is a can't miss episode.In Episode 78 of the...
Best Practices for Setting Up Supervisor and Admin Call Center Dashboards
04 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textIn this quick episode, we talk about some best practices on how we set up our supervisors and admin call center dashboards. From real-...
Setting up a Call Center Employee Suggestion Program
13 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textI received a question from a member of the Advice from a Call Center Geek Texting Community that sparked this quick podcast.This is our ...
Announcing the Advice from a Call Center Geek Texting Community- Join Now!
06 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textJoin the Advice from a Call Center Geek texting community! Text "Hello" to 814-247-0366 and you will be able to have direct ac...
Technology Tools that World Class Centers Utilize
06 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textIf we had an unlimited budget for our call center, what tools would we purchase?Lets take a look at the advanced tools that world-class ...
To Stay WFH or Move the Call Center Back Brick and Mortar
18 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textThe question that is now being asked in the call center industry is Whats Next? Should we stay with our work at home model, move all o...
HR and Corrective Actions in the Call Center Environment
04 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textHR and dealing with corrective actions in the call center can be a very challenging issue. In episode 72 we talk about how to deal wit...
Planning for the Needs of Your Call Center- Infrastructure, Customer Journey, and Employee Engagement
22 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textHow should you spend budget dollars on your call center? What should you prioritize and "fix"?In this episode, we take you thr...
The TRUTH about AI and the Call Center in 2020
13 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textMost companies are lying to you about what AI can do in your call center.In this episode, we look at what AI can and cannot do in 2020. ...
Security With At Home Call Center Operations
27 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textIn episode 69 of "Advice from a Call Center Geek!" we take a look at Security With At Home Call Center Operations. From polici...
Everything You Need To Know About Running an At-Home Call Center
17 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textIn this episode of the Geek!, we give the full rundown of what we are doing and have found to be best practices to operating a virtual c...
Where Does My Call Center Go From Here? Preparing for Post Covid-19
10 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textIn Episode 64 of "Advice form a Call Center Geek" we look at that you need to prepare for post Covid-19. What do you need to...
A Day in the Life- Two Weeks of Operating a Call Center in the Days of Covid-19
25 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textIn this episode of Advice from a Call Center Geek!, we tell the true story of the rollercoaster of operating a call center in the days o...
Unique Times- A Conversation with Paul Herdman- Head of Global Customer Experience- NICE inContact
20 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textIn this very special episode, during these very unique times, we have the privilege to be able to spend some time with Paul Herdman, Hea...
SPECIAL EPISODE- COVID-19 (Coronavirus) and Your Call Center- Steps to Take
13 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textWe at the Geek! want to try to do anything we can to help you through these crazy and stressful times. Operating and running a call cent...
A Conversation with Contact Center Consultant-Advisor Fred Shadding
09 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textIn this episode of "Advice from a Call Center Geek!" we have our first guest interview! We took some time with call center a...
10 Policies Every Call Center Operation Must Have
27 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textPolicies and procedures may not be a really fun topic, but they are very necessary for assuring your call center is running smoothly. ...
Highlights from My Appearance on the Call Center Helper Podcast
20 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textA little bit of a unique and cool episode. The Geek is a huge fan of the "Call Center Helper" website and podcast. When we...
2020 CALL CENTER SECURITY CRISIS- Stop Allowing Cell Phones on Your Call Center Floor!
13 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textI LOVE social media (As you all know ..lol) but I love security in my call center even more. Go on TIKTOK and search for #callcenter a...
Deep Dive into Your Call Center- 22 Questions We Ask When Consulting
10 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textOne of the key tasks that we talk to call centers when consulting is to whiteboard the "Call Center 22's" which are 22 qu...
Benchmarking Call Center KPI's for Efficiency
01 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textWe take a deeper dive into the call center metrics that you need to be looking at daily and intraday to have the most efficient call cen...
Digital Customer Service- Best Practices
24 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textTwitter, Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp.....Do you have a digital plan for these "newer" channels? In this episode of the &qu...
Call Center Security 101- Security Needs in Your Call Center
17 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textDo you have processes and procedures in your call center to protect you, your customers, and your organization from fraud, phishing, vir...
The Entrepreneurial Spirit is Alive! How We Started our Call Center Outsourcing Company
05 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textThis bonus podcast episode was taken from a very popular 9 minute video that was posted on how our we started our call center outsourcin...
Top 10 Questions You Always Wanted to Ask a Call Center Outsourcer
03 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textIn episode 53 of the Geek! we tackle the Top 10 Questions You Always Wanted to Ask a Call Center Outsourcer, but never have.Outsourcers ...
Five Ways to Engage Your Call Center Staff
26 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textIn Episode 51 of Advice from a Call Center Geek, we look at 5 ways you can engage your call center staff.We discuss strategies such as h...
Merry Christmas and Thank You- Year in Review Episode
24 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textA quick extra podcast episode to all the Geek! listeners out here. We wanted to give a quick year in review and tell you where we are ...
Call Center Technology Trends for 2020
12 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textWith 2019 winding down, we wanted to take a look a the technology trends that will be affecting the call center space in 2020.From AI, A...
True Social Media Horror Story- Why you need to Monitor Your Social Channels and How to Respond When the Trolls Come
02 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textIn this episode of the Geek!, we talk about why you need to be monitoring your digital channels at all times.We give you a real-life exa...
Google Contact Center AI is Available- What that Means for Your Call Center
22 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textIn Episode 46 of "Advice from a Call Center Geek!" We talk about what the Google Contact Center AI going generally available (...
Call Center KPI's 101
15 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textIn this episode of the Geek!, take a look at all the Call Center KPI's that go into making your call center as efficient as possi...
Call Center Workforce Management (WFM) 101
07 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textIn Episode 44 of Advice from a Call Center Geek!, we take a look at how you improve your WFM and how to staff appropriately in your call...