Category: Customer Experience

Many knowledge-economy employees say that the main cause of dissatisfaction at work is lack of agency. Lack of control over our time and our decisions and our output is demeaning. It turns people into cogs.

As the nature of work changes, innovation and small groups are adding far more value than the race to the bottom of industrial control can.

So people are getting what they asked for. Autonomy. Responsibility instead of authority. The chance to speak up and be heard. Most of all, the opportunity to be on the hook.

Not surprisingly, some people, particularly if they’ve been indoctrinated into the industrial mindset, don’t like this.

They can’t ask, “just tell me what to do.” The search for an A, the hope to be picked by someone in charge, the desire for perfect–it’s gone. So is the deniability that comes with following instructions.

Be careful what you hope for.

Customer experience is no longer just a buzzword. It’s become the foundation upon which companies practice their businesses. Brands that go the extra mile to make life easier for their customers have seen the immense payoff in the form of long-term customer loyalty. But adopting a few CX tactics isn’t enough to stay competitive. Organizations with exceptional customer support know this; they are constantly looking for opportunities to improve those precious interactions and create pleasant and memorable experiences.
Creating a Customer Service Strategy That Drives Business Growth
The rules of customer experience have always stood true, but digital tools and resources have really levelled the playing field. You don’t need to go to Apple or Amazon for a standout shopping experience; authentic interactions can be won by local businesses or even non-profit organizations. If you ask us, that’s something worth celebrating. That’s why Fonolo is back with the 2022 Customer Experience Excellence Awards! 
Meet our 2022 CX Award Winners
Now in its 6th year, Fonolo’s annual CX Excellence Awards celebrate contact centers that demonstrate excellence in customer service and customer experience. The winning brands were selected based on the amount of hold time they saved their customers over the previous year. Fonolo is pleased to announce this year’s CX Award winners, EECU (Educational Employees Credit Union) and Oregon PERS (Public Employees Retirement System).

 
Educational Employees Credit Union (EECU)
EECU was founded in 1934 with the mission of providing low-cost financial services for educators in the community. Today, they serve members of the educational community as well as employees and members of select employers/organizations. EECU proudly supports numerous programs, activities, and events in the community. 

FACT:
In 2021, EECU Saved their members 59 years worth of hold time with Voice Call-Backs!
Learn How EECU Cut Abandonment Rate in Half While Improving Member Satisfaction

It’s wonderful to be recognized for our efforts in creating a positive member experience. We are dedicated to enhancing member satisfaction in every interaction, and this award validates the hard work and dedication of our team.”  
        – Cindy Stiavelli, Call Center Manager, EECU
 
 
Oregon Public Employees Retirement System (Oregon PERS)
Oregon PERS serves the people of Oregon by providing secure retirement benefits to honor their public service. They are committed to administering public employee benefit trusts to pay the right person the right benefit at the right time. 

FACT:
In 2021, Oregon PERS saved their customers a combined average of 24 hours worth of hold time daily!
We are pleased to accept the CX Award and appreciate being honored by Fonolo. Our partnership has helped us provide better service to our members by offering the option to receive a call-back when one of our retirement counselors is not available. We look forward to continued success with Fonolo.”
       – Melissa Piezonka, Manager Member Information Center, Oregon PERS

 
Learn More About the CX Awards
Read the official press release here.
 The post Announcing the Winners of the 2022 CX Excellence Awards first appeared on Fonolo.

This is a great excuse for racing to the bottom.

Corporations with power go ahead and take advantage of customers. “Well, if we don’t do it, a competitor will.”

The public markets don’t require companies to throw out their principles to succeed. In fact, they reward companies that do the opposite.

People exploit vulnerabilities in systems, or cut a little close to one edge or another. Because, after all, it’s a competitive world, and if they don’t, someone else will.

Not really.

Human culture has a long history of standards being set by people who refuse this line of reasoning. And as a result of these standards, somebody else doesn’t.

Over the years, I’ve been sharing recipes as pages here on the blog, but never posting about them… you only got the link if I sent it to you.

Well, your wait is over.

For those seeking non-obvious but delicious and light-on-their-feet recipes, here you go:

(Mostly) raw brownies

Buckwheat waffles (grain free)

Gluten-free cornbread

How to make rice

Informal cashew dressing

Rye bread that takes time

Sprezzatura crackers

The king of dal

The very secret, no-sugar, all fruits and nuts PacoJet chocolate ice ‘cream’ recipe

Very famous tahini cookies

On Tuesday, the new Consumer Protection Bill is expected to lay out proposals making it illegal to pay someone to write or host fake reviews online. The latest research reveals that British consumers want regulations that offer total protection from fake reviews. Furthermore, 78% of consumers and 81% of businesses call for the same protection…
The post British consumers demand greater government protection against fake reviews  appeared first on Customer Experience Magazine.

submitted by /u/HotMomentumStocks [link] [comments]

If 2% of a population takes coordinated action, it makes a difference. If 5% do, it can change everything.

This simple math also means that most people rarely do anything. Perhaps they don’t care. Perhaps they’re afraid to speak up and commit. And perhaps it’s simply easier to go along for a free ride.

Of course it hurts when friends and colleagues we thought we could count on shirk and hide. But everyone has their own narrative, their own issues, their own fears. We can say, “if I were you,” but we’re not them, they are.

When we focus on the ones who didn’t help, we’re undermining our work. It’s a distraction and a disservice.

Shun the non-believers. Ignore the well-meaning but unmoved. Instead, we have the chance to find and connect and celebrate the people who care enough to make a difference.

Toward better.

The “free market” is a bit of a myth. Other than some board games, it doesn’t exist in real life.

We eagerly regulate things like dangerous goods, fraud, insider trading, the warranty of merchantability, trademarks, dumping poison in the water supply, selling heroin to kids, etc.

All of these boundaries are designed to create more resilient markets. Markets that serve newcomers as well as insiders. Markets that eventually serve the culture.

We’re not very good at it, but trying is the only way forward. The right question isn’t, “how do we remove regulations?” It might be, “how do we make this more resilient over time?”

Some situations seem to call for an opponent.

It might be our personality, the structure of the engagement or the way we’ve been taught to behave, but having an enemy seems to focus individuals and groups.

For fifty years, America decided that the USSR was the enemy, and spent a great deal of time and money and attention maintaining that threat.

For many people, the boss is the enemy, the controlling managerial authority, the opponent to be bested in a fight over work, effort and passion.

Or it might simply be the hockey team we’re skating against tonight.

Pick your enemies, pick your future.

If you care about a creative practice, my guess is that you’ve already seen Peter Jackson’s new Beatles movie. If not, go check it out.

It’s a miracle that the movie exists at all. I mean, four of the most famous creative humans who ever lived, tenuously holding on to a fracturing association, agree to write and record an album in three weeks and record every single interaction on film.

The intimacy of this setting lets us see each of the Beatles as they had decided to become.

Ringo is in the background, happy to be there, supporting the process and causing no trouble.

George is wrestling with his place in the world and his ego. You’ll notice that he rarely plays a song unless he’s sure it’s almost done, and even then, apologizes before sharing it.

John is the fifth hammer. In the first sessions, his creative method is not really on display in the group setting–his song arrives already recorded, on vinyl.

This is a post about Paul.

Paul’s not a genius, neither is John. This isn’t about talent, it’s about skill. And the genius that was the Beatles happens between Paul and John, not inside of either of them.

Paul wants the group to be excited. He wants George to be happier. Most of all, he wants John to like his songs. That’s his fuel.

And Paul’s practice is simple: Bring the work forward.

Play a song before it’s ready.

Because in the moment before it’s ready, that’s when it’s ready.

By bringing music that’s half-baked to the table, he takes a risk. It means that George might become critical or mopey. It means that John might not be engaged. It means that the room might not feel it.

But the risk is worth it. Because the half-baked work, shared in a trusting environment, is the fuel for the system that created the works of genius.

Paul needed the movie and the live event in the future to create tension, tension that he knew would be pushing against the group’s need for approval and not-blowing-it. By putting themselves in a corner, he created (at no small cost) the conditions where he could do the work.

And it begins, as it usually does, by having the guts to share something that’s half baked.

[My Akimbo podcast on this topic is here.]